Hardware Firewalls — Ubiquiti & Watchguard

By choice. Meraki forces ongoing per-device licensing — if the licence lapses, the firewall stops filtering traffic. We prefer Ubiquiti UniFi (one-time hardware cost, no mandatory ongoing licence) and Watchguard Firebox (predictable, transparent subscription with no licence-cliff). Both give us better long-term value for Adelaide small businesses.

If you handle customer data, take card payments, host remote workers, or run any cloud business application — yes. A consumer modem-router is not a firewall. A proper hardware firewall gives you intrusion detection, content filtering, segmented guest Wi-Fi (customers can't see your business network), VPN for remote staff, and QoS for VoIP calls. It's the single biggest security uplift most SMBs can make.

Yes — both site-to-site VPN (e.g. linking two business locations) and remote-user VPN (so staff can securely connect to the office network from home or while travelling). Ubiquiti UniFi Identity, Teleport and WireGuard, plus Watchguard Mobile VPN with SSL — configured, deployed and tested on each staff laptop and mobile.

Yes — we offer ongoing management retainers covering rule updates, firmware patching, monthly health checks and incident response. Or, if you'd rather, we hand the platform over with full documentation and you manage it yourself (we'll still be on call if something breaks). Both options are quoted transparently up-front.