Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

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

    Download the report
    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.

    DOWNLOAD THE COMPLETE REPORT
    To learn more, read our detailed Network Management Applications Report (Updated: October 2025).
    Buyer's Guide
    Network Management Applications
    October 2025
    Download the complete report
    Helped 872,029 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

    "Enables oversight in order to tweak and tune."
    "Has a good wireless heatmap and search management features."
    "As a large organization, it is difficult to individually monitor every device. Instead, we use Cisco Prime to keep an eye on the network and services. We do not use it as a node tool, as we have other tools for network operation centers. When services go down, it can cause issues, we rely on Cisco Prime to monitor and notify us of any service disruptions. We mainly use Cisco Prime Infrastructure for configuration-level tasks."
    "Cisco Prime allows us to do a lot of functions with the users and it is flexible."
    "We use Cisco Prime for network mapping and surveys."
    "I have found the solution to be scalable."
    "It helps us manage and monitor analytics and fix issues."
    "The most valuable feature of Cisco Prime is the heat map."
    More Cisco Prime [EOL] pros
    "We look at the traffic to segment the network and it improves and increases the performance. When we have a mobile connection and local laptops are on the same network. We have seen a big performance upgrade."
    "The central management feature is the most valuable to me."
    "It has multiple features in one box, which helps to avoid needing a lot of equipment. This is something that makes them unique."
    "FortiManager enables us to set unified firewall policies from one centralized dashboard, reducing human error. If you do not have a central dashboard, there's a chance you might set a policy on one firewall and forget to do it for another."
    "The most valuable feature is the central configuration for firewall policies."
    "It's very easy to install, and it's easy to discover and communicate with your device."
    "The solution is very stable."
    "The setup is very simple."
    More Fortinet FortiManager pros
     

    Cons

    "Some improvements are needed, specifically in the form of more updates and enhancements."
    "The product is expensive compared to other vendors in the market."
    "I rate Cisco Prime seven out of 10 for affordability. All Cisco solutions are expensive."
    "I want the tool to improve data visibility."
    "The reporting feature of Cisco Prime should be improved."
    "The solution is not easy to configure."
    "It should be able to monitor Palo Alto, Juniper, and Check Point products - not just Cisco solutions."
    "The product needs to improve its interface and reporting."
    More Cisco Prime [EOL] cons
    "FortiManager would be improved by putting everything into a single console, including Microsoft O365 integration."
    "The areas that need improvement are implemenation and support. In terms of implementation, it mainly needs clear documentation."
    "We have experienced a series of minor bugs that necessitated contacted technical support on several occasions."
    "You cannot integrate with other solutions."
    "The graphical user interface could use improvement as it appears complex and not user-friendly."
    "The documentation could be better."
    "The graphical user interface could use improvement as it appears complex and not user-friendly."
    "In future updates, I would like to see more customization and AI integration."
    More Fortinet FortiManager cons
     

    Pricing and Cost Advice

    "The product is expensive compared to other vendors in the market."
    "You need to get special quotes from the company for each order."
    "Cisco Prime is an expensive solution."
    "I would rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."
    "The solution is not inexpensive but is worth it for large-scale environments."
    "We update the license every five years."
    "I rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."
    "I would rate the pricing of Cisco Prime a seven out of ten."
    More Cisco Prime [EOL] pricing and cost advice
    "Compared to Check Point or Cisco, Fortinet FortiManager is more affordable but it is still on the higher end."
    "The price of Fortinet FortiManager is inexpensive."
    "The license model they use depends on the size and is not limited to the users."
    "Fortinet FortiManager can be expensive."
    "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."
    "For us, it is a little bit expensive."
    "Our organization pays a monthly license fee for the solution."
    "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."
    More Fortinet FortiManager pricing and cost advice
    report
    See which vendors are best for you
    Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Network Management Applications solutions are best for your needs.
    See recommendations
    872,029 professionals have used our research since 2012.
     

    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

    NetMaster Network Intelligence vs Cisco Prime [EOL] Logo
    NetMaster Network Intelligence vs Cisco Prime [EOL]
    Compared 56% of the time
    ExtremeCloud IQ vs Cisco Prime [EOL] Logo
    ExtremeCloud IQ vs Cisco Prime [EOL]
    Compared 44% of the time
    More Cisco Prime [EOL] Competitors
    Fortinet FortiGate Cloud vs Fortinet FortiManager Logo
    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
    Download Free Report
    Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Fortinet and others in Network Management Applications. Updated: October 2025.
    DOWNLOAD NOW
    872,029 professionals have used our research since 2012.
    See our list of best Network Management Applications vendors.

    We monitor all Network Management Applications reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.