We performed a comparison between Check Point CloudGuard Network Security and Fortinet FortiGate-VM based on our users’ reviews in five categories. After reading all of the collected data, you can find our conclusion below.
Features: Check Point CloudGuard Network Security offers a range of important capabilities including VPN Blade, IPS Blade, URL filtering, and Applications Control Blade. Fortinet FortiGate-VM is highly regarded for its robust security features such as geofencing, firewalling, IPS, antivirus, and intrusion prevention systems.
For Check Point CloudGuard Network Security, there is a need for improvements in the support system, cluster creation on AWS, data protection visibility, DLP feature, user interface, integration, cost reduction, documentation, and flexibility in deployment. Fortinet FortiGate-VM needs enhancements in key activation, throughput, web application firewall integration, technical support, integration simplicity, customization, pricing model, and web-filtering configuration.
Service and Support: Check Point CloudGuard Network Security has received both positive and negative feedback regarding its customer service. Some customers commend the technical support provided by the company, while others express dissatisfaction due to slow response times. Fortinet FortiGate-VM also has a combination of positive and negative reviews regarding its customer service. Some customers are content with the support they receive, while others believe that it requires improvement.
Ease of Deployment: Check Point's setup is user-friendly and straightforward, although some mention that it may require technical expertise and can be complex. The initial setup for Fortinet is generally easy and straightforward. The deployment time ranges from a few hours to a week, depending on the complexity and size.
Pricing: Check Point CloudGuard Network Security is regarded as costly to set up, however, it provides excellent security and value. Fortinet FortiGate-VM is competitively priced and more affordable than certain alternatives. That said, expenses may rise when scaling or incorporating additional functionalities.
ROI: Check Point CloudGuard Network Security offers a notable ROI range of 80% to 85% and delivers enhanced benefits and performance. Fortinet FortiGate-VM ensures stability and heightened security, garnering positive ratings for ROI from users. It is crucial to exercise caution while sizing to prevent any potential financial losses.
Comparison Results: Check Point CloudGuard Network Security is the preferred product compared to Fortinet FortiGate-VM. Users find the initial setup of Check Point CloudGuard Network Security simple and user-friendly. Check Point CloudGuard Network Security offers valuable features such as VPN Blade, IPS Blade, URL filtering, and Applications Control Blade, along with advanced threat prevention capabilities.
"The wireless control is helpful."
"This version is stable. I don't have any issues with this solution, in our environment, it works well."
"It's super reliable. I don't think I've ever had a reliability issue with it."
"It is easy to use. We chose this product for the possibility to have virtual domains (VDOMs). We are building another company in the group, and we would like to split the firewalling rules and policies between these two companies. Each company would be able to manage its own policies and security rules, which is an advantage of Fortinet FortiGate. We can define VDOMs, and every company can manage its own VDOM as if it has its own physical firewall, but in fact, we would be using the same physical appliance because we are also using the same internet lines. So, it allows us to reuse the existing resources without the disadvantage of having to compromise on policies and security. Each company can choose its own way of working."
"It is very flexible to use."
"I'm pretty happy with its reliability. It is also very scalable."
"The most valuable feature is the bundled subscription, which is IPS, TV and web filtering."
"It's very fast and easy to configure."
"I find it really useful that CloudGuard supports all the main players on the Public Clouds market including AWS, GCP, and Azure, as well as some exotic ones like Alibaba Cloud, Oracle Cloud, and IBM Cloud."
"Now, we can filter which websites users can access and block categories that are a risk. For example, we can block social media and gambling sites. This has helped to decrease the risk of access to malicious content on the internet."
"The most valuable feature for us is the cluster support."
"The IPS, application and URL filtering, as well as Identity Awareness, are all very valuable features."
"As per the solution's blade design, there are many options. For example, you have to buy a UTM blade and an advanced malware blade, etc. If the blade license is there, we can configure from the firewall GUI."
"It improves the availability of engineers to carry out projects."
"The notifications, the visibility, and the deployment are the most valuable. It could be packaged in such a way that it took a lot of time and resources off our hands, so it was more efficient."
"Auto-scaling and zero touch are valuable features."
"All the security features that are built into the product are valuable."
"Its performance is adequate. We are quite satisfied with its performance. The fact that it is a complete ecosystem with all kinds of integrations is valuable. It did take us a couple of months to get a grip on the new software, but all in all, it replaced our on-premise and single-point solution environment."
"Operations have been flawless."
"Use of this product does not require daily interactions."
"The product is quite user-friendly so we didn't have a lot of issues that needed to be addressed."
"It is easy to set up the solution."
"The most valuable features we have found to be the VPN, ease of use, and overall simplicity."
"Fortinet is user-friendly."
"It is stable, but its stability can be improved."
"Fortinet FortiGate can be integrated with different platforms. They have integrations in place, but I can't say they're 100%."
"One of the problems I was having was with user mapping, and it is an issue for which I have escalated tickets with Fortinet support."
"They've become quite expensive."
"We would like to have the ability to disable some of the security functionalities."
"Cisco Meraki products are rising very quickly in the cloud and the connected era. Meraki products offer much better ROI, upgradability, and manageability."
"The updates Fortinet provides are sometimes unstable."
"There are some tiny bugs that sometimes affect the operations. In the past revision of it, there was a bug. Because of the bug, we had to downgrade the version. It happened only with the last revision."
"I think they have pretty much mastered what can be done. There are some nuances like when you fail over from one cluster member to the other, the external IP address takes about two minutes to fail over."
"From the policy optimization point of view, they can do better. This is not just for CloudGuard. CloudGuard is one little piece managed by Check Point. They can also integrate a third-party policy management solution to improve that. For example, Tufin is focused on policy optimization and management."
"The management console can be simplified because at the moment, it is a bit of a challenge to use."
"The initial deployment using the ARM template in Azure was straightforward, but migrating to Terraform added complexity, although we managed to make it work."
"Greater automation would reduce the need for manual configuration and management."
"Most clients nowadays tend to move to the cloud and their data security is key. If CloudGuard could be able to give the client that full visibility of how their data is protected on the cloud, then that would be a great selling point for Check Point."
"CheckPoint CloudGuard could be better at solving cases."
"There is room for improvement in the integration with PaaS services from the public cloud. It would be very helpful."
"his is not a good solution for enterprises. It's better for smaller companies."
"Deployment can be difficult and they could dispense with reliance on FortiManager and FortiAnalyzer."
"Data backup functionality could be included in the product."
"We have had some stability issues."
"With FortiGate, we sometimes encounter bugs in various operating systems."
"I have had a data issue with physical devices that could improve."
"Fortinet devices are acknowledged as highly potent and come with a notable cost. These devices offer extensive visibility, an array of configurations, and a range of security features. However, there's room for enhancement in their routing and switching security aspects, akin to Cisco's offerings. A noteworthy aspect here is Meraki, which offers cloud controllers. If FortiGate were to introduce a similar cloud management solution, it could strongly compete with both Meraki and Cisco products. Cisco operates in two sectors: enterprise and SMB. Particularly in the SMB market, they hold sway due to their convenient cloud management features. For instance, Meraki's cameras and wireless access points can be easily controlled through their cloud management portal. If FortiGate were to provide cloud-based management solutions for SMB customers, it could cater to a significant portion of the market, considering that a substantial number of customers fall within the SMB and mid-level enterprise categories."
"The graphical user interface should be enhanced."
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Check Point CloudGuard Network Security is ranked 8th in Firewalls with 117 reviews while Fortinet FortiGate-VM is ranked 9th in Firewalls with 113 reviews. Check Point CloudGuard Network Security is rated 8.6, while Fortinet FortiGate-VM is rated 8.4. The top reviewer of Check Point CloudGuard Network Security writes "The solution has good threat emulation, threat extraction, and reporting features". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Fortinet FortiGate-VM writes "An easy-to-manage and configure tool that provides ample documentation to help with the setup phase". Check Point CloudGuard Network Security is most compared with Azure Firewall, VMware NSX, Cisco Secure Firewall, Akamai Guardicore Segmentation and Palo Alto Networks NG Firewalls, whereas Fortinet FortiGate-VM is most compared with Azure Firewall, Palo Alto Networks VM-Series, Fortinet FortiOS, OPNsense and Netgate pfSense. See our Check Point CloudGuard Network Security vs. Fortinet FortiGate-VM report.
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