Fortinet FortiGate SWG vs Symantec Secure Web Gateway comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Lookout
Sponsored
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
24th
Average Rating
7.2
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
Mobile Data Protection (7th), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (12th), Threat Intelligence Platforms (18th), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (43rd), Mobile Threat Defense (2nd), ZTNA as a Service (13th), ZTNA (10th), Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) (18th)
Fortinet FortiGate SWG
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
4th
Average Rating
8.6
Number of Reviews
39
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Symantec Secure Web Gateway
Ranking in Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
32nd
Average Rating
6.6
Number of Reviews
10
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of June 2024, in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category, the mindshare of Lookout is 0.4%, up from 0.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate SWG is 8.1%, up from 7.0% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Symantec Secure Web Gateway is 0.8%, down from 1.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
Unique Categories:
Mobile Data Protection
7.1%
Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB)
0.8%
No other categories found
No other categories found
 

Featured Reviews

ML
Dec 22, 2022
Allows users to self-remediate security issues, maintaining their privacy and providing excellent vulnerability detection
We just submitted an enhancement request reflecting the main area we want to see improvement in; the APIs. Currently, we're able to build dashboards, but it's somewhat backward because we use our MDM API to create them. Lookout should provide APIs to customers so we can query our data and use it in the cloud, and this is the only outstanding area for improvement with the product right now. Another improvement could be a more streamlined activation process for Android and iOS; there are several prompts when activating the application on a new device, and if that could be adapted to one click, that would be beneficial.
Pravin Mandlik - PeerSpot reviewer
Oct 19, 2023
Offers proxy and web filtering, assists in meeting compliance requirements by facilitating log reports and highly scalable solution
I would rate my experience with the initial setup an eight out of ten, where one is difficult, and ten is easy. Usually, the deployment model is in a private cloud. It can be deployed as an on-prem solution also. The customers have proxy gateways, and so it comes as an appliance as well or as hardware. The deployment takes days. It doesn't take weeks. But it depends on the customer environment, like the number of users and what policies need to be configured for that. So, it depends on the complexity as far as configurations are concerned. But it definitely can be done in days, and it doesn't take more than ten odd days or so, depending upon the scope.
Mohamed Elgindy - PeerSpot reviewer
May 18, 2022
Easy to set up with good features and helpful support
As a proxy, there are many features are available that benefit the customers. This includes caching, the security appliance, the cloud of service, and many other features. It offers an easy initial setup.  The reports could be better. For example, the report is installed on the VMware Virtual…

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The protection offered by the product is the most valuable feature. It detects vulnerabilities or traps on our users' phones and then prompts them to clean up their devices. Tools we used previously would only discover, which required us to gather information on the backend, so Lookout is a welcome upgrade."
"On the outside, the main differentiation is because Lookout ingest. They have ingested basically all of the apps for the last ten years and all the versions of all the apps, and we have that in a corporate database that allows us to do very large-scale machine learning and analysis on that data set. That's not something that any of the competitors really have the capability to do because they don't have access to the data set. A lot of the apps you can no longer get them because that version of the app is five or six years old, and it just doesn't exist anywhere anymore, except within our infrastructure. So, the ability to have that very rich dataset and learn from that dataset is a real differentiator."
"The solution is stable."
"The most valuable features are the antivirus as a whole, the anti-malware, and all of the protection features that scan our enterprise devices."
"The interface is user-friendly, so it's easy to add policies and block traffic."
"The most useful features are application control, web filtering, and SD-WAN."
"One of the features I appreciate the most is application control which offers great flexibility."
"Web filtering is the most useful feature."
"The user interface is intuitive. Anyone can configure the firewall with little knowledge of the product. The back-end is robust with good security."
"The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiGate SWG is inspection."
"The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiGate SWG is its stability."
"The product is stable and strong."
"In terms of most valuable features, I like the ICAP capability and URL filtering the most."
"It offers an easy initial setup."
"It's nice to have it in the cloud where we can pull the reporting together for it so we can see what's happening in machines at different locations."
"It is easy to manage. The graphical user interface is quite easy to navigate, and we don't have any difficulty in using it. It is a good solution."
"The most valuable features are the website blocking capability and SSL interception."
"The most valuable feature is the endpoint security."
"It has a faster implementation process compared to other products."
"It is a stable solution."
 

Cons

"The stability depends on the service from where you access it. Because sometimes, the place you are in, you have Gateway. You don't have Gateway. The gateway is overutilized. At the end, you need to go through their gateways. And this is the key point here. You have a tracking point. If it's not well orchestrated, and it scales up as you add more to the existing team, you will suffer"
"Lookout was moving into the SSE space. And so their work on SecureWeb Gateway and SD-WAN is still sort of evolving."
"From the analysis that we've done, they do seem to be maybe a step behind in trying to enter the market with a new solution. But when they do pick up, they do come out with some good products."
"We just submitted an enhancement request reflecting the main area we want to see improvement in; the APIs. Currently, we're able to build dashboards, but it's somewhat backward because we use our MDM API to create them. Lookout should provide API to customers so we can query our data and use it in our cloud, and this is the only outstanding area for improvement with the product right now."
"Support could be improved."
"They should make the product user-friendly and enhance the security features."
"The UI/UX experience can be a little better."
"They should consider making some improvements regarding the pricing."
"Fortinet's support team consists of a huge networking team, because of which there is a delay in response at times."
"The software is a bit expensive to renew."
"What could be improved in Fortinet FortiGate SWG is its pricing because it's a bit higher. If it's cheaper, my company could pitch it to customers and engage with customers better about it. What I'd like to see in the next release of Fortinet FortiGate SWG is an improvement in its dashboard or GUI. I'd like it to be more user-friendly."
"The graphical user interface of Fortinet FortiGate SWG is an area of concern where improvements are required."
"The interface could be made more user-friendly."
"There's a need for increased firewall functionality and capabilities. I'm not seeing a competitive Symantec cloud product. Specifically, functionalities with security as filtering from the cloud. I am aware that there is a product, a proxy in the cloud but I have compared it with other vendors and I don't find it that powerful. I think the worst thing that we're experiencing is very poor and inadequate technical support. It seems to me that tech support engineers aren't qualified to fulfill their job duties."
"The platform’s data center is not capable of managing most of the traffic."
"It's not user-friendly, and we end up making too many phone calls to get things fixed."
"The reports could be better."
"It needs to be easier to set up rules for what sites it should allow or not allow us in certain areas of our computer for programs. It would also be nice really nice to have it give you better information about what it's finding. A lot of the alerts we get are very difficult to understand what it's actually telling you. It's too generic."
"The major challenge is their support. The support from Broadcom is quite poor. It takes forever for them to get back to you, and when they get back to you, they ask you for so much information, which makes it more difficult. That's the only problem I have with Broadcom. This is one of the reasons why we are switching to another solution. Another reason for switching is that we have a plan to adopt solutions in the cloud so that we can offload the administration efforts to the vendor. In future releases, they can improve its reporting and the process for rules creation. They can also improve Broadcom on things such as security information and event management so that from my same platform, I can carry out functions and probably block websites. Such a feature would be nice. Currently, Broadcom is integrated with McAfee to block access to certain sites automatically. It would be nice if they can expand their integration to IBM Resilient Security Orchestration and Automation Response."
"Difficult and time-consuming to deploy and update."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is fair; it's comparable to our previous solution, and we carried out multiple POCs and POVs (proof of value). The product is worth the money we pay for it."
"The licensing costs are good. Prisma has much more options and support for security, but it has a higher cost. For example, Lookout costs 2/3rd of Prisma's licensing price."
"Lookout is definitely on the lower end when it comes to price point and that seems to be the only differentiator. The technology is in place in this space and it's really about who is coming in at the better price point now."
"In terms of feature performance versus cost, they're a good value."
"The solution is cheap."
"It is around $50,000 per month."
"FortiGate SWG is reasonably priced."
"We pay about $4,000 for a yearly license, and there aren't any additional fees."
"FortiGate SWG is a cost-effective solution well-suited for organisations of all sizes."
"It is a cost-effective solution that meets the user's needs."
"I rate the price of Fortinet FortiGate SWG a seven and a half out of ten since it is not a cheap solution, though I feel it is a good product for the money one pays."
"The product is expensive."
"There is an additional charge for advanced security features."
"Pricing and licensing is stunted and licensing is expensive. We have many customers who are now thinking about other solutions due to the cost."
"Symantec Secure Web Gateway is less expensive than one of its competitors."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
19%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Government
6%
Computer Software Company
16%
Government
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Computer Software Company
15%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Lookout?
The licensing costs are good. Prisma has much more options and support for security, but it has a higher cost. For ex...
What needs improvement with Lookout?
The solution could improve identity integration as well. Zero trust, it's a good start as a zero-trust solution. More...
What do you like most about Fortinet FortiGate SWG?
The interface and other reports are all user-friendly.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiGate SWG?
The renewable is lower because the market doesn’t accept it publicly.
What do you like most about Symantec Secure Web Gateway?
It has a faster implementation process compared to other products.
What needs improvement with Symantec Secure Web Gateway?
The platform’s data center is not capable of managing most of the traffic.
 

Also Known As

CipherCloud
FortiGate SWG, FortiGate Secure Web Gateway
Symantec Complete Website Security
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Salt Lake County, Catholic College Bendigo, Azienda Unita Sanitaria
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiGate SWG vs. Symantec Secure Web Gateway and other solutions. Updated: May 2024.
787,779 professionals have used our research since 2012.