BMC Helix Cloud Security vs FortiCNAPP comparison

BMC Helix and Fortinet are both solutions in the Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) category. BMC Helix is ranked #26, while Fortinet is ranked #13 with an average rating of 7.9. BMC Helix holds a 1.5% mindshare in CWPP, compared to Fortinet’s 4.1% mindshare. Additionally, 80% of BMC Helix users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 89% of Fortinet users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Feb 22, 2026

BMC Helix Cloud Security and FortiCNAPP compete in cloud security solutions. FortiCNAPP seems to have the upper hand with stronger integrations and customization, but BMC Helix Cloud Security offers competitive pricing and superior support.

Features: BMC Helix Cloud Security excels in automated security compliance, operational efficiency, and robust reporting tools. Its automated remediation of cloud IaaS and PaaS misconfigurations is a notable feature, and it provides a unified view across multi-cloud environments. FortiCNAPP stands out for advanced threat detection and scalable integrations, offering enhanced threat intelligence and a unified view across multi-cloud setups.

Room for Improvement: BMC Helix Cloud Security could improve in offering more advanced threat detection and broader customization options. Its flexible deployment modes could be further refined for better user engagement. The tool could also benefit from more robust integrations with third-party solutions. FortiCNAPP could enhance ease of deployment and reduce the learning curve. Its offerings would benefit from improved vulnerabilities detection and addressing the need for more in-house expertise. More seamless support for initial deployment stages would enhance user experience.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: BMC Helix Cloud Security offers straightforward deployment and comprehensive customer support, minimizing downtime effectively. FortiCNAPP, while allowing for bespoke integrations, requires a steeper learning curve. Its deployment demands more in-house expertise, although customer service is efficient.

Pricing and ROI: BMC Helix Cloud Security provides competitive pricing aimed at maximizing ROI through cost-effective solutions and quality support, appealing to budget-conscious buyers. FortiCNAPP requires a higher initial investment but offers significant long-term ROI through advanced features and security intelligence, making it attractive for those prioritizing depth and integration in security solutions.

To learn more, read our detailed BMC Helix Cloud Security vs. FortiCNAPP Report (Updated: August 2026).

Buyer's Guide

BMC Helix Cloud Security vs. FortiCNAPP

August 2026

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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

Qualys TotalCloud

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) category, the mindshare of Qualys TotalCloud is 1.7%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of BMC Helix Cloud Security is 1.5%, up from 0.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of FortiCNAPP is 4.1%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP) Mindshare Distribution
Product	Mindshare (%)
Qualys TotalCloud	1.7%
FortiCNAPP	4.1%
BMC Helix Cloud Security	1.5%
Other	92.7%

Cloud Workload Protection Platforms (CWPP)

Featured Reviews

YashwantShinde

Soc Analyst at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees

Risk-based visibility has transformed how I prioritize cloud vulnerabilities and protect key assets

The best features Qualys TotalCloud offers are cloud asset visibility, vulnerability assessment, and risk prioritization. This risk-based prioritization helped me quickly identify high-risk vulnerabilities and focus on remediation instead of going through every finding. TrueRisk-based prioritization is useful for understanding which vulnerabilities need attention first. It improved our workflow mainly by giving us a single view of cloud assets and their risk, so we could focus on the higher priority vulnerabilities instead of reviewing every finding manually. This helped us prioritize remediations more efficiently and reduce the time spent on vulnerability assessment and follow-up. Qualys TotalCloud helped us identify exposures that might otherwise have been missed, especially across cloud assets, vulnerabilities, and identities. With the SaaS configuration, the unified inventory and risk view made it easier to connect vulnerabilities with asset criticality, exposure, and access permissions, allowing us to investigate high-risk exposures first and address them before they could become bigger security issues.

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Donna Geary

Portfolio Manager/ Helix Administrator at Frontier Communications

A highly scalable and straightforward solution with a knowledgeable support team

We work on a third-party shared environment. It wouldn’t have been feasible for a smaller company. My company was actually the first one to do it. Just like any cloud security, it pays to do your research and have complimentary security involved. The product can’t be the be-all and end-all tool for your security. Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

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Charl Pinches

Solutions Sales Specialist at a outsourcing company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Cloud risk has become visible and security teams prioritize and act on threats efficiently

FortiCNAPP can be improved because the platform can feel complex at the start, especially for teams new to CNAP tooling. Some users mention that they found the interface and data models less intuitive than expected, and I have had situations where reporting and alert configurations might require time. Regarding other improvements needed for FortiCNAPP, the majority of the time is that reporting and alert configuration might require time to tune properly. This is the significant issue, combined with the fact that some users find the interface and data model less intuitive than expected. Regarding FortiCNAPP's AI capabilities, I think there might be a bit of improvement needed. However, since Fortinet is a security vendor overall, keeping the data safe is not a problem. I know they have invested a lot in getting it to a place where it is a trusted platform.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"TotalCloud offers a comprehensive suite of features, including EDR, XDR, and TrueRisk, providing a centralized platform for managing vulnerabilities and security risks."

"The agent and agentless scanning in TotalCloud, particularly the FlexScan method, is incredibly valuable. With traditional scanning approaches, we had to give IP ranges and whitelist IPs. All that is now simplified. FlexScan requires minimal intervention, and after configuration, it automatically collects data and performs necessary scans."

"The best feature would be the ability to create policies. It is easy to control and update policies as required."

"I highly recommend Qualys TotalCloud to other users."

"Qualys TotalCloud has positively impacted our bank's performance, and we have definitely seen benefits after implementing this solution."

"TotalCloud's best feature is the integration of cloud accounts. It helps with the risk and security posture management of our cloud infrastructure."

"With TotalCloud, we can scan through the API. If we are not able to deploy cloud agents on the machine, we can use the API."

"The most valuable feature is the consolidated information that it provides from various platforms."

More Qualys TotalCloud pros

"It is a good tool to make sure that your containers are safe and sound."

"The best feature is time to value. With very minimal effort, you are able to have a cohesive view into your security posture on one or multiple cloud accounts, particularly if you are dealing with multicloud. If you have Azure and AWS deployments, you might have multiple subscriptions in Azure and usually multiple accounts in AWS. You may even be doing some GCP work (around Google Cloud Platform). It's very difficult to manage a common set of policies, even less reporting, across multiple subscriptions, accounts, and cloud environments. What BMC Helix Cloud Security does is provide a unified view or single pane of glass as to your baseline. Then, it also facilitates the ability for Level 1 or 2 operations support to take action and report on security vulnerabilities."

"The features that I've found most valuable are its container security aspect. I also like its vulnerability management tools."

"With very minimal effort, you are able to have a cohesive view into your security posture on one or multiple cloud accounts, particularly if you are dealing with multicloud."

"Role-based security is a valuable feature."

"The cool feature of Helix Cloud Security is that you can do all that — understand and remediate issues — in one dashboard, based on the different policies that are available for security, out-of-the-box."

"Using this solution is an eye-opener; having that holistic view is the biggest eye-opener because you understand, from any of your connected cloud accounts, what your vulnerabilities are with it."

"It's also multi-cloud. You can look at several cloud providers: AWS, Azure, or GCP."

More BMC Helix Cloud Security pros

"Polygraph compliance is a valuable feature. In our perspective, it delivers significant benefits. The clarity it offers, along with the ability to identify and address misconfigurations, is invaluable. When such issues arise, we promptly acknowledge and take action, effectively collaborating with our teams and the responsible parties for those assets. This enables us to promptly manage problems as soon as they arise."

"FortiCNAPP is a competitive and robust solution, the only one in the IT sphere that addresses all quadrants in the Gartner Quadrants."

"I find the cloud configuration compliance scanning mature. It generates a lot of data and supports major frameworks like ISO 27001 or SOC 2, providing reports and datasets. Another feature I appreciate is setting custom alerts for specific events. Additionally, I value the agent-based monitoring and scanning for compute nodes. It gives us deeper insights into our workloads and helps identify vulnerabilities across our deployed assets."

"For the most part, out-of-the-box, it tells you right away about the things you need to work on. I like the fact that it prioritizes alerts based on severity, so that you can focus your efforts on anything that would be critical/high first, moderate second, and work your way down, trying to continue to improve your security posture."

"The most valuable aspects are identifying vulnerabilities—things that are out there that we aren't aware of—as well as finding what path of access attackers could use, and being able to see open SSL or S3 buckets and the like."

"The most valuable feature, from a compliance perspective, is the ability to use Lacework as a platform for multiple compliance standards. We have to meet multiple standards like PCI, SOC 2, CIS, and whatever else is out there. The ability to have reports generated, per security standard, is one of the best features for me."

"The compliance reports are definitely most valuable because they save time and are accurate. So, instead of relying on a human going through and checking or providing me with a report, I could just log into Lacework and see for myself."

"If you want to turn your cloud findings into actionable security work, FortiCNAPP is the way to go."

More FortiCNAPP pros

Cons

"One of the things that could be improved is the alerts. Qualys is a fantastic tool, especially with the TruRisk feature, but one challenge that most leaders face involves alert fatigue."

"The vulnerability part is good, but the policy compliance module needs improvement because it involves a lot of manual work. Specifically, the remediation part of the controls requires enhancements."

"There is a lack of data segregation according to criticality or inventory."

"One thing that could be improved is the user experience and navigation."

"Qualys TotalCloud has the potential to improve by integrating a hybrid platform for comprehensive management of both on-premises and cloud infrastructures."

"The support is not up to the mark and seems to be overburdened."

"Areas that need improvement in every solution include the remediation part. The remediation steps should be simple enough for everyone to understand."

"It has been working very well, but it would be helpful if the dashboard could generate reports tailored to specific compliance needs. For example, in India, we have to comply with RBI and SEBI guidelines. It w"

More Qualys TotalCloud cons

"We've had some issues with connectors; the connectors have seemed to cause a little bit of trouble, perhaps with the APIs trying to scan the environment."

"I think its TOA interfaces are still not that comfortable. The UI could be more user-friendly, easier to use."

"We've had some with issues connectors. The connectors have seemed to have caused a little bit of trouble, perhaps with the APIs trying to scan the environment. The only time I've had to reach out to tech support was for that. It seems it may not have been scanning correctly or I wasn't seeing data within a specific time. But we've set up a couple of connectors in the past couple of weeks and they actually scanned the AWS environment and we had data within about 10 minutes. It's working a lot faster and I think they're making improvements as they go."

"BMC Helix Cloud Security has room for improvement in terms of integrating its various features."

"I want the role-based security feature to be improved."

"The biggest challenge now, which is a good problem to have, with BMC Helix is content."

"The UI could be more user-friendly."

"Every organization out there doesn't rely on just one control body. They use FISMA control. They may use HIPAA, CIS, PCI, or SOX, then blend them. One of the things that is now in big demand for BMC Helix Cloud Security is content. That's the next journey in its lifespan, making it easier for the community to share and collaborate on content for security controls that can be measured and remediated."

"Lacework has not reduced the number of alerts we get. We've actually had to add resources as a result of using it because the application requires a lot of people to understand it to get the value out of it properly."

"However, the solution could be more user-friendly and intuitive."

"Its integrations with third-party SIEMs can be better. That is one of the things that we discussed with them."

"Visibility is lacking, and both compliance-related metrics and IAM security control could be improved."

"The customer support for FortiCNAPP is fine, though it can take time as we need to engage with AWS first, but I would rate it around 7 or 8 out of 10."

"Policy implementation is quite complex, and the stability will take more time for the solutions."

"FortiCNAPP can be improved because the platform can feel complex at the start, especially for teams new to CNAP tooling."

"When considering improvements for FortiCNAPP, I think there could be enhancements regarding the license, possibly adding more options to it."

More FortiCNAPP cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Qualys TotalCloud offers competitive pricing given its comprehensive suite of features, including integration, assessment, remediation, and detection capabilities, all within a single platform."

"While Qualys TotalCloud's pricing is currently acceptable, it is becoming increasingly expensive and may soon be considered overpriced."

"TotalCloud's price is about right where I would expect it to be."

"Qualys TotalCloud is cost-efficient and was selected for its value compared to other products."

"As a middle management member, I do not have direct pricing knowledge, but based on the knowledge from our meetings, its pricing is competitive."

"The pricing for TotalCloud is attractive and competitive in the market. Given the features, especially the dashboard, I have no concerns regarding pricing."

"Qualys TotalCloud offers cost-effective licensing flexibility."

"Qualys TotalCloud is expensive."

More Qualys TotalCloud pricing and cost advice

"The pricing is based on an annual subscription, upfront, and it's based on cloud assets. Whether your assets are in Azure and AWS combined, the tool tells you how many assets are being scanned and that's the number used for pricing."

"It is a subscription model with term licensing that is usually yearly. This includes, not only the product, but support and maintenance. It is based on cloud assets. Therefore, if you have 100 cloud assets, those cloud assets are measured based on evaluation or transactions. For example, if I'm evaluating that cloud asset for CIS compliance, PCI compliance, and AWS best practices, that asset gets evaluated three times, as those are three transactions. However, the license model is based on peak asset usage. So, over a year, if you deploy 100, 1000, 500, and then 2000 assets, you will be charged for the 2000 peak of assets managed by Helix Cloud Security."

"The licensing fee was approximately $80,000 USD, per year."

"The pricing has gotten better. That scenario was somewhat unstable. They have a rather interesting licensing structure. I believe you get 200 resources per "Lacework unit." It was difficult, in the beginning, to figure out exactly what a "resource" was... That was a problem until about a year or so ago. They have improved it and it has stabilized quite a bit."

"My smaller deployments cost around 200,000 a year, which is probably not as expensive as Wiz."

"It is slightly expensive. It depends on how big your environment is, but it is expensive. Right now, we are spending a lot of money. We have covered all of the cloud providers and most of our colocation facilities as well, so we cannot complain, but it is slightly expensive. It is not super expensive."

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Manufacturing Company

13%

Comms Service Provider

12%

Outsourcing Company

12%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Construction Company

20%

Comms Service Provider

10%

Transportation Company

Performing Arts

Construction Company

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	12
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	32

No data available

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	5
Large Enterprise	8

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Qualys TotalCloud?

The price is very expensive, actually.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Qualys TotalCloud?

To be totally honest, I do not have any best features because I have had a bad experience using this tool, especially...

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What is your primary use case for Qualys TotalCloud?

My main use case for Qualys TotalCloud is vulnerability management and exposure management. I use this tool to evalua...

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What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Lacework?

We purchased the Fortinet firewall and services from a vendor, not through any other marketplaces.

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What needs improvement with Lacework?

FortiCNAPP can be improved because the platform can feel complex at the start, especially for teams new to CNAP tooli...

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What is your primary use case for Lacework?

My main use case for FortiCNAPP, from my previous experience distributing it or now as a reseller, is for anyone who'...

See all answers

Comparisons

Wiz vs Qualys TotalCloud

Compared 10% of the time

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Compared 8% of the time

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Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks vs Qualys TotalCloud

Compared 5% of the time

Snyk vs Qualys TotalCloud

Compared 3% of the time

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Cisco Secure Workload vs BMC Helix Cloud Security

Compared 9% of the time

Zscaler Internet Access vs BMC Helix Cloud Security

Compared 8% of the time

Check Point Cloud Firewall (formerly CloudGuard Network Security) vs BMC Helix Cloud Security

Compared 8% of the time

CloudPassage vs BMC Helix Cloud Security

Compared 8% of the time

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SentinelOne Singularity Cloud Security vs FortiCNAPP

Compared 4% of the time

Wiz vs FortiCNAPP

Compared 4% of the time

Prisma Cloud by Palo Alto Networks vs FortiCNAPP

Compared 4% of the time

Native vs FortiCNAPP

Compared 3% of the time

Morphisec vs FortiCNAPP

Compared 3% of the time

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Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Qualys TotalCloud

August 2026

Download Qualys TotalCloud product report

Buyer's Guide

BMC Helix Cloud Security

August 2026

Download BMC Helix Cloud Security product report

Buyer's Guide

FortiCNAPP

August 2026

Download FortiCNAPP product report

Also Known As

Qualys TotalCloud with FlexScan

TrueSight Cloud Security, SecOps Policy Service

Polygraph, FortiCNP, Lacework

Overview

Qualys TotalCloud enhances security posture across cloud environments with continuous monitoring, vulnerability management, and risk visualization, ensuring efficient threat assessment and automated remediation for improved cyber risk reduction.

Qualys TotalCloud offers a robust suite of security tools essential for organizations managing multi-cloud infrastructures. By integrating cloud accounts and automating workflows, it supports AWS, Azure, and GCP, offering comprehensive vulnerability management and zero-day detection. The platform's user-friendly design, combined with its extensive risk management and unified threat assessment capabilities, enables organizations to prioritize and remediate vulnerabilities effectively. TruRisk Insights provides clear insights on cyber risks, while the automation options streamline patch management and scanning processes. API integration across IaaS and SaaS environments further enhances resource allocation efficiency and saves time, addressing misconfigurations across cloud environments.

What are the most important features of Qualys TotalCloud?

Accurate Vulnerability Reports: Delivers precise and actionable insights for risk mitigation.
Zero-Day Detection: Identifies and addresses zero-day vulnerabilities proactively.
Unified Threat Assessment: Offers comprehensive evaluation of threats across the environment.
Extensive Risk Management: Manages risks effectively with advanced insights and prioritization.
Continuous Monitoring: Provides non-stop surveillance for vulnerabilities and threats.
Cloud-Native Automation: Streamlines processes and reduces manual efforts using automation.
FlexScan for Internet-Facing VMs: Scans external VMs efficiently to detect vulnerabilities.
Dashboard Risk Visualization: Clear visualization helps prioritize vulnerabilities.

What benefits and ROI should users look for?

Improved Security Posture: Enhances threat detection and response across clouds.
Time Savings: Automation reduces time spent on manual vulnerability management.
Resource Efficiency: Better allocation of resources through streamlined workflows.
Enhanced Risk Prioritization: Focus on critical vulnerabilities for effective mitigation.
Integrated Cloud Accounts: Facilitates seamless cloud management and security.

Qualys TotalCloud is deployed in sectors needing rigorous vulnerability management, such as finance and healthcare. Companies utilize it to secure multi-cloud environments like AWS, Azure, and GCP, focus on compliance, and integrate security into CI/CD pipelines to detect and remedy threats pre-deployment.

Qualys

BMC Helix Cloud Security offers a unified view for managing multicloud environments, ensuring compliance and enhancing security across AWS, Azure, and GCP through automated remediation and role-based security.

BMC Helix Cloud Security provides comprehensive multicloud security management, featuring automated remediation and support for regulatory compliance like GDPR and ISO 27001. Its intuitive dashboard allows users to identify vulnerabilities quickly and take action. With automated or manual control over security maintenance, it aligns with diverse organizational approaches. However, areas for improvement include content availability, integration enhancements, and clearer vulnerability reporting.

What are the key features of BMC Helix Cloud Security?

Automated Remediation: Streamline responses to detected threats automatically.
Role-Based Security: Offers granular security control tailored to user roles.
Container Security: Protects containerized environments effectively.
Regulatory Compliance: Aligns with standards such as GDPR and ISO 27001.
User-Friendly Dashboard: Simplifies vulnerability identification and action.

What benefits can users anticipate when reviewing BMC Helix Cloud Security?

Enhanced Security Posture: Improves threat detection and response speed.
Simplified Compliance: Eases adherence to industry standards.
Operational Efficiency: Automates routine checks and remediation, saving time.
Scalability: Supports diverse multicloud environments effortlessly.

BMC Helix Cloud Security is implemented to align cloud workloads with regulatory controls, mitigate security risks, and ensure adherence to CIS Controls. It supports IT operations integration and automates security measures, offering insights valuable for both internal processes and customer-facing deployments, particularly in industries utilizing AWS and Azure.

BMC Helix

FortiCNAPP is a comprehensive cloud security platform focusing on ease of use and machine learning-driven anomaly detection. It offers robust compliance reporting, seamless integration, and continuous monitoring, making it an essential tool for organizations managing multi-cloud environments and security configurations.

FortiCNAPP provides significant capabilities in cloud security, compliance, and vulnerability management. Designed for organizations needing efficient monitoring, it enables detection of anomalies across cloud infrastructures while optimizing security posture and ensuring compliance with environments like AWS and GCP. The platform offers in-depth insights through scanning of IAC scripts, host systems, and cloud configurations. Recognized for effectively managing security posture, it safeguards Kubernetes and container environments, providing comprehensive threat detection and response. However, some areas like visibility, IAM security controls, and compliance metrics need improvement. Users face challenges with alert setup and lack intuitive design, alongside issues like FedRAMP authorization absence and complexity in the data model.

What are the key features of FortiCNAPP?

Ease of Use: FortiCNAPP simplifies security management for cloud environments.
Machine Learning Anomaly Detection: Automatically identifies and prioritizes threats.
Compliance Reporting: Streamlines compliance procedures and reporting.
Seamless Integration: Ensures smooth operation across multi-cloud environments.
Continuous Monitoring: Provides ongoing oversight of security vulnerabilities.
Multi-Cloud Integration: Enables swift response to misconfigurations and vulnerabilities.

What benefits should users expect when evaluating FortiCNAPP?

Time Efficiency: Reduces time spent on compliance and threat management.
Improved Security Posture: Enhances protection for cloud and container environments.
Valuable Security Insights: Provides in-depth analysis for proactive threat response.
Noise Reduction: Distills security logs to minimize alert fatigue.
Operational Effectiveness: Facilitates seamless multi-cloud security management.

FortiCNAPP is implemented extensively by industries needing reliable cloud security, such as finance, healthcare, and technology sectors. It supports organizations in enhancing cloud infrastructure protection, ensuring compliance, and strengthening vulnerability management. By integrating with platforms like AWS and GCP, businesses can optimize security posture in their cloud deployments.

Fortinet

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

NHS, Vodafone, Kansas City Life, SKY Italia, Cybera

J.Crew, AdRoll, Snowflake, VMWare, Iterable, Pure Storage, TrueCar, NerdWallet, and more.

Buyer's Guide

BMC Helix Cloud Security vs. FortiCNAPP

August 2026

Free Report: BMC Helix Cloud Security vs. FortiCNAPP

Find out what your peers are saying about BMC Helix Cloud Security vs. FortiCNAPP and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.

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