Are you seeking more simplicity and choice to secure your applications and workloads in Google Cloud? You’re not alone. Too often the need to secure applications built and deployed in the cloud — or being moved to the cloud — can be a cumbersome and slow exercise for an organization in need of moving at cloud speed.

It doesn’t need to be that way, now that there are many choices available. And in partnership with Google Cloud, we are excited to announce two additional options. Today, Palo Alto Networks is proud to help Google Cloud introduce its scalable, cloud-native firewall service tier Cloud Firewall Plus that comes with Intrusion Prevention (IPS) capabilities using Palo Alto Networks Threat Prevention technologies. It is designed to easily deliver our best-in-class security protections with Google Cloud’s simplicity and scale. This service is currently available in preview.

We’re also delighted to announce our participation in the upcoming Google Cloud Network Service Integration Manager (NSIM). This offering, which will be available in preview later this year, offers easy deployment and integration with the VM-Series virtual Next-Generation firewalls (NGFWs).

These new offerings provide a choice of highly secure cloud network firewall deployment options to help protect your Google Cloud environment from network-based threats with best-of-breed virtual NGFWs powered by machine learning (ML). They have been designed to enable enterprises to move toward a Zero Trust security posture with easy tools for administrators to deploy, scale, and operate.

Get Cloud Network Security In Minutes with Cloud Firewall Plus

We know that no two organizations are alike, but simplification and speed is critical for the ongoing development, migration and deployment of applications in the cloud. Working in partnership with Google Cloud, we now provide another choice for next-generation virtual firewall deployment that improves and simplifies cloud security, no matter where you are on your digital transformation journey.

Many organizations prefer to use managed services in the cloud due to their scalability and ease of use. Palo Alto Networks and Google Cloud jointly delivered a cloud native managed service in 2021 with the launch of Google Cloud Intrusion Detection System (Cloud IDS). This allows customers to get on-demand application visibility and threat detection between workloads or containers in any Google Cloud virtual private cloud (VPC) to support application protections and meet compliance goals.

Cloud IDS has been well-received and we have seen numerous positive outcomes for customers, but until now, there remained a need for real-time prevention. Cloud Firewall Plus delivers on that promise with native inline security that protects against advanced threats. Customers get enterprise-grade security for east-west and north-south inspection. Cloud Firewall Plus offers network security posture controls to enforce L3/4 and L7 security policies across or within an organization. It also provides dynamic groups with exceptional granularity and flexibility so you can select the traffic you wish to inspect without interfering with your Google Cloud network’s current or future state.

Because it is a cloud-native service, Cloud Firewall Plus is simple and fast to deploy with managed scaling for high-performance and availability. You don't have to worry about deploying and managing infrastructure, and as a result, you get best-in-class security delivered as a cloud-native service that is easy to manage and operationalize.

Discover Simple, Consistent Security Across Domains with Network Services Integration Manager

Unifying security deployment and oversight across environments is another issue many organizations face. Today’s enterprises must manage infrastructure and security across multiple public and private clouds and on-premise environments. This complexity makes it difficult to have visibility and consistency across their security deployments.

Google Cloud’s Network Service Integration Manager (NSIM) addresses this complexity by allowing administrators to easily integrate trusted third-party virtual firewalls – including Palo Alto Networks VM-Series – for traffic inspection without the need to alter routing or network architectures.

This integration means that you can use VM-Series virtual firewalls to inspect perimeter traffic and traffic between VPCs and individual workloads. It also allows you to leverage Palo Alto Networks Panorama management system so you can manage network security from on-prem to the cloud with a single security tool.

Confidently and Securely Innovate with Two Industry Leaders

Cloud Firewall Plus and our participation in the NSIM are the latest innovations born of a partnership dedicated to helping you grow, operate and innovate securely on Google Cloud. These product offerings are meant to give you confidence in knowing that security is built into every level of the infrastructure, every stage of application development and at every endpoint in the world – anywhere across hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

This theme continues as you evaluate how to protect your hybrid workforce, providing consistent secure access to any application from any device, everywhere. In partnership with Google Cloud, we have extended support for the recently announced Cross-Cloud Network to Prisma Access. This unified network service enables you to consolidate user traffic and standardize security inspection around a comprehensive Security Services Edge (SSE).

These latest innovations highlight our shared dedication to securing your journey to the cloud and beyond, providing security at each phase of cloud adoption and extending coverage for each use case and level of maturity.

Now, you no longer have to make trade-offs between a cloud-native experience and best-in-class security.

You can get started with the public preview of Cloud Firewall Plus today. Plus, get ready for our solution launch webcast in September.