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Cisco Prime [EOL] vs Fortinet FortiManager comparison

Cisco and Fortinet are both solutions in the Network Management Applications category. Additionally, 91% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Fortinet users who would recommend it.
Cisco Prime [EOL]
Read 35 Cisco Prime [EOL] reviews
    91% willing to recommend
    Fortinet FortiManager
    Read 70 Fortinet FortiManager reviews
    • 4,634 Views
    • 695 Comparison Views
    94% willing to recommend
     

    Comparison Buyer's Guide

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    Executive Summary
    We performed a comparison between Cisco Prime [EOL] and Fortinet FortiManager based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

    Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Fortinet and others in Network Management Applications.

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    To learn more, read our detailed Network Management Applications Report (Updated: October 2025).
    Buyer's Guide
    Network Management Applications
    October 2025
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    Helped 872,778 peers since 2012

    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

    Cisco Prime [EOL]
    Average Rating
    7.8
    Reviews Sentiment
    6.5
    Number of Reviews
    35
    Ranking in other categories
    No ranking in other categories
    Fortinet FortiManager
    Average Rating
    8.0
    Reviews Sentiment
    7.0
    Number of Reviews
    70
    Ranking in other categories
    Network Management Applications (4th)
     

    Featured Reviews

    ZeeshanAli1 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Robust, cost-effective, and provides good visibility, but the scalability could improve
    We are extremely satisfied with the reliability and robustness of Cisco Prime Infrastructure, which we have been using for many years. Compared to newer products such as DNS centers or others, it has proven to be much more stable, which is important for large-scale operations. Stability is a primary concern for us, and we are glad that Cisco Prime Infrastructure meets our expectations in that regard. Furthermore, in regards to Legacy Plus new hardware, Cisco Prime has proven to be a reliable and adaptable solution thus far. Not only can it support older hardware, but it also has the capability to handle new features with the latest updates. If we consider new solutions such as DNS Center, we may have to sacrifice some legacy features that we still rely on. We may need to continue using these legacy features for a few more years due to various reasons such as budget constraints or the site not being a high priority. However, if we switch to a new product at this stage, we may lose a lot of the monitoring and other capabilities that we have with Cisco Prime. We have a close relationship with Cisco and understand that they are not prioritizing investments in Cisco Prime as they are encouraging customers to adopt the Cisco DNA Center. This means that we don't anticipate many new features to be added to the product in the future. While we know that we will eventually have to transition to a new solution, in the meantime, we plan to do a quick refresh of our legacy products.
    Read full review
    SudeepMaydeo - PeerSpot reviewer
    Ensures seamless integration and centralized visibility for network security operations
    The version upgrade from a single dashboard for all the firewalls in one click is the beauty of Fortinet FortiManager as the most impactful feature in managing our network security. Fortinet FortiManager's policy management enhances our security protocols by enabling us and giving integrated centralized visibility, which has proven to be very healthy. Because of this, we have identified some of the vulnerabilities in our systems, and we mitigated them through Fortinet FortiManager. The central dashboards and the visibility are what appealed to us to go with Fortinet FortiManager. Fortinet FortiManager has adapted to changes in our network scale and complexity as we have geographically 18 international locations, all equipped with firewalls and some cybersecurity initiatives and IT infrastructure initiatives.
    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

    "The installation is easy."
    "The most valuable feature of Cisco Prime is the heat map."
    "The solution's configuration management tool is amazing because it centralizes and pushes configurations which saves a lot of volume and effort."
    "The product's most valuable features are monitoring and configuration."
    "The VLAN mapping function has been most impactful in simplifying our network management tasks."
    "Has a good wireless heatmap and search management features."
    "It helps us manage and monitor analytics and fix issues."
    "Cisco Prime allows us to do a lot of functions with the users and it is flexible."
    More Cisco Prime [EOL] pros
    "The firewall configuration has more capabilities than the other firewall management systems that I have worked with."
    "Without FortiManager, you cannot manage a complex environment across several sites with multiple firewalls."
    "The solution brings device management into one single pane of glass and is a pretty good product."
    "The solution's most valuable feature is the consolidation and the single point of administration solution."
    "The firmware version upgrades are the most valuable feature."
    "Everybody is quite happy with the way that the graphical user interface works."
    "The centralized management of policies and certificates, coupled with the capability to handle multi-site deployments effectively, provides streamlined operations."
    "The main benefit of Fortinet FortiManager is the ability to control all the devices from a central location, view their statuses, and manage their configurations and updates from a single management console."
    More Fortinet FortiManager pros
     

    Cons

    "This solution could be improved if it could monitor configuration changes."
    "Maybe it could be a little cheaper."
    "They can also improve the management of more enterprise devices."
    "They could consider offering more flexible pricing options for their customers."
    "The reporting could be simplified and the information made clearer to the user."
    "The product needs to improve its interface and reporting."
    "I want the tool to improve data visibility."
    "The reporting feature of Cisco Prime should be improved."
    More Cisco Prime [EOL] cons
    "The deployment of Fortinet FortiManager is quite complex and should be easier. It requires improvement in vulnerability management and should integrate automated AI features to enhance its reliability."
    "Their EDR products could be better. They need to dedicate more R&D to that area."
    "The FortiManager is more complex and they can make it easier to use the VPN manager. All other features are okay. However, the VPN manager is more difficult and can cause some issues in the environment, if you do not have the experience to use it."
    "Issues arise when customers experience unstable electricity or poor grounding conditions."
    "I didn't like the connectivity with FortiManager and FortiSwitch, which was buggy and annoying and had fewer features."
    "Pricing-wise, it could always be less, even though it is less expensive than Palo Alto."
    "Fortinet FortiManager could improve them by adding more portfolio components."
    "The dashboard could use some improvement."
    More Fortinet FortiManager cons
     

    Pricing and Cost Advice

    "The price of Cisco Prime was reasonable because we purchased it as part of a Cisco One package. The package was a bundle of Cisco solutions together, such as Cisco ISE and CMX. The price is reasonable com compared to other solutions."
    "I rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."
    "If we have a license for Cisco DNA, we can use the same license for Cisco Prime."
    "The cost is quite high."
    "You need to get special quotes from the company for each order."
    "I would rate the pricing of Cisco Prime a seven out of ten."
    "The product's performance monitoring feature could be more intuitive."
    "Cisco Prime is an expensive solution."
    More Cisco Prime [EOL] pricing and cost advice
    "On a scale from one to ten with one being the highest price and ten being the lowest price, I would rate FortiManager's price at three."
    "The license model they use depends on the size and is not limited to the users."
    "In comparison with other products, the price of FortiManager is reasonable."
    "Our organization pays a monthly license fee for the solution."
    "The solution requires you to have a license for every device, as well as for any advanced features being used, which makes it costly for high-volume users. However, for a large-scale environment with a lot of customers we have found it to be a worthwhile investment."
    "The pricing model is affordable."
    "If you compare Fortinet and Palo Alto, Fortinet is cheaper, but if you compare Cisco and Fortinet, sometimes Cisco is cheaper because Cisco gives us more discounts because of the size. Cisco isn't cheap, but sometimes, we get a big discount from them."
    "FortiManager is a bit expensive - I would rate its pricing three out of ten."
    More Fortinet FortiManager pricing and cost advice
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    Top Industries

    By visitors reading reviews
    Computer Software Company
    14%
    Government
    14%
    Manufacturing Company
    8%
    Healthcare Company
    7%
    Computer Software Company
    13%
    Manufacturing Company
    9%
    Financial Services Firm
    8%
    Comms Service Provider
    8%
     

    Company Size

    By reviewers
    Large Enterprise
    Midsize Enterprise
    Small Business
    By reviewers
    Company SizeCount
    Small Business9
    Midsize Enterprise4
    Large Enterprise23
    By reviewers
    Company SizeCount
    Small Business34
    Midsize Enterprise15
    Large Enterprise19
     

    Questions from the Community

    What do you like most about Cisco Prime?
    The most valuable features of Cisco Prime include its comprehensive functionality as a one-stop solution for basic SNMP port management.
    See all answers
    What needs improvement with Cisco Prime?
    The product's performance monitoring feature could be more intuitive.
    See all answers
    What is your primary use case for Cisco Prime?
    We use Cisco Prime for centralized configuration management backups and monitoring.
    See all answers
    What do you like most about Fortinet FortiManager?
    The most valuable feature is the centralized management console.
    See all answers
    What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiManager?
    I am satisfied with the licensing cost, and I would rate it an 8.5.
    See all answers
    What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiManager?
    In future updates, I would like to see more customization and AI integration. We have not actually validated Fortinet FortiManager with AI per se, but we would like to have AI inbuilt in Fortinet p...
    See all answers
     

    Comparisons

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    Compared 48% of the time
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    Fortinet FortiGate Cloud vs Fortinet FortiManager
    Compared 68% of the time
    Cisco DNA Center vs Fortinet FortiManager Logo
    Cisco DNA Center vs Fortinet FortiManager
    Compared 7% of the time
    Fortinet FortiOS vs Fortinet FortiManager Logo
    Fortinet FortiOS vs Fortinet FortiManager
    Compared 6% of the time
    AlgoSec vs Fortinet FortiManager Logo
    AlgoSec vs Fortinet FortiManager
    Compared 4% of the time
    Fortinet FortiPortal vs Fortinet FortiManager Logo
    Fortinet FortiPortal vs Fortinet FortiManager
    Compared 2% of the time
    More Fortinet FortiManager Competitors
     

    Product Reports

    Buyer's Guide
    Cisco Prime [EOL]
    October 2025
    Cisco Prime [EOL] reportDownload Cisco Prime [EOL] product report
    Buyer's Guide
    Fortinet FortiManager
    October 2025
    Fortinet FortiManager reportDownload Fortinet FortiManager product report
     

    Also Known As

    Cisco Prime Infrastructure
    No data available
     

    Overview

    Cisco Prime products deliver next-generation management by supporting an intuitive workflow-oriented user experience and integrated lifecycle operations across Cisco architectures, technologies, and networks.

    Cisco

    Fortinet FortiManager is used for centralized management of FortiGate firewalls, utilizing zero-touch deployment techniques to optimize configuration and deployment, reducing installation time and errors while improving network security and efficiency.

    By centralizing policy management and monitoring across devices and locations, Fortinet FortiManager enhances security and operational efficiency. Automation tools simplify management, control, and consistent configuration across environments. It offers scalability for managing large numbers of devices, beneficial for organizations seeking unified threat protection and streamlined administration from one console. The platform integrates effortlessly with Fortinet products, supporting zero-touch provisioning, SD-WAN, and traffic analysis. Although intuitive, the graphical interface and overall performance require refinement, alongside enhanced support and documentation for troubleshooting and configuration.

    What are the key features of Fortinet FortiManager?
    • Centralized Management: Streamlines device configuration across multiple systems.
    • Automation Tools: Simplifies implementation and maintenance of configurations.
    • Zero-Touch Provisioning: Reduces setup time and minimizes errors.
    • SD-WAN Support: Enhances wide-area network efficiency and effectiveness.
    • Traffic Analysis: Monitors network traffic for improved security insights.
    • Policy Pushing: Facilitates efficient deployment of security rules.
    What benefits and ROI should users look for in reviews?
    • Operational Efficiency: Reduces installation time and configuration errors.
    • Scalability: Supports management of numerous devices.
    • Improved Security: Centralized management enhances threat protection.
    • Time Savings: Automation reduces manual intervention needs.
    • Cost-Effectiveness: Simplified administration can lower management costs.

    Fortinet FortiManager is implemented across diverse industries like telecommunications, finance, and healthcare, where centralized management and enhanced security are crucial. Its ability to streamline processes and integrate with existing Fortinet products makes it ideal for organizations looking to maintain robust network security standards.

    Fortinet
     

    Sample Customers

    Mohawk Industries, Universidad EAFIT, Halton Healthcare
    Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
    Buyer's Guide
    Network Management Applications
    October 2025
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