Comparing CurrentWare Gateway Plans: Which Option Fits Your Organization?Choosing the right remote access and monitoring solution is critical for IT teams balancing security, usability, and budget. CurrentWare Gateway offers a way to connect remote endpoints securely, enabling management, monitoring, and control of employee devices outside the corporate network. This article compares CurrentWare Gateway plans, highlights key features and trade-offs, and gives guidance to help you select the best fit for your organization.
What CurrentWare Gateway does (brief overview)
CurrentWare Gateway acts as a secure bridge between on-premises CurrentWare servers (or management consoles) and remote endpoints. It allows administrators to apply policies, monitor activity, and access devices without exposing internal systems directly to the internet. Typical use cases include remote workforce monitoring, endpoint control for distributed teams, and secure troubleshooting.
Main plan categories (what to expect)
CurrentWare typically offers multiple tiers that vary by features, scale, and support options. While specific plan names and line-items can change, most vendors structure plans around these categories:
- Entry / Basic: Core connectivity and essential controls for small teams.
- Business / Standard: Adds expanded security features, larger device limits, and more management controls.
- Enterprise / Advanced: Full feature set, priority support, advanced integrations, and customization for large organizations.
Below I compare the common elements you’ll evaluate when choosing between plans.
Feature comparison
Feature / Need | Entry / Basic | Business / Standard | Enterprise / Advanced |
---|---|---|---|
Secure remote connectivity | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Number of supported devices | Small limits | Medium limits | High / Unlimited options |
Monitoring & reporting | Basic logs | Advanced reports, scheduling | Full analytics, customizable dashboards |
Policy enforcement (blocking/app restrictions) | Limited | Expanded controls | Full policy engine |
Integrations (SIEM, SSO, MDM) | Minimal | Common integrations | Enterprise integrations, API access |
High availability & clustering | No | Optional | Yes |
Role-based access control (RBAC) | Basic | Enhanced | Granular, customizable |
Priority support & SLA | Community / Standard | Business hours | ⁄7, dedicated account manager |
Pricing model | Per-user/device | Per-user/device or seat bundles | Negotiated enterprise pricing |
Security considerations
Security is the core reason organizations adopt a gateway product. When comparing plans, evaluate:
- Authentication: Does the plan support SSO and MFA? Higher tiers usually include SSO integrations (SAML/Okta) and stronger authentication controls.
- Encryption & transport: Is end-to-end encryption provided for remote sessions? All legitimate plans should; confirm protocols and cipher standards.
- Network exposure: Gateways should minimize exposed ports. Does the plan allow agent-based outbound connections only?
- Auditing & compliance: For regulated industries, Enterprise tiers often include detailed audit logs, exportable reports, and compliance-specific features.
Scalability & architecture
Consider current and projected device counts, geographic distribution, and redundancy needs.
- Small teams can often run a single gateway instance.
- Growing organizations may need clustering, load balancing, or geographically distributed gateways (usually Enterprise-level features).
- Ask about device licensing models (per device, per user, concurrent seats) and whether licenses can be pooled or transferred.
Usability & administration
Administration burden varies by plan:
- Basic plans emphasize simplicity and quick setup.
- Business plans add centralized policy management, scheduled reporting, and role separation.
- Enterprise plans provide granular RBAC, delegated administration, and integration with existing IT workflows (ticketing, SIEM).
If you have a small IT staff, prioritize plans with easier deployment and higher automation.
Support, training, and onboarding
Support can be a major differentiator:
- Basic tiers usually include standard email support and documentation.
- Mid-tier plans add phone support, faster response times, and onboarding assistance.
- Enterprise plans often include dedicated success managers, custom onboarding, and training sessions.
If your deployment is mission-critical or complex, budget for a higher-tier plan with strong SLA and onboarding help.
Pricing & total cost of ownership (TCO)
Compare not just sticker price but TCO:
- Licensing (per device/user), support fees, integration costs, and any required hardware.
- Time to deploy and ongoing admin labor.
- Potential savings from prevented security incidents or improved productivity.
Get a clear quote that includes all fees and ask about trial periods or pilot programs.
Which plan fits which organization?
- Small businesses / startups: Entry / Basic plan — enough to provide secure remote connectivity and basic monitoring without heavy cost or complexity.
- Midsize companies: Business / Standard — balances advanced reporting, stronger policy controls, and integration options for growing needs.
- Large enterprises / regulated industries: Enterprise / Advanced — needed for high availability, strict compliance, deep integrations, and priority support.
Decision checklist (quick)
- How many devices/users will be managed now and in 12–24 months?
- Do you need SSO, MFA, and advanced authentication?
- Are there compliance or auditing requirements?
- Will you require high availability or geographic redundancy?
- What level of vendor support and onboarding do you need?
- What integrations (SIEM, MDM, ticketing) are must-haves?
Final recommendation
Start with a pilot: test the Gateway on a representative subset of devices and realistic scenarios (remote access, policy enforcement, reporting). Use pilot results to validate performance, administration overhead, and user impact before committing to a full-scale plan. For most organizations, the Business/Standard tier is the sweet spot; choose Enterprise only if you need the advanced scale, compliance, or SLA assurances.
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