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Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center vs Fortinet FortiGate Cloud comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Nov 4, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

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

ROI

Sentiment score
3.2
Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center boosts efficiency and security, offsetting higher initial costs with reduced operational expenses.
Sentiment score
4.0
Fortinet FortiGate Cloud boosts efficiency, reduces costs by 40%, and offers significant savings over alternatives like Palo Alto or Cisco.
With Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center, we can push policies centrally to multiple devices in just a few minutes, which has significantly reduced the effort and time.
Network Security Consultant at NTT DATA
There are a lot of solutions which can provide the same features.
Senior Network and Security Engineer at Symbol Technologies PLC
The cloud aspect provides flexibility in disaster recovery and cost management.
Vice President of Infrustructure at Core Technologies Limited
In terms of cost savings or efficiency in our company's IT network management, I would say that the tool is very efficient because we have no problems with it at all.
Chief Executive Officer at EE Solutions GmbH
The return on investment is very good due to the reliability and stability of the devices.
Systems & Network Administrator at Giampaolo Group Inc.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.3
Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center's support is mixed, praised for expertise but criticized for delays and regional access issues.
Sentiment score
7.2
Fortinet FortiGate Cloud support is praised for knowledge and reliability, though response times vary; premium support enhances satisfaction.
Cisco's documentation and knowledge base are quite strong, which helps with resolving issues without always raising a ticket.
Network Security Consultant at NTT DATA
I rate the technical support from Cisco as ten out of ten.
Sr. Solutions Architect, Consulting Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
I have received good support from FortiGate, and I would rate it a ten out of ten.
Group IT Manager at Araliya Group of Companies
The team is responsive, and most cases are handled promptly.
Vice President of Infrustructure at Core Technologies Limited
Waiting in the queue for a technician is too time-consuming when the business is down.
Network Engineer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center excels in scalability, managing large environments and user bases while supporting growth with flexibility.
Sentiment score
7.8
Fortinet FortiGate Cloud is praised for scalability and flexibility, despite potential hardware limitations requiring careful sizing.
It supports managing multiple devices and policies from a single console, which makes scaling operations easier.
Network Security Consultant at NTT DATA
I would rate scalability capabilities as ten out of ten.
Senior Network and Security Engineer at Symbol Technologies PLC
For the 3000 new series and the 4000, we can make a cluster.
Sr. Solutions Architect, Consulting Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
I have a few sites running on high availability with FortiGate models that are sufficient to handle the load of users.
Systems & Network Administrator at Giampaolo Group Inc.
It is a scalable solution.
Chief Executive Officer at EE Solutions GmbH
The cost is reasonable if you compare it to maybe a SIEM or FortiAnalyzer.
Security Engineer at Exclusive Networks
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.1
Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center is stable with occasional performance issues, generally rated seven to nine for reliability.
Sentiment score
7.8
Fortinet FortiGate Cloud is highly stable and dependable, with minimal issues and high user satisfaction ratings.
We have not faced any major outages from the platform itself.
Network Security Consultant at NTT DATA
It is a very stable solution.
Chief Executive Officer at EE Solutions GmbH
Once we configure the devices, the solution is stable.
Network Engineer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
I would rate the stability of Fortinet FortiGate Cloud as eight out of ten.
Group IT Manager at Araliya Group of Companies
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center struggles with complexity, performance, cost, integration, and requires improvements in usability and features.
Fortinet FortiGate Cloud needs better integration, security, interface, support, scalability, and cost reduction, plus SD-WAN features.
I remember version 6.4 had an integration with Eddie, allowing me to define a policy according to my users, however, the latest version, lacks this integration.
Senior Network and Security Engineer at Symbol Technologies PLC
Now Cisco has published the 120 series and the 1100 series, which support SD-WAN features in the firewall.
Sr. Solutions Architect, Consulting Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
At times, it can feel complex, especially for new users, and navigation between different sections could be more intuitive.
Network Security Consultant at NTT DATA
They could improve the product features for telemetry and interoperability with third-party monitoring tools.
Vice President of Infrustructure at Core Technologies Limited
I feel that the product should be made cheaper because the customers are always a little bit scared about the tool's prices.
Chief Executive Officer at EE Solutions GmbH
Sometimes, the FortiAP causes a lot of problems with the Wi-Fi.
Network Engineer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
 

Setup Cost

Cisco Secure Firewall pricing is high but justified by its comprehensive features, with flexible and variable licensing costs.
Fortinet FortiGate Cloud pricing varies, with mixed perceptions of cost-effectiveness, especially where security value outweighs expense concerns.
I find the pricing for Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center to be very reasonable, as they offer the license for both virtual and hardware options.
Sr. Solutions Architect, Consulting Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
The initial setup cost can be significant because it involves licensing along with compatible hardware or virtual deployment.
Network Security Consultant at NTT DATA
A FortiGate box costs less than 2000000 Naira, while Palo Alto might range between 3000000 to 4000000 Naira.
Vice President of Infrustructure at Core Technologies Limited
Every year, the product's prices go up and it has been continuing since the past three years.
Chief Executive Officer at EE Solutions GmbH
The solution's pricing is good compared to that of Cisco and Meraki devices.
Network Engineer at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
 

Valuable Features

Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center offers centralized management, strong security, and efficient integration, enhancing network protection and user experience.
Fortinet FortiGate Cloud provides robust security, centralized management, and scalability, excelling in SD-WAN, VPN, and integration features.
I consider Talos feedback that Cisco provides as free threat intelligence to be the most valuable for me and for the operation of the security policy in my organization.
Sr. Solutions Architect, Consulting Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
The best features of Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center are the centralized management and strong security visibility.
Network Security Consultant at NTT DATA
It provides full visibility of my devices, whether I have six or ten devices.
Senior Network and Security Engineer at Symbol Technologies PLC
The solution's most valuable feature is its ease of use.
Chief Executive Officer at EE Solutions GmbH
The most effective features for managing cyber threats are IPS and application control.
Consultant at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Fortinet FortiGate Cloud provides effective threat protection by blocking unwanted IP addresses and websites.
Group IT Manager at Araliya Group of Companies
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Secure Firewall Manag...
Ranking in Firewall Security Management
10th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
29
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiGate Cloud
Ranking in Firewall Security Management
5th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
80
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Firewall Security Management category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center is 3.1%, up from 1.3% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate Cloud is 5.4%, up from 4.7% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Firewall Security Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiGate Cloud5.4%
Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center3.1%
Other91.5%
Firewall Security Management
 

Featured Reviews

SurajYadav - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Security Consultant at NTT DATA
Centralized firewall control has improved visibility and policy management but needs faster UI performance
The best features of Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center are the centralized management and strong security visibility. The most useful feature for me is centralized policy management, where I can create and enforce access control policies across multiple firewalls from a single console. It saves a lot of time and ensures consistency. Another key feature is IPS visibility. Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center provides detailed intrusion events and signatures, which help in quickly identifying and responding to threats. Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center has had a positive impact mainly by improving centralized control and visibility across our firewall environment. Earlier, managing multiple firewalls individually was time-consuming and inconsistent. With Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center, we can manage policies from a single console, which has improved efficiency and reduced configuration errors. It has also enhanced our security posture with better visibility into traffic and IPS events. We are able to detect and respond to threats more quickly, which helps in reducing risk and improving overall incident response time.
FS
Security Engineer at Exclusive Networks
Cloud logs have supported long-term auditing but security vulnerabilities still raise concerns
It depends on the user. When he needs maybe data retention for one year, for three months or more, I recommend Fortinet FortiGate Cloud. If he doesn't want to set the log on FortiAnalyzer, I will recommend him with Fortinet FortiGate Cloud. It depends. As I mentioned before, if they don't have a syslog server or any other SIEM, I will recommend it. If they need an audit for one year of data retention, I will recommend it because it's worth the money for one year of log retention. It's straightforward. If I enable Fortinet FortiGate Cloud feature on the FortiGate on-premise or VM, it will copy the configuration on the cloud. Depending on my license, I can configure it or have it as read-only with a limited license. That's one of the main purposes of Fortinet FortiGate Cloud for me. The report doesn't have many templates, but the log retention is so good with one-year retention. If you compare it with the FortiAnalyzer or maybe with any other product such as a FortiSIEM template, with the limited license, you only get the 360 template, it's called. I think the security function, I mainly use it for configuration purposes and log retention purposes. The security is the same as the VM or the hardware, I think. The sandbox. I think it has it, but not a lot if you only have the default capability with only 10 files per minute. I think the user needs to be selective with the files that they want to send to the sandbox on the cloud.
report
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
14%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Marketing Services Firm
11%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business12
Midsize Enterprise9
Large Enterprise8
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business51
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise22
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center?
My experience with pricing and licensing for Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center is that it is generally on the higher side compared to some alternatives. The initial setup cost can be signific...
What needs improvement with Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center?
One area where Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center can be improved is the user interface. At times, it can feel complex, especially for new users, and navigation between different sections coul...
What is your primary use case for Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center?
Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center serves as my primary tool for centralized firewall policy management and monitoring security events across multiple devices. On a daily basis, I use it to ma...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiGate Cloud?
I am very satisfied with the price and licensing cost of Fortinet FortiGate Cloud, rating it an eight out of ten.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiGate Cloud?
It needs to improve the vulnerability that I found recently regarding the single sign-on from Fortinet FortiGate Cloud account. That became a concern for my user. The CVE that was leaked recently a...
What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiGate Cloud?
I am not a user at this time. I am a system integrator. Mostly firewall and network protection. Rarely with endpoint protection. I can say a partner and reseller, I think.
 

Also Known As

No data available
FortiCloud, FortiGate Cloud
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Firewall Management Center vs. Fortinet FortiGate Cloud and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
909,725 professionals have used our research since 2012.