Key Benefits:
1.Inexpensive  yet strong ,a good balance between strength and affordability.
2.Does not demagnetized easily
3.Can be magnetized with multiple poles if necessary
4.Does not rust
Key challenge
1,Hard and brittle
2.Properties degrade linearly with temperature
Surface Treatments
No surface treatments are necessary  for ferrite magnets.Since they are essentially inert and do not oxidize.However,they can be coated with various epoxy coating for cleanliness purpose