Last week we announced the availability of Cisco ASA with FirePOWER Services, which represents the industry's first threat-focused next-generation firewall (NGFW). This offering addresses threats across the full attack continuum anytime and anywhere a threat may manifest.

Today NSS Labs released the final reports from its 2014 comparative NGFW testing, focusing on security effectiveness, total cost of ownership (TCO), performance and management. Classic FirePOWER appliances, such as the FirePOWER 8350 and the new Cisco ASA with FirePOWER Services, were included and scored equally well in testing, specifically in security efficacy.

If you have been following the Cisco security strategy then our results will not be a huge surprise to you. And, if you haven't been following, then these results are going to be of great interest. In less than one year after the acquisition closed we have integrated leading next-generation IPS (NGIPS) and Advanced Malware Protection (AMP) into the Cisco ASA product line, and achieved this integration without compromising performance and continuing to innovate and focus on what matters: stopping threats. The below NSS Labs Security Value Map (SVM) visually depicts the results of this testing and includes Cisco ASA with FirePOWER Services and the classic FirePOWER 8350 appliance. All achieve top marks for security -the same position that FirePOWER appliances have always enjoyed.

Since the inception of Sourcefire, the focus has always been on providing the most effective security in the market. Cisco continues this focus on improving coverage, decreasing customer exposure, providing unmatched visibility, and empowering customers to protect your networks and customize that protection to match your infrastructure, applications, and risks. We go further in creating the best management capabilities available and deliver the combination through our purpose-built solutions designed for enterprise networks. We believe the combined platforms provide the best overall flexibility, coverage, value, and reliability there is.

We are proud to have our products lead the SVM for security effectiveness and we'll continue to commit to maintaining our leadership by providing our customers the best protection possible in as many ways as possible. If you have not seen them already you can download copies of the reports for the Cisco ASA with FirePOWER Services and the FirePOWER 8350.