Tips and Tricks 2024 #14 - Why You Need a Best Practices Workshop

Summary

El webinar presentado por AJ Deosta, arquitecto regional en Carolina del Norte, se centra en las mejores prácticas para talleres de seguridad y optimización de Check Point. Cubre temas como la valoración de la implementación de Check Point, estrategias para mejorar la seguridad y eficiencia, y cómo identificar y solucionar problemas. Ofrece una visión integral de las prácticas de seguridad, sin coste para el cliente, y se adapta a entornos de cualquier tamaño, promoviendo la estabilidad y la mejora continua.

Takeaways

• 😀 El webinar se centra en las mejores prácticas para talleres de seguridad y optimización de Check Point.
• 👤 El presentador, AJ DeOsta, es arquitecto regional para soluciones verticales y tiene experiencia en el sector de gobierno y educación.
• 🛠 Los talleres de mejores prácticas se enfocan en la implementación y operación de Check Point, evaluando flujos de trabajo y desafíos de seguridad.
• 🔍 El taller de mejores prácticas no es para solucionar solicitudes de servicio existentes, sino para identificar brechas y oportunidades de mejora.
• 🆓 Los talleres son una oferta gratuita para los clientes, sin requisitos de créditos o de trabajo previo.
• 📋 Se cubren temas tanto técnicos como no técnicos, incluyendo políticas, reglas, configuraciones de hardware, y prácticas de nube y endpoint.
• 🛑 Se utiliza herramientas de detección para identificar problemas potenciales y optimizar el uso de recursos.
• 📈 El objetivo es proporcionar una comprensión más profunda del entorno de Check Point, mejorar la eficiencia, alinearse con las mejores prácticas y aumentar la preparación para incidentes.
• 🔄 Los talleres pueden ser personalizados y se pueden repetir periódicamente para revisar el progreso y adaptar las estrategias.
• 📝 Al final del taller, los participantes reciben un documento de revisión detallado con recomendaciones y un plan de acción.
• 🗓 Los talleres pueden durar desde un par de horas hasta un día completo, dependiendo de la complejidad del entorno y las necesidades específicas.

Q & A

¿Qué es un seminario de mejores prácticas y qué temas cubre?

Un seminario de mejores prácticas es una sesión educativa donde se discuten estrategias y procedimientos para mejorar la implementación y operación de un producto o sistema específico. En este caso, se centra en el ambiente de Check Point, evaluando cómo se opera y se implementa, y identificando áreas para mejorar la eficiencia y seguridad.

¿Quién es AJ DeOsta y qué experiencia tiene relacionada con el seminario de mejores prácticas?

AJ DeOsta es un arquitecto para soluciones verticales en Check Point, con experiencia en el sector de gobierno local, educación y cuentas comerciales estratégicas. Su experiencia en diferentes organizaciones y aprendizajes lo posicionan para conducir seminarios de mejores prácticas.

¿Cuál es el propósito de un seminario de mejores prácticas de Check Point?

El propósito es ofrecer una evaluación holística del ambiente de Check Point, identificar desafíos y áreas de mejora, y proporcionar una estrategia para optimizar la implementación y operación de la solución de seguridad.

¿Por qué un seminario de mejores prácticas no es una visita de ventas?

Un seminario de mejores prácticas no tiene como objetivo vender más productos o servicios. Se trata de una oferta gratuita que busca maximizar el valor de la inversión actual del cliente en la solución de Check Point, asegurando que se esté obteniendo el máximo rendimiento y cumplimiento de los objetivos de seguridad.

¿Qué tipo de temas técnicos y no técnicos se abordan en un seminario de mejores prácticas?

Se abordan temas técnicos como la base de políticas y reglas, configuraciones de hardware, prácticas de punto final y nube, y análisis de políticas. También se incluyen temas no técnicos como el soporte, la capacitación, los controles ambientales y los factores empresariales.

¿Cómo se realiza la evaluación durante el seminario de mejores prácticas?

La evaluación se realiza a través de una serie de entrevistas, preguntas y respuestas, y el uso de herramientas de detección. Se recopila información y se analiza para producir un informe de entrega que prioriza las observaciones y las áreas de mejora.

¿Qué se espera que el cliente haga antes de iniciar el seminario de mejores prácticas?

No hay requisitos previos específicos para el cliente. Sin embargo, si el cliente tiene información específica o un problema conocido, como una puerta de enlace subdimensionada, se puede abordar durante el seminario.

¿Cómo se puede personalizar un seminario de mejores prácticas para diferentes equipos tecnológicos?

Un seminario se puede dividir en sesiones específicas para abordar diferentes tecnologías, como nube o dispositivos móviles, adaptándose al horario y necesidades de cada equipo.

¿Qué tipo de clientes pueden beneficiarse de un seminario de mejores prácticas de Check Point?

Clientes de todos los tamaños, desde pequeñas municipalidades con pocos usuarios hasta grandes operadores de telecomunicaciones con miles de puertas de enlace, pueden beneficiarse de un seminario para optimizar su ambiente de Check Point.

¿Cómo se puede acceder a los documentos y resultados del seminario de mejores prácticas?

Los participantes tienen acceso a un documento de muestra antes del seminario y, al final de la sesión, reciben una copia del informe completo con las evaluaciones y recomendaciones personalizadas.

¿Es posible volver a realizar un seminario de mejores prácticas después de haberlo hecho anteriormente?

Sí, se anima a los clientes a repetir el seminario periódicamente para revisar el progreso, ajustar las estrategias y abordar nuevos desafíos o cambios en el entorno de Check Point.

Outlines

00:00

😀 Introducción a los Talleres de Buenas Prácticas

El primer párrafo presenta un webinar sobre las mejores prácticas en el uso de Checkpoint. AJ Deosta, arquitecto regional en Carolina del Norte, hablará sobre los talleres de buenas prácticas y su valor. AJ tiene experiencia en el sector gubernamental y educativo, y su experiencia previa en el sector comercial le permite abordar diversos problemas y aprendizajes de diferentes organizaciones. Se mencionan dos tipos de talleres: uno de seguridad y otro de buenas prácticas, con un enfoque en la implementación y operación de Checkpoint.

05:01

🔍 Detalles del Taller de Buenas Prácticas

En el segundo párrafo, AJ profundiza en los detalles del Taller de Buenas Prácticas, enfocándose en la implementación y operación del ambiente de Checkpoint. Se discuten los objetivos del taller, que incluyen identificar y abordar desafíos y optimizar el uso de características y productos de Checkpoint. También se aclara que el taller no es para resolver solicitudes de servicio existentes, configurar productos específicos o realizar ventas, sino más bien para entender y mejorar la implementación general de Checkpoint en el entorno del cliente.

10:01

🛠️ Contenido y Proceso del Taller de Buenas Prácticas

El tercer párrafo describe el proceso y el contenido del Taller de Buenas Prácticas, que incluye temas tanto técnicos como no técnicos. Se mencionan áreas como soporte, capacitación, controles ambientales y temas técnicos como políticas, reglas, virtualización y configuraciones de hardware. Se resalta la importancia de la optimización de la base de políticas y el uso de herramientas de detección para evaluar el tamaño y el rendimiento de las puertas de enlace. El objetivo es identificar problemas y áreas que requieren mejoras.

15:04

📋 Ejemplo de Informe del Taller de Buenas Prácticas

El cuarto párrafo presenta un ejemplo de un informe de revisión de buenas prácticas, que incluye capítulos con preguntas y calificaciones para evaluar diferentes aspectos del entorno de Checkpoint. Se proporcionan detalles sobre cómo se estructura el informe, con secciones que cubren desde hardware y virtualización hasta políticas y manejo de incidentes. El informe también incluye gráficos de radar para visualizar de manera clara las áreas que requieren mejoras y secciones con información de referencia para ayudar en la implementación de las recomendaciones.

20:09

⏱️ Tiempo y Requisitos Previos para el Taller

En el quinto párrafo, se aborda el tiempo invertido en el Taller de Buenas Prácticas y los requisitos previos para su realización. Se menciona que el tiempo puede variar desde unas pocas horas hasta medio día, dependiendo de la complejidad del entorno. También se aclara que no hay requisitos previos estrictos, aunque se pueden realizar análisis específicos si se tiene información previa sobre problemas potenciales. Además, se habla sobre la flexibilidad para dividir el taller en sesiones temáticas según sea necesario.

25:09

🤝 Conclusión y Siguientes Pasos

El sexto párrafo concluye la presentación, abogando por la realización del Taller de Buenas Prácticas independientemente del tamaño del entorno de Checkpoint. Se enfatiza la importancia de la evaluación periódica y se incentiva a los participantes a programar un taller con su equipo de cuentas. Se mencionan las ventajas de realizar el taller, como la mejora de la estabilidad y la dirección de su entorno de Checkpoint, y se cierra la sesión con un agradecimiento y un recordatorio de futuras sesiones.

Keywords

💡Taller de mejores prácticas

Un taller de mejores prácticas es una sesión educativa y de capacitación que se centra en enseñar y discutir los procedimientos óptimos para la implementación y operación de tecnologías específicas. En el guion, este taller se utiliza para abordar cómo se opera y se implementa Checkpoint, con el objetivo de asegurar que cada parte del entorno cumpla con los objetivos de seguridad y rendimiento esperados. Se menciona que el taller no es para solucionar problemas de soporte existentes, sino más bien para identificar y priorizar mejoras en las prácticas de seguridad a partir de una perspectiva no sesgada.

💡Checkpoint

Checkpoint es una solución de seguridad de red que se menciona en el guion como el enfoque principal del taller de mejores prácticas. Se espera que los participantes obtengan una comprensión más profunda de su entorno Checkpoint y se alineen con las mejores prácticas de Checkpoint para mejorar la eficiencia y la preparación para incidentes. El término se utiliza para referirse tanto a la tecnología como a los objetivos de seguridad que se buscan al realizar el taller.

💡Seguridad

La seguridad es un tema central en el guion, ya que el taller de mejores prácticas se enfoca en evaluar y mejorar la postura de seguridad de los participantes a través de la optimización de su implementación de Checkpoint. Se destaca la importancia de detectar posibles problemas antes de que se conviertan en incidentes mayores y de estar preparado para manejar incidentes de seguridad inevitables.

💡Tecnología

La tecnología es el eje central del taller, ya que se trata de mejorar la implementación y operación de soluciones de seguridad como Checkpoint. Se abordan tanto aspectos técnicos como no técnicos, como la formación de soporte, controles ambientales y configuraciones de hardware, para garantizar que la tecnología funcione de manera óptima y segura.

💡Optimización

La optimización es un proceso mencionado en el guion para mejorar la eficiencia y el rendimiento del entorno de Checkpoint. Esto incluye la revisión y mejora de políticas y reglas, así como la evaluación de la configuración de hardware y la gestión de puntos finales y en la nube. Se busca optimizar estos elementos para que el sistema funcione de manera más efectiva y segura.

💡Políticas y reglas

Las políticas y reglas son aspectos clave de la seguridad de red que se abordan en el taller. Se menciona que a menudo es un tema grande para los clientes, ya que es fácil que las políticas se salgan de control con el tiempo. El taller busca ayudar a los clientes a optimizar su base de políticas y reglas, eliminando objetos no utilizados y mejorando la eficiencia general del sistema.

💡Capacitación

La capacitación es un componente importante del taller de mejores prácticas, ya que se busca asegurarse de que el personal esté capacitado y certificado para manejar la tecnología de Checkpoint de manera efectiva. Se menciona la importancia de tener un equipo con el nivel adecuado de formación para implementar cambios y realizar actualizaciones.

💡Herramientas de detección

Las herramientas de detección son utilidades mencionadas en el guion que se utilizan para investigar y analizar el entorno de seguridad. Estas herramientas ayudan a identificar problemas potenciales y a ajustar el rendimiento de los dispositivos de seguridad, como se muestra en el ejemplo del balanceo dinámico y la optimización del tamaño de la cola.

💡Acciones correctivas

Las acciones correctivas son recomendaciones y pasos de seguimiento que surgen de la realización del taller de mejores prácticas. Se menciona que el taller no es para culpabilizar al equipo de seguridad existente, sino para identificar áreas que requieren más atención y mejora. Las acciones correctivas son un producto final del taller, que ayudan a los clientes a priorizar y abordar las mejoras necesarias en su entorno de seguridad.

💡Inversión de tiempo

La inversión de tiempo se refiere al compromiso de los participantes para dedicar horas a participar en el taller de mejores prácticas. Aunque el tiempo exacto varía según el tamaño y complejidad del entorno, se menciona que el compromiso es flexible y que el valor obtenido supera el esfuerzo invertido, ya que se busca mejorar la estabilidad y la dirección de su entorno de Checkpoint.

Highlights

Webinar sobre mejores prácticas de talleres de Check Point.

Presentador especializado en soluciones para gobiernos locales y educación.

Talleres de mejores prácticas y seguridad ofrecen una visión integral y específica, respectivamente.

El taller de mejores prácticas se enfoca en la implementación y operación de Check Point.

No se trata de solucionar problemas de servicio existentes, sino de identificar brechas.

Talleres sin costo para el cliente, sin compromisos adicionales.

Cubre tanto aspectos técnicos como no técnicos, incluida la formación y controles ambientales.

Optimización de la base de políticas y reglas es un tema clave en muchos casos.

Uso de herramientas de detección para evaluar el tamaño adecuado de la pasarela y rendimiento.

El valor de los talleres es una mejor comprensión y eficiencia en el uso diario de Check Point.

Mejora de la preparación para incidentes y conexión con herramientas y recursos adecuados.

Los talleres no buscan culpabilizar, sino entender y mejorar el entorno de seguridad.

Ejemplos de problemas detectados, como balanceo dinámico desactivado y ajustes de tamaño de cola.

Proceso de realización del taller, desde introducción hasta la entrega del plan de acción.

El tamaño del entorno no limita la utilidad del taller, desde pequeñas municipalidades hasta grandes operadores de telecomunicaciones.

Importancia de entender la funcionalidad de negocio y operativa de Check Point en el entorno.

Ejemplo de documento de revisión de mejores prácticas con capítulos y evaluaciones detalladas.

Los participantes obtienen una copia del informe completo y herramientas utilizadas.

Posibilidad de realizar el taller de manera recurrente para evaluaciones periódicas.

El taller puede adaptarse a diferentes tecnologías y equipos de nube.

No hay requisitos previos para iniciar el taller, se puede enfocarse en áreas específicas.

Aplicabilidad del taller para socios con múltiples clientes y en escenarios de renovación de contratos.

Se puede acceder al documento de muestra y al informe final del taller.

El número de pasarelas y administradores manejados en el taller no tiene límite.

Transcripts

okay hello and welcome everybody thank

you for joining today's tips and tricks

webinar today's topic as you can see is

on best practices workshops um

presenting today is one of our regional

Architects AJ deosta AJ's in new I'm

sorry North Carolina almost said new

something and he uh he works for our

sled team right AJ so that state local

government and education so I don't know

how many of you are on that side of the

fence but um obviously we have those on

the commercial side too so um AJ what do

you have for us today yeah um no thanks

for the intro um yeah so we're gonna be

talking a bit about best practices

workshops uh what they are what they

entail uh the value of them um and uh

some of the the use cases that that

we've seen from doing quite a few of

these um to give a a brief intro of

myself I'm AJ Del aosta I'm architect

for vertical Solutions uh sort of sort

of the other side of the house from from

a checkpoint business perspective

primarily I handle uh State local

governments

education um I came from the commercial

side originally having dabbled with you

know strategic accounts large commercial

accounts territory development um so I

had the privilege to see quite a bit

from a lot of different customers and a

lot of those lessons learned throughout

the years and from from different

organizations were the driving force to

building these these workshops and and

to building these

reports um I'll dive right into it and

basically discuss the workshop uh

offerings overall um so workshops come

in two different flavors uh we offer a

security workshop and a best practices

Workshop primarily we're going to be

focused on the right side here the best

practices Workshop the security

Workshop is meant to be a uh much more

holistic highlevel view of your security

posture uh so that it extends Beyond

just you know the checkpoint offerings

or even just the the checkpoint

deployment it's going to cover you know

a really wide swath of of different

Technologies where the best practices

Workshop is is a bit more focused we're

going to be be really you know zeroing

in on the checkpoint deployment as a

whole making sure that each part of the

checkpoint environment each part of the

ecosystem is is behaving is it's giving

us the value that that we expect from it

you know and is it is accomplishing that

that security

goal let's dive right into the best

practices

Workshop

so what we'll cover is what so what is a

best practices Workshop um again we're

going to be focusing specifically on the

checkpoint environment as a whole we

want to look at how the checkpoint is

being operated and implemented you know

what is the workflow of of the

day-to-day you know Administration you

know what are the challenges that that

the security team is is facing you know

are are all the products and features

meeting the goals and meeting the needs

uh of the environment and if there is a

gap let's find out where that Gap is um

so as you can see here it's it's really

meant to prioritize and strategy those

kind of macro uh security practices from

from a checkpoint perspective um and to

kind of put lines on the field of of

what it is not so it is not meant to

troubleshoot existing service requests

if there are outstanding requests that

need escalation additional context um

I'm happy to assist it in that way uh as

well I can be a touch point for for

escalation But ultimately you know Tac

uh Tac is is going to be our go-to for

for break f

these are not professional service

engagements both Workshop offerings are

zero cost to the customer um there is a

there's not a a you know statement of

work there's no you know credits that

that are need uh needed to be turned in

uh these are free offerings that we can

you know basically sit down and and

strategize and look at things um you

know from a you know very unbiased

perspective and figure out you know

where the where the improvements need to

happen

happen uh it is not meant to focus on a

specific product configuration but often

times having done a best practices

Workshop we discover you know maybe we

should sit down and have a deep dive on

say Maestro or smart event or you know

one of the other uh you know products

that that we have so we really have that

you know technical granular

understanding of of of how everything

works and finally it's not meant to be a

sales pitch um in no way I incentivized

in having a customer buy millions of

dollars of of equipment that doesn't

serve the goal uh that was initially put

forth we want to make sure that you're

uh rendering the value of of what you

paid for from from a checkpoint

perspective making sure you're getting

the most out of the gear that was

purchased and

implemented so what's covered in a best

practices Workshop so we cover items

both non-technical and Technical in

nature from from that operational

perspective we'll touch on items you

know support training environmental

controls kind of non-technical almost

business driver type type elements you

know is the team uh at a certification

level where you know they they feel

comfortable implementing changing doing

upgrades you know and then we'll slowly

transition into to more technical topics

policy and Rule base you know what kind

of business cont anity plans do we have

in place is there any virtualization

happening Hardware configurations is is

always a big one um endpoint and Cloud

best practices uh are touched on as

well I will point out uh policy and

rulebase is often a really big topic for

for a lot of customers um at least the

the government customers that I talked

to policies it's very easy for a policy

to get pretty out of control you're

adding rules you're taking on projects

you have contractors come in maybe

you're inheriting uh your policy from a

previous administrator spending a time

to optimize your rule base optimize

those you know unused objects goes a

long way in just you know making

everything just flow and and operate

much more

smoothly we'll also leverage Discovery

tools so any Discovery tool we use in in

our you know investigation and research

you'll get a copy of and those tools can

be anything from you know Pro support uh

Mak you know we have visibility to to

the the gateways from from a proactive

perspective Gateway sizing you know if

we have a Gateway that may be undersized

or maybe you know choking uh at you know

certain times of the day due to policy

volume or or just traffic volume let's

find out why and see if we can uh tune

some more performance out of it policy

analysis I mentioned before and then

just dis just general discussion and

whiteboard we want to hear from you what

the the challenges are where the pain

points are and how we can help resolve

those it's the value the takeaways from

it you're hopefully going to get a much

deeper understanding of of your

checkpoint environment you can improve

just that overall efficiency that the

day-to-day usage of it uh you'll align

with checkpoint best practices uh so you

can say you know checkpoint reviewed my

environment and you know didn't see any

uh

you know red flags or or blatant gaps in

in the wall and and we we're good to go

you'll have an improved incident

Readiness uh that has come up a few

times with customers because it's not

even a matter of if I'll have an

incident it's when I'll have an incident

and after you do a workshop or best

practices Workshop because you have a

deeper understanding you're much more

able to react you're much more able to

handle those incidents that are you know

inevitably coming your way

and I'm going to hopefully connect you

guys to the proper tools and resources

so if we have to do a deep dive on you

know very specific product if we need to

have you know really in-depth

conversations with R&D or or a product

specialist uh we can absolutely make

that happen and uh you know build those

build those relationships and touch

points excuse me and finally it's not

meant to point fingers uh we the last

thing we want to do is is have it be a

an examination exercise where the

existing security team is is you know

meant to look back that is not the goal

here we just want to understand you know

what areas of the environment what

aspects just need more attention need

Improvement you know leverage a best

practices Workshop to help justify you

know maybe an additional spend from from

your you know the powers it be maybe we

need to think about more uh you know

education you know let let's find out

how we can improve things from from a

holistic perspective as well as a

technical

perspective so we'll go into a few

examples of what we can reveal

here so Performance Tuning um and this

is a a screenshot from a pro report by

the way this looks familiar for for some

folks out there um Dy Dynamic balancing

is not turned on uh this is one of those

features that by default should be

turned on and it makes a big difference

as far as performance and just overall

traffic um you know traffic handling if

there was a particular reason Dynamic

balancing was turned off let's find out

why there it's no certain rules certain

diagnostic scripts um can sometimes

break Dynamic balancing maybe it was

turned off to do some debugging and then

somebody just forgot to turn it back on

uh but it's a good thing that we caught

it in this report and it's you know in

this case it was a pretty

straightforward uh fix to just turn it

back on and oh all of a sudden our

utilization drops you know 20% for that

Gateway detecting smoke before the fire

oftentimes we'll start to see problems

or potential problems before they become

larger ones or or or worst case scenar

even outages uh so in this case we had

an interface that was you know basically

just being overrun core core XL being

being overrun and the que just wasn't

able to handle this this Deluge of

traffic and we were dropping packets you

know 15,000 packet drops depending on

the size of environment can be a whole

lot or or very little um and in this

case the the customer was unaware uh

that that this this was even happening

and as we watched over the next few days

that 15,000 figure slowly started to

climb and as soon as we increase the Q

size we we got that packet drop uh issue

under control and and uh you know no no

outages or or affected you know tickets

were were ever opened uh for for that

particular

one so when you conduct a workshop um

whether it be a security one a security

Workshop or a best practice Workshop

process flow is is very straightforward

we do an introduction call not very

uh dissimilar to conversation we're

having right here um I'll distribute the

the documents the the blank documents

and and basically the the stencil that

we're going to follow along the way for

reference we'll examine the areas that

we want to focus on if there's a

particular section that we really want

to you know deep dive on or or you know

add a little bit more content to we can

certainly do that um and then we'll go

into an interview session and that

interview we'll we'll basically be

running through the the questions that

that'll show in a minute building out

the report and then doing uh some data

collection and and research and that's

going to come from the the tools that I

showed

earlier after we take the output of our

tools our interview um interview

information we'll then take that back

and digest all of that and then produce

a uh delivery document and an action

plan

and that document will prioritize the

findings that we found the the gaps that

we might be concerned about and then we

can have a a conversation on how we want

to attack this how how do we want to

prioritize this is this something that

we can easily handle ourselves um you

know that the customer can do themselves

that you know the checkpoint sales team

can assist or do we have to have a

conversation with a trusted partner or

Professional Services you know maybe

some larger upgrades and and

implementation a work uh needs to be

done um and that that's really what we

want to structure out and figure and

figure

out the reviews themselves can take

anywhere from a few hours to a full day

uh depending on the complexity of the

environment and and how granularly we we

need to go uh we have done uh best

practice workshops for customers as

small as I believe this C was a

municipality in rural Kentucky he had

seven users and he was the admin for

seven users he he wanted to do it and uh

I I think they got a lot of value from

it um all the way up to Major Telos um

and Telos that I'm sure you're using

right now National

level uh we need to have an

understanding of the business

functionality as well as as as

operations so I mentioned that earlier

we're not just looking at you know

configurations and buttons and switches

within the gateways we want to

understand as a whole how where does

checkpoint sit in the environment what

are the driving factors that that

influence how the checkpoint is is

implemented and again if there's any

specific areas of Interest we certainly

want to cover

those at the end you'll see a completed

review document I'll show a sample here

in a few in a few minutes the output of

any tools that we used so whether that's

uh you know Gateway sizing or Pro report

you you'll all get copies of that and

then after we complete our engagement

we'll have touch points along the way to

to you know make sure that we're

following the path and keeping up with

with our changes and making sure you

know that doesn't kind of slip through

the cracks and and get lost and and uh

you know keep things moving in the right

direction all right

let me switch to a quick sample report

and then we'll open it up to

questions so to visualize what it what

it looks like so B basically you're

going to get a Best Practices review

document these are the chapters that

we're going to cover and each chapter

has a series of questions that we give a

rating to

ratings very basic either doesn't apply

doesn't exist it exists but is not ideal

or it's perfect and we wouldn't change a

thing and then based on you know the

discussion we have the research we do

with our tools we can build a ratings a

rating for for each item there'll also

be reference information for each item

so if we're discussing something like an

RMA for example you know making sure we

have a good RMA uh hygiene you know

having documentation ready local having

locally stored copies of code being

familiar with you know isomorphic

utilities and if we ever need to

understand what the official RMA process

is the link is is attached right in the

report same goes for other items like

such as life cycle certification paths

uh etc etc so as you move through the

document it's it's a good snapshot in

time but also a good reference material

to go back to and say oh yeah we

discussed SNMP monitoring where's that

SK to to configure SNMP right there in

the dock

each

section is then boiled down into a radar

graph to give us an output just a handy

visualization on what's going very well

and What needs a little help so in this

scenario Hardware was excellent no

configuration uh modifications needed

everything was turned on running really

smoothly consolidation and

virtualization was also very good but we

need to spend a little time on the

policy and Rule BAS it was a few years

old it had seen a lot of different

administrators it had a lot of unused

objects cleanup is fairly

straightforward but you know we just

have to make time to to get it done uh

training was a gap for this customer

they had again inherited it from a

previous administrator they weren't you

know all that familiar with checkpoint

uh before coming on so let's make sure

you have a clear path to training you

have the training resources

available and basically just spelling

those out so uh another recommendation

here was was endpoint management

resiliency so this customer wasn't able

to leverage cloud-based

management um or or it was something

that they were at least considering uh

or not sure about so all right if we

can't do cloud-based endpoint management

let's at least have some kind of

redundancy you know whether virtualized

or or an appliance or or whatever it is

uh training I mentioned earlier pointing

you guys in the right direction of

whether it's you know starting up ccsa

or there's all types of uh low cost or

no cost training resources out there and

policy review and optimization I

mentioned earlier and and why that's

important we take those recommendations

and items and then essentially have a

discussion on how we want to prioritize

that and that's is our go forward plan

so in this case we wanted to bring the

migration uh to Smart One Cloud at least

for Gateway management right to the top

that was something they were very

interested in review the policy and Rule

base of yet smart optimize was their

next step enrollment and training and

and and

certifications and then uh making sure

we keep up with with endpoint client

version updates uh was was was the final

item and as I mentioned earlier once we

have these down on paper we can you know

really decide okay you know this is

something we're we're able to handle as

as a local team this is this is not a

big deal or if this is just going to be

way too labor intensive too big to take

on let's talk to our partner let's talk

to Professional Services and uh you know

bring bring our radar grath all the way

out to uh you know three out of three

across the

board so yeah essentially that is how a

a best practices uh Workshop

runs uh obviously each review and

workshop is a little bit different uh

but yeah opening uh opening uh our time

up here to any questions that might be

out there yep we have some questions for

you AJ uh first off what's the customers

investment in this as far as time and

prerequisites for this best practice

Workshop so time the time

investment we're we're very flexible in

that way so the reviews themselves can

take anywhere from a few hours to I mean

half a day is is really really that's a

big one uh for us the Strategic Telco

customers that we've done this with

those take multiple days just because

they're they're so complex but I would

say on average for you know an

organization uh you know maybe a couple

dozen gateways um even multi-domain

environments half a day to a few hours I

would say could you break it up there's

one I just thought of can you break it

up for different technology say you're

only dealing with the cloud teams just

do a cloud best practice absolutely and

we've done that before so I've I've done

um workshops in basically three parts so

session one is the non- bus stuff

session two is is you know the policy

and Gateway side and then the the last

uh section is just the cloud and and

mobile folks so yeah we can you know

splice it up however works for for

everyone's schedule okay and I'm sorry

if you didn't I didn't hear your answer

here but uh be I know you said the time

that the customer but what about

prerequisites before you get there is

there anything that customer should do

before you kick off this best

practice no I mean not necessarily for

for a security Workshop yes there are

some prerequisites involved so for for a

security Workshop we're going to want to

we're going to need some some additional

sensors in place some additional data

Gathering um as far as is saying I want

to start a best practices Workshop

there's no

prerequisites uh unless you know you can

tell us you know day one we know this

Gateway is undersized let's you know

launch the sizing utility and find out

how undersized it is um that's not

something that necessarily has to be

done ahead of time but you know that's

something we we'll want to look at uh

you know going going into the workshop

gotcha uh this one maybe it'll make more

sense to you but uh does this also apply

to Partners who have multiple

customers absolutely yeah so this can be

done um for for any number of you know

checkpoint customers or or you know use

cases um I mean we we have customers

that are doing these on a recurring

basis so we have a a number of of uh

municipalities actually state

governments that have run one of these

got a lot of value from it really you

know got a real clear Direction on on

where and how they want to move things

forward they said great come back to us

in six months come back to us in a year

run it again

um and you know we hopefully we'll see

an improvement over time yep absolutely

I think that covers it for questions so

thank you AJ great information um but

like you said here you know these are

very valuable you know no cost to you

except for some time investment but you

know no matter the size of your

environment this can make your envir

checkpoint environment more stable you

know Direction you know what tools are

out there to help you be more stable so

you know no matter what size you are I

highly encourage you talking to your

account team and get one of these

scheduled and like AJ said you know year

over-year doing another check in down

the road and make sure you're still on

the right path um oh somebody just asked

if we had one before can we do it again

absolutely of course it's encouraged

yeah yeah encouraged to do it again yes

B yeah abuse your team to get another

one scheduled just to check in and see

where you are and make sure you're

moving in the right direction and

obviously as your environment Go grows

or you get new equipment or new products

there's other things that we can include

in this too so absolutely you know

whatever works for you I'm glad you

mentioned that Rob actually the the use

cases we've seen time and time again um

ahead of a renewal uh maybe ahead of an

Infinity contract or even just a level

set you know litness test of you know

how secure is my environment um Ju Just

any of those use cases you you see a lot

of value

there absolutely oh got some more

questions here for you one is can I have

access to that document do you mean your

doc I was just going to clarify do you

mean your document after the workshop or

do you mean the sample one that AJ is

showing if you can just throw that

answer in the in both scenarios the

answer is yes okay you can have the

sample Doc and then at the end of the uh

engagement you get a copy of the

completed report yeah okay great uh

another one here how many gateways and

managers will be handled with this best

practice Workshop as as many as we need

to so for the large Telco we were

dealing with thousands of gateways um

and then for the small municipality it

was just it was just the

one yeah I mean any size customer no

matter what I mean obviously it would be

great to capture the entire checkpoint

footprint so we get a good handle on

everything but like we said we can break

it up in sections too if that's what you

prefer for big customers um that have

you know hundreds of 100 if if we don't

want to look at every single one um a

lot of times we'll take a sample size

you know so if it's a multi-domain we'll

take one of those domains um and and

kind of focus on that to to make sure we

don't get too much

sprawl I think that covers it please you

have any questions type them in quickly

I'll go through our end here um thank

you again AJ great

information we'll send that follow-up

email with any reference content and

recording link of this session

our next webinar will be in two weeks

you'll see the invitation for that soon

with that we'll let you go thanks again

for joining us we'll see you here next

time thank you AJ and everyone else

enjoy your day talk to you later bye all

thank you