Cloudflare vs F5 Shape Security comparison

Cloudflare is a highly-regarded Content Delivery Network (CDN) and a Distribution Denial of Service (DDoS) protection solution. The robust global cloud platform that is Cloudflare ensures users are able to connect to the internet quickly, securely, and reliably. Cloudflare is one of the world's largest networks in the marketplace today. Using Cloudflare, businesses, educational entities, NGOs, vloggers, bloggers, and anyone else with an internet presence can use the solution and experience more secure, faster websites and applications.

Currently, there are millions of internet locations on Cloudflare, and the Cloudflare network continues to grow every day by the thousands. The solution is able to fulfill the requests for millions of websites seamlessly and serves on average 45 million HTTP requests per second.

Cloudflare has safe, secure data centers in close to 300 cities worldwide to ensure every client request is filled as quickly as possible. It is Cloudflare’s edge network that makes this possible by keeping content and other services as close to each client as possible, so the information requests are always only seconds away.

Many organizations that work in democracy, civil society, human rights, or the arts are able to access Cloudflare highest levels of protection for free via Project Galileo. Additionally, official election websites can be secured from hacking and fraud through Cloudflare’s Project Athenian, also at no additional cost.

Cloudflare can also help organizations of all sizes develop a robust zero-trust strategy to ensure the highest levels of productivity and profitability. Employees, stakeholders, and end-users have a greater level of satisfaction and overall improved user experience, which can, in turn, result in higher revenues and overall ROI. Zero-trust and BYOD ( bring your own device) access ensure end-users and employees always have the best resources and technology available to them at all times.

Cloudflare Benefits

Cloudflare has many benefits. Some of its most valuable benefits include:

• Faster load times
• Robust DNS security
• Intuitive cloud Web Application Firewall (WAF)
• Free universal SSL
• Image Enhancement
• Automatic Browser Caching
• Next-generation cloud load balancer
• Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)
• Rate Limiting
• Minification
• Zero-trust capabilities 
• Cost-effective
• Reduced carbon footprint

Reviews from Real Users

“Many websites require an SSL certificate because they sell stuff and want SSL. Cloudflare comes with an SSL certificate built in. It's automatic. You sign yourself up for Cloudflare, and an SSL certificate automatically protects your website. If you have a connection between your website and your host, the server, Cloudflare, and the host, you don't necessarily need a certificate.”  Spencer M., Owner at Tech Exchange

“What I like best about Cloudflare is that my company can use it to trace and manage applications and monitor traffic. The solution tells you if there's a spike in traffic. Cloudflare also sends you a link to check your equipment and deployment and track it through peering, so it's a valuable tool.” Daniel P., Network engineer at Ufinet

“The most valuable feature of Cloudflare is the GUI. You are able to control the solution very well through the interface. There is a lot of functionality that is embedded in the service.” A PeerSpot user who is a Competence Center Manager at a tech services company. 

The Shape technology platform, covered by 50+ patents, stops automated fraud and other attacks on web and mobile applications, including credential stuffing, account takeover, scraping, and unauthorized aggregation. Shape is one of the largest processors of login traffic in the world, protects more than 1.3 billion user accounts, and prevented more than $1 billion in fraud losses last year.

Shape solutions leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning, among other technologies, to accurately determine in real-time if an application request is from a fraudulent source, and if so, effectively mitigate. As soon as new countermeasures are deployed, 5%-10% of attackers will typically attempt to retool and start a new attack. Shape solutions adapt and maintain full efficacy even as attackers evolve.

The world's leading banks, airlines, retailers, hotel chains, and federal agencies rely on Shape as their primary line of defense against sophisticated cybercrime.

Shape Solutions:

Shape Recognize: Identify returning, known users of your website and reduce authentication friction for these users. This enables organizations using Recognize a persistent and secure login experience where good users face less login challenges while still increasing online safety.

Shape AI Fraud Engine (SAFE): SAFE connects context across different browsers and devices used by the same user, as well as observations from across Shape’s entire network. This allows Shape's AI engine to drive down fraud each month as its engine consumes more data.

F5 Device ID+: A real-time and precise device identifier using advanced signal collection and machine learning to assign a unique fingerprint to each device visiting your site. Simple deployment with immediate results for security, networking, and fraud. Better understand the unique devices visiting your applications.

Shape Enterprise Defense: Invisibly protect every application from attack, fraud, and abuse. Defending the world's largest companies, Shape knows whether a request is bot or human driven and if the intent is malicious or benign. This allows Shape to prevent fraud in real-time; manage aggregated and partner access to applications and provide new data for better customer insights.

Shape was recognized by Cybercrime Magazine as one of the Hot 150 Cybersecurity companies in 2019 and CB Insights 2019 AI 100 most promising artificial intelligence startups across the globe.