When it comes to web application firewalls (WAFs), cloud-based WAF and on-premise WAF are the 2 most common types found in the market. On-premise WAFs involve hardware being set up within your physical server environment, whereas cloud-based WAFs provide protection over the cloud.
Considering which WAF is best suited for your company’s cybersecurity? We have organised the main differences between both types of WAF.
Deployment
Both WAFs vary mainly on the duration and expertise required for the setup.
On-premise WAFs are time-consuming to set up and require specialised training to configure correctly. It can take as long as 1 week for the WAF to be fully operational.
Cloud-based WAFs, on the other hand, are easier and faster to set up, and can take as quickly as minutes to get everything under protection. They extend their protection to cloud-based environments which are not directly under your control.
Management
On-premise WAFs require your company to have its own dedicated IT team to manage the operations and equipment. You will have full access and control over rules customisation and the placement of the WAF within the company’s infrastructure. High expertise is thus required to undertake the WAF’s management.
With cloud-based WAFs, little maintenance is required. You can even engage your WAF provider’s 24x7x365 managed services. Real-time reports on the web traffic activities are provided, allowing you to only take action when the need arises. This is thus a viable option for businesses with limited resources and time to fully manage their IT operations.
Cost
The overall cost for both types of WAF differ greatly due to the various expenditures involved.
On-premise WAFs require greater investments in the long run. Capital expenditures form the bulk of the budget — which include spendings on the equipment, maintenance, hardware replacement, and upgrades. The yearly expenditure can go as high as USD620,000.
On the other hand, the monthly incurred costs associated with cloud-based WAFs are relatively more predictable, which consists of the monthly subscription cost and add-ons, if any. This is a more affordable option for SMEs with no upfront cost involved.
Scalability
On-premise WAFs are limited by their capacities. This means that you would likely have to purchase additional hardware if you want to expand your WAF protection.
Instead, cloud-based WAFs offer greater flexibility when it comes to scalability. You can either increase the WAF’s capacity on the fly or it may be automatically scaled up (dependent on vendor) to handle newer threats or increased web traffic.
Performance
Latency determines WAFs’ performance speed. On-premise WAF operates at a faster speed. Such high performance is attributed to the WAF being co-located with the web application server in the same physical environment.
When it comes to the WAF’s efficiency at detecting and mitigating web attacks, it ultimately boils down to the characteristics of each WAF type and each organisation’s use case.
An on-premise WAF’s protection coverage is dependent on your IT team’s expertise to accurately identify and manage legitimate threats in the shortest time span amongst the false positives and negatives alerts. Cloud-based WAFs’ protection capabilities are based on the WAF providers’ automation and emerging threat detection capabilities.
Polaris as a Safeguard to Your Web Application
Polaris is a next-generation WAF that is primarily offered as a hosted cloud solution. Polaris’ solution is highly customisable and provides effective round-the-clock managed detection and response capabilities for internet-facing organisations seeking to improve their cybersecurity posture.
