Cisco UCS Manager vs FortiMonitor comparison

Cisco and Fortinet are both solutions in the IT Infrastructure Monitoring category. Cisco is ranked #17 with an average rating of 8.7, while Fortinet is ranked #22 with an average rating of 8.7. Cisco holds a 1.2% mindshare in IM, compared to Fortinet’s 0.7% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Fortinet users who would recommend it.

Cisco UCS Manager

Read 27 Cisco UCS Manager reviews

1,749 Views
1,539 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

FortiMonitor

Read 15 FortiMonitor reviews

1,548 Views
944 Comparison Views

100% willing to recommend

Cisco UCS Manager

FortiMonitor

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Download the report

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 9, 2024

Cisco UCS Manager and FortiMonitor compete in IT infrastructure optimization and monitoring capabilities. Cisco UCS Manager has the upper hand in comprehensive infrastructure management due to its tight integration with Cisco hardware, while FortiMonitor is preferred for advanced monitoring functionalities.

Features: Cisco UCS Manager offers unified management of computing, networking, and storage resources, including integration with Cisco hardware, centralized management capabilities, and advanced configuration options. FortiMonitor provides robust network performance monitoring, alerting capabilities, and diverse integrations, along with advanced analytics and a customizable dashboard.

Room for Improvement: Cisco UCS Manager could enhance its cloud integration, simplify the user interface, and improve multi-vendor support. FortiMonitor might improve its on-premises deployment options, expand integration with proprietary systems, and refine its user-centric customization capabilities.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: FortiMonitor features a streamlined deployment process with flexible cloud options and is known for responsive customer service. Cisco UCS Manager requires on-premises setup, which may lengthen deployment times for those committed to Cisco hardware.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco UCS Manager involves higher initial setup costs due to specialized hardware but offers strong ROI within Cisco environments. FortiMonitor is more competitively priced, offering scalable cloud-based plans and solid ROI, particularly beneficial for IT environments not reliant on Cisco hardware.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco UCS Manager vs. FortiMonitor Report (Updated: September 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco UCS Manager vs. FortiMonitor

September 2025

Download the complete report

Helped 869,760 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 UCS Manager

Ranking in IT Infrastructure Monitoring

17th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.0

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

FortiMonitor

Ranking in IT Infrastructure Monitoring

22nd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Monitoring Software (21st), IT Alerting and Incident Management (9th), Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM) (7th)

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2025, in the IT Infrastructure Monitoring category, the mindshare of Cisco UCS Manager is 1.2%, down from 1.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of FortiMonitor is 0.7%, up from 0.6% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

IT Infrastructure Monitoring Market Share Distribution
Product	Market Share (%)
Cisco UCS Manager	1.2%
FortiMonitor	0.7%
Other	98.1%

IT Infrastructure Monitoring

Featured Reviews

Edwin Mwosa

IT Infrastructure Manager at KTDA

Enhanced network oversight with rapid issue identification and good efficiency

We mainly use Cisco UCS Manager to integrate and manage our Cisco switches across the building. We also utilize it for network integration. It provides an integrated solution for our Cisco environment, streamlining our operations and managing multiple Cisco devices like switches and routers Cisco…

Read full review

JaimeVasquez

Commercial Manager at IT-Experience

Monitoring capabilities keep operations running smoothly and alerts enhance proactive system management

We use FortiMonitor to monitor the infrastructure of our customers. We check on what is happening with their operations, monitor bandwidth, ensure configurations are appropriate for the customer, and identify if anything is going wrong The most valuable features of FortiMonitor are its redundancy…

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

"It is more robust than other solutions. So, the stability is good."

"The most valuable features are flexibility and management."

"We can configure the Cisco UCS Manager, the profiles and interactions with the resource we manage."

"The solution is highly scalable, mainly because of the templates that make it easy for you to actually edit on the system."

"The flexibility and the ease in which the features can be expanded are the solution's most valuable aspects."

"Cisco UCS has different layers of security, and you can do multiple installations of your LIAMs on top of the server and Blade. You can install VMware, Windows Server, Hyper-V, etc."

"Technical support has been good so far. We haven't had any issues with them. We're satisfied with the level of service they provide our company."

"Cisco UCS Manager is overall a good package because it gives a GUI interface and a CLI."

More Cisco UCS Manager pros

"FortiMonitor's dashboard is very informative and user-friendly."

"The product's initial setup phase is easy."

"FortiMonitor offers comprehensive monitoring capabilities, allowing me to track network traffic in and out effectively."

"The most valuable feature of FortiMonitor is the overall ability to monitor the health of the environment."

"The solution helps to see client infrastructure. It has many boxes and blinks green or red when the station goes up or down. We have different domains for the device groups that we monitor."

"FortiMonitor is really easy to use for monitoring the logs on FortiGate...It is a stable product."

"FortiMonitor has a very intuitive dashboard, which makes it particularly helpful for analyzing traffic, alerts, and other information."

"In FortiMonitor, we're linked up with our Netgear, CactusServer, and NOC. It's really valuable because everything's migrating to one dashboard for us system engineers. We can keep an eye on traffic, blocked sites, and the health of our hardware. That last part, about knowing if something's going to fail soon, is super important. It gives us time to sort things out before any big problems happen. As a system engineer, I need to keep tabs on everything – temperature, monitoring systems, and network operations. This data is really handy because it helps me ensure our site runs smoothly, whether it's turning systems on or off. Just last night, there was a system failure, but thanks to real-time monitoring, I quickly identified the problem and got the necessary replacement parts."

More FortiMonitor pros

Cons

"Cisco UCS Manager should have a simplified deployment in the sense of not having multiple machines, demilitarized zones, and on-premise options."

"We have three data centers and if we could manage all three data centers using one interface, it would be great."

"The primary challenge we face is identifying the correct version to deploy during firmware upgrades or compute updates."

"There is room for improvement in the software part of Cisco UCS Manager. It should be more user-friendly, especially when creating policies."

"The pricing can be better."

"I found it a bit of a challenge to get training on UCSM. I've been trying to get that for some time now. I feel like I have to figure it out a lot of things myself. For years I've to log calls with support whenever I've got challenges that I cannot resolve. If I had some training or more manuals, I'd be better able to handle more things on my own."

"The installation and upgrade sytems need to be improved."

"I would like to see Cisco UCS optionally work as a hyper-converged system because right now, it only operates as a converged system."

More Cisco UCS Manager cons

"Sometimes, during high CPU usage, we cannot access FortiMonitor and must refresh it."

"The tool's price in Vietnam is high, making it an area of concern where improvements can be made."

"Additionally, there are no AI features in FortiMonitor, which might be an area for enhancement."

"FortiMonitor could improve by having compatibility with other operating systems, such as Linux."

"FortiMonitor needs to improve its alert system."

". Enhancements in the dashboard, such as clearer alerting, maintenance window management, software version tracking, and better visualization, would be beneficial."

"Sometimes, we get corruption when upgrading from firmware to the new generation, causing a lot of issues."

"FortiMonitor could be improved by making it more convenient for smaller workloads, such as when configuring a few branches."

More FortiMonitor cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"With product discounts which can be negotiated, the product is a great value."

"Cisco UCS Manager’s annual licensing fee is expensive."

"Cisco UCS is more expensive than Dell and HP, but it is more reliable. I see less issues and it's quite stable."

"You buy the hardware and then you get Cisco UCS Manager for free."

"We need to take a license for each port, which amounts to a big sum."

"The pricing for Cisco UCS Manager is okay for its market, so it's a four out of five for me."

"There are additional costs needed for certain functionality, such as scalability."

"The price of FortiMonitor is approximately $200 annually for 225 users. The price is competitive."

"FortiMonitor's price is very high."

"We have a large customer base for Fortinet, and the additional buying power got us really great discounts."

"Compared to other solutions, FortiMonitor is a very expensive solution."

"On a scale from one to ten, I rate the pricing a nine since it is a good solution that is available at a cheap price."

"In terms of licensing, while it may not be the most expensive option on the market, it's relatively cost-effective. You can obtain licenses at a lower cost, with the calculation being straightforward. For example, if you onboard around 5,000 devices, you'll need approximately 5,000 licenses, as each device typically counts as one license."

"The tool's pricing model in Vietnam is a bit high. I rate the product price as an eight out of ten."

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which IT Infrastructure Monitoring solutions are best for your needs.

See recommendations

869,760 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

17%

Financial Services Firm

14%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

26%

Manufacturing Company

Healthcare Company

Retailer

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	3
Large Enterprise	18

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	8
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	6

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco UCS Manager?

When one server fails, we can attach the service profile to a new server, which saves a lot of time.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco UCS Manager?

My experience with the pricing of Cisco UCS Manager ( /products/cisco-ucs-manager-reviews ) is that it is reasonable. Recently, we acquired an excellent bundle with significant discounts, with offe...

See all answers

What needs improvement with Cisco UCS Manager?

For improvements, while the current graphical user interface is satisfactory, it could be further simplified for different tasks. While it has been improved from using Java to HTML, simplifying the...

See all answers

What is the best network monitoring software for large enterprises?

I have a clear bias because I work for Panopta. We aren't a fit for everyone, but I can confirm that Panopta is a lot less work to stand up and maintain. It's also a lot easier to use and onboard n...

See all answers

What do you like most about FortiMonitor?

In FortiMonitor, we're linked up with our Netgear, CactusServer, and NOC. It's really valuable because everything's migrating to one dashboard for us system engineers. We can keep an eye on traffic...

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for FortiMonitor?

FortiMonitor does save time but not significantly on costs, as there are still expenses related to procurement, installation, and licensing.

See all answers

Comparisons

Cisco Intersight vs Cisco UCS Manager

Compared 75% of the time

Nutanix Prism vs Cisco UCS Manager

Compared 8% of the time

HPE OneView vs Cisco UCS Manager

Compared 7% of the time

Everbridge IT Alerting vs Cisco UCS Manager

Compared 4% of the time

Zabbix vs Cisco UCS Manager

Compared 4% of the time

More Cisco UCS Manager Competitors

ThousandEyes vs FortiMonitor

Compared 26% of the time

Datadog vs FortiMonitor

Compared 17% of the time

Zabbix vs FortiMonitor

Compared 15% of the time

SolarWinds Network Device Monitor vs FortiMonitor

Compared 12% of the time

PRTG Network Monitor vs FortiMonitor

Compared 12% of the time

More FortiMonitor Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco UCS Manager

October 2025

Download Cisco UCS Manager product report

Buyer's Guide

Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM)

September 2025

Download FortiMonitor product report

Also Known As

No data available

Panopta

Overview

Cisco UCS Manager helps significantly reduce management and administration expenses by automating routine tasks to increase operational agility. Customers can extend the benefits of Cisco UCS Manager globally across an enterprise to thousands of servers in multiple domains with Cisco UCS Central Software.

Cisco

FortiMonitor is a comprehensive, SaaS-based digital experience monitoring (DEM) platform that helps organizations modernize their performance-monitoring tools. It provides visibility into endpoint application performance and digital experience—no matter where the user resides or where the application is hosted.

Fortinet

Sample Customers

Management Science Associates, Peak 10, Virtual Consulting Professionals

SONY, GoDaddy, HCL, ING, ARMOR, billboard

Buyer's Guide

Cisco UCS Manager vs. FortiMonitor

September 2025

Free Report: Cisco UCS Manager vs. FortiMonitor

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco UCS Manager vs. FortiMonitor and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.

DOWNLOAD NOW

869,760 professionals have used our research since 2012.

See our Cisco UCS Manager vs. FortiMonitor report.

See our list of best IT Infrastructure Monitoring vendors.

We monitor all IT Infrastructure Monitoring 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.