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Aruba Orchestrator vs Cisco Meraki vMX comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiGate
Sponsored
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
1st
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
575
Ranking in other categories
Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (2nd), Firewalls (1st), Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) (1st), WAN Edge (1st), ZTNA (2nd), Unified Threat Management (UTM) (1st)
Aruba Orchestrator
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
9th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.4
Number of Reviews
11
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Cisco Meraki vMX
Ranking in Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions
15th
Average Rating
9.6
Reviews Sentiment
5.2
Number of Reviews
2
Ranking in other categories
Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (23rd)
 

Featured Reviews

Vasu Gala - PeerSpot reviewer
A stable solution with an intuitive interface and quick customer service
I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate, WatchGuard, Sophos, and SonicWall. I'm not as comfortable with SonicWall because of their UI and limitations. I prefer Fortinet above all other options. When it comes to configuration, I am confident in my ability to handle various tasks, including creating policies such as firewall rules, web policies, and application policies. Additionally, I can configure VPNs and implement load balancing, among other tasks. Overall, I feel much more comfortable working with Fortinet. Fortinet has made significant improvements by integrating AI with firewalls for threat analysis and prevention. In the past 2-3 years, they have launched FortiSASE and SIEM, and they also provide SOC services. Both Palo Alto and Fortinet FortiGate are excellent. While Fortinet FortiGate comes at higher prices, the functionality and support justify the cost. They promptly resolve firmware issues and inform all support providers about configuration changes.
LipazHessel - PeerSpot reviewer
Has streamlined SD-WAN management and improved network segmentation but would benefit from stronger multi-tenancy and pricing adjustments
It would be great if they would have a fully multi-tenant solution on their Orchestrator. Aruba SD-WAN solutions are always expensive. I don't think that it will change. It's an argument for many years. This is why we are doing other vendors as well, which today were bought by Aruba, Juniper for example.
Mansukh Bhesania - PeerSpot reviewer
Have worked confidently across large deployments and ensured long-term reliability for critical sectors
I have used Cisco Meraki vMX dashboard's orchestration feature with this product. The Meraki dashboard helps manage our network effectively because it is quite easy; we manage ourselves very well. Performance-wise, there is no problem with Cisco Meraki vMX's integrated analytics for network performance, as my 70 to 80 customers use Cisco only. We do business with semi-enterprise customers, and there is no competition against Cisco except for the wireless solutions from Aruba. We find it easy to promote Cisco Meraki vMX because the centralized dashboard is there for management, and the customers accept it without any problem. From a sales point of view, it is easy to integrate, and nowadays, the 93 is also part of the Meraki desktop.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate SWG are IPS and scanning."
"Some of the key features of the solution is that it has good reporting, you can receive many details from the connection, for example, clients and website information."
"One of the best features of Fortinet FortiGate is that it's a very powerful equipment that gives many security features in a single box with good performance, and the user interface is friendly to use and configure."
"The solution protects the environment from internal and external threats."
"The best feature of Fortinet FortiGate is value for money. It is very easy to deploy and scale. It saves us costs and increases bandwidth throughput."
"The most valuable aspects of FortiGate NGFW are its top-notch reputation in peer reviews, user-friendly interface, and excellent support."
"The key features include SD-WAN, firewall use, intrusion prevention, intrusion detection, and application control."
"The technical support is great."
"The technical support services are excellent."
"The solution has a single pane of glass view that allows you to see everything happening in your SD-WAN world."
"The most valuable feature is optimization."
"The Business Intent Overlay is a great feature."
"The most important feature is WAN optimization."
"The product has reduced OpEx expenditure."
"The best features of Aruba Orchestrator are that it's basically a management product, so it's everything that is integrated in the SD-WAN in SASE; it's really great that it connects today all the gateways and SD-WAN solution with the SASE and the zero trust network access."
"I rate Aruba Orchestrator ten out of ten."
"The Meraki dashboard helps manage our network effectively because it is quite easy; we manage ourselves very well."
 

Cons

"Improvements could be made when companies expand and need better equipment and more licenses."
"Fortinet FortiGate needs to improve to be on par with its competitors, such as Palo Alto and Sophos. They are the market leaders. Fortinet FortiGate needs to improve its capabilities. However, we are happy with Fortinet FortiGate."
"There should be better customization in the IPS."
"There is one big configuration file with no separations for the unique VDOMs. Maybe they could separate individual VDOM configuration files with the root VDOM configuration file referencing the individual VDOM config files.​"
"The solution is expensive."
"The stability of Fortinet FortiGate could improve."
"The cloud features can be improved."
"The feature which gives us a lot of pain is ASIC architecture."
"The solution lacks sufficient security features."
"We also had a POC with a Juniper product, and the Juniper Mist is actually outstanding. If you compare it with Juniper, that is the reason I have given it an eight."
"The initial setup is complex, depending on the overall planning for the entire environment."
"We don't see return on investment, but we love the technology, so we purchase because of the technology."
"The management menu should be simplified."
"Aruba Orchestrator should implement dynamic certificate changes for security."
"They could provide essential training to understand the product functionality."
"The price should be improved as it is very high. The Aruba products are expensive."
"It is not the strongest security solution, so if you want to have next-generation firewall features, you always need an additional component."
"In comparison with Aruba, I find Aruba to be far better in terms of deployment, ClearPass, and everything, which is all very easy."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Fortinet's pricing is more straightforward than other solutions. If Fortinet doesn't stick out when you're searching for a solution, you are a glutton for punishment. You only need to know two things when purchasing a Fortinet solution: your total bandwidth and bandwidth at the site. You need to estimate the future bandwidth with other solutions if your customer plans to upgrade."
"A year or two years back, its price was competitive and reasonable. That was one of the reasons that people easily switched to Fortinet. Over the last two years, the prices have increased drastically. However, the prices of others have also increased. An advantage is there from the price point but not as much as it was previously."
"The price of Fortinet FortiGate when compared to other solutions is high. However, my knowledge of the price is from third parties and I am not sure how accurate it is. I typically work in the technical area of my organization."
"The product is not very expensive."
"While slightly more affordable than competitors, it remains relatively expensive due to its inclusive subscription."
"We have the full version of Fortinet FortiGate and we are on a three-year contract with a commitment of five years."
"We pay for the license of Fortinet FortiGate IPS annually. There are not any extra costs."
"There is a license required to use Fortinet FortiGate with all the features. It has to be updated with the threats on an ongoing basis for the signatures to prevent threats and a license is needed to receive those security updates."
"I think it is quite expensive compared to other vendors in the market because it depends on what kind of features you really want to acquire in the product."
"I rate the platform’s pricing a five out of ten."
"The solution's licensing costs are yearly. It is not expensive, and I rate it around three to four out of ten."
"Aruba Orchestrator is free to use."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
15%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
6%
No data available
No data available
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business350
Midsize Enterprise130
Large Enterprise187
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise1
Large Enterprise5
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

Which is the better NGFW: Fortinet Fortigate or Cisco Firepower?
When you compare these firewalls you can identify them with different features, advantages, practices and usage a...
What is the biggest difference between Sophos XG and FortiGate?
From my experience regarding both the Sophos and FortiGate firewalls, I personally would rather use FortiGate. I know...
What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?
As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Silver Peak Unity Orchestrator?
Regarding my experience with the pricing and setup costs, I find it expensive software compared to others.
What needs improvement with Silver Peak Unity Orchestrator?
I would probably have to look at areas of improvement for Aruba Orchestrator and then provide feedback, but overall, ...
What needs improvement with Cisco Meraki vMX?
It is not the strongest security solution, so if you want to have next-generation firewall features, you always need ...
What is your primary use case for Cisco Meraki vMX?
We are training companies and recommend Cisco Meraki vMX for every company doing cloud solutions and using Meraki in ...
What advice do you have for others considering Cisco Meraki vMX?
The solution can be implemented successfully. We are using this product ourselves and would recommend it to others. T...
 

Also Known As

No data available
Silver Peak Unity Orchestrator, Unity Orchestrator
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Dell, HP, Oracle, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Orange, BT Group, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, SoftBank, China Mobile, Singtel, Telus, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Telkom Indonesia, Telkom South Africa, Telmex, Telia Company, Telkom Kenya
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