If your goal is to move from an existing firewall or firewall service to a new firewall service, assistance in designing security policies isn't necessary. Most providers contacted for this story offer some kind of consultation to help develop that policy. Some, such as IBM or Genuity, may not offer security policy consultations in their base services. With a security policy designed, consider the kinds of security services necessary for your network. Obviously, firewalling is one of those services, but there are other requisites.
Authentication is one security service provided by all players.
Genuity did not offer intrusion detection at that time either, but expects to incorporate this feature by publication date. Virus checking is also widely supported by all players except Genuity. Not all vendors offer all services and none factor them into the base price. Accordingly, the specific firewall you use really makes a difference. Vincent Giordano, president and CEO of DefendNet, points out that Check Point provides an easy interface for integrating its Firewall-1 with other security devices, including virus scanners and content filters.