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Cisco Prime [EOL] vs Fortinet FortiManager comparison

 

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

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
6.9
Number of Reviews
72
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (3rd)
 

Featured Reviews

AR
Network Engineer at Edmonton Catholic School Board
Has an easy implementation process, but the performance monitoring feature could be more intuitive
The project implementation was easy overall. Adapting Cisco's solutions to our specific environment required effort, as their documentation only covers some network scenarios. The deployment didn't happen all at once; it was staged and controlled to ensure a smooth transition. We started with a small test environment before gradually rolling it out to all campuses. This gradual approach helped mitigate the risk of any issues arising across multiple locations simultaneously, especially on a critical day like Monday morning. We have a team of three executives working on the process. Their job roles included network specialists and a manager. It requires maintenance, which is included in the annual cost. We receive updates and support as part of the renewal process.
SudeepMaydeo - PeerSpot reviewer
Global Head of IT Infrastructure at EPL Americas
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.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It helps us manage and monitor analytics and fix issues."
"The technical support team is very good."
"Cisco Prime allows us to do a lot of functions with the users and it is flexible."
"Cisco Prime can help customers fix their Wi-Fi issues with scientific and digital data."
"We use the solution to control the physical service station that is part of the SCADA network. We connect and control them remotely."
"The solution helps with the management and support of the enterprise network."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco Prime is the heat maps."
"The most valuable is the assistance for network support."
"It can scale well."
"It is easy to deploy to licenses."
"It has multiple features in one box, which helps to avoid needing a lot of equipment. This is something that makes them unique."
"I recommend FortiManager if you have more than FortiGate firewalls or more Fortinet products."
"Centralized configuration is the most helpful feature. I like the ability to create templates and push them to all the devices at the same time. I also like that I can see the the logs with one device to provide zero touch on all other products."
"You can configure it at your ease."
"The most valuable feature is the central configuration for firewall policies."
"Central management system for Fortinet devices that's simple, scalable, and stable, with a straightforward setup."
 

Cons

"This solution could be improved if it could monitor configuration changes."
"The solution has issues with real time monitoring of devices and NetFlow such as inadequate visualization for reports, sources, and destinations."
"The product needs to improve its interface and reporting."
"The product is expensive compared to other vendors in the market."
"There is room for improvement in the Access layer."
"Cisco Prime's initial setup is complex."
"The product needs to improve its stability."
"Cisco Prime needs to have lower prices and more customization options."
"Troubleshooting for Fortinet products is more difficult than competing products like Cisco and Palo Alto."
"Not just in FortiManager, but in any Fortinet project in general, the troubleshooting is very hard."
"Setting up FortiManager can be complex because it involves changes from other devices and a lot of configuration."
"Their EDR products could be better. They need to dedicate more R&D to that area."
"Configuring Fortinet without internet access is challenging."
"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."
"FortiManager could be more user-friendly."
"Fortinet FortiManager could improve them by adding more portfolio components."
 

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 would rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."
"The cost is quite high."
"You need to get special quotes from the company for each order."
"The solution is not inexpensive but is worth it for large-scale environments."
"I would rate the pricing of Cisco Prime a seven out of ten."
"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."
"This is an affordable solution, and its licensing model is based on the number of devices."
"The license model they use depends on the size and is not limited to the users."
"Fortinet FortiManager is a low-priced product."
"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a six out of ten."
"For us, it is a little bit expensive."
"The pricing model is affordable."
"Fortinet is a high-end product and the cost is high. They should consider reducing the price, especially for existing customers."
"Compared to Check Point or Cisco, Fortinet FortiManager is more affordable but it is still on the higher end."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Computer Software Company
8%
Healthcare Company
7%
Computer Software Company
11%
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 Enterprise24
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business35
Midsize Enterprise16
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.
What needs improvement with Cisco Prime?
The product's performance monitoring feature could be more intuitive.
What is your primary use case for Cisco Prime?
We use Cisco Prime for centralized configuration management backups and monitoring.
What do you like most about Fortinet FortiManager?
The most valuable feature is the centralized management console.
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.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiManager?
I do not use Fortinet FortiManager daily, but I can speak with my security team and ask them what areas need future improvement for Fortinet FortiManager. When I installed it, I found it somewhat d...
 

Also Known As

Cisco Prime Infrastructure
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mohawk Industries, Universidad EAFIT, Halton Healthcare
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Fortinet, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and others in Network Management Applications. Updated: February 2026.
884,933 professionals have used our research since 2012.