WatchGuard's XCS 770 is an appliance-based solution that is part customer premise device and part cloud-based services. It is installed locally, but also has defence subscriptions such as IP reputation filtering and zero-hour threat.
Setup was a breeze. The web-based interface was easy to navigate and it is clear it has many detailed enterprise-class features.
There are high-end defence capabilities for anti-spam, anti-virus, IP reputation filtering and excellent pre-defined dictionaries for popular compliance mandates such as HIPAA and PCI DSS.
XCS 770 has a good blend of features, but can be enhanced and complemented through third party add-ons or subscriptions. DomainKey integration and the ability to act as a web proxy for remote email solutions (OWA, IMAP, etc) are also useful features.
There are training features that can learn how to classify data and apply policies accordingly. This helps tremendously with data classification, e-discovery and other similar enterprise-level tasks.
The help file was one of the best we have seen and documentation is impressive. The website has useful features, such as forums, training and certification.
The appliance comes bundled with a 24/7, four-hour response time support package. Additional support packages are available.
The model under review comes with a higher price tag, but it is a more top-end capability device and offers good value for money.