Fortinet FortiAuthenticator and Microsoft Active Directory are two prominent identity management solutions. Fortinet FortiAuthenticator stands out for its pricing and customer support, whereas Microsoft Active Directory is preferred for its feature set and deployment ease.
Features: Fortinet FortiAuthenticator is valued for its high security, integration with Fortinet products, and flexibility. Microsoft Active Directory is praised for its comprehensive directory services, scalability, and integration with a wide range of applications. Users tend to find Microsoft Active Directory more robust in feature set.
Room for Improvement: Fortinet FortiAuthenticator users suggest improvements in documentation and reporting capabilities. Microsoft Active Directory users highlight the need for a more modern approach to identity management and better cloud integration. Fortinet FortiAuthenticator has more room for improvement in usability, whereas Microsoft Active Directory needs advancements in versatility.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Fortinet FortiAuthenticator receives positive feedback for straightforward deployment and responsive customer service. Microsoft Active Directory, while also easy to deploy, can be complex in large-scale environments. Fortinet FortiAuthenticator offers a more user-friendly deployment experience and better customer service support.
Pricing and ROI: Fortinet FortiAuthenticator is favored for its competitive pricing and quick ROI. Microsoft Active Directory, though considered more expensive, is seen as offering greater value due to its extensive features and capabilities. Fortinet FortiAuthenticator is seen as a cost-effective solution, while Microsoft Active Directory is perceived as worth the investment for its comprehensive services.
It enhances security by ensuring only the right person can access systems, even if their login credentials are compromised.
The solution is really time-saving since I don't need to create users in each server or system manually, and user access control is streamlined.
At times, some technical staff lack knowledge, which delays issue resolution.
Technical support from Fortinet deserves a rating of 10.
Customer service and support are excellent.
Support documents are available on the internet in every language.
Sometimes support takes long to engage and resolve, extending over weeks or even months.
The scalability of FortiAuthenticator is good, and I would rate it an eight on a scale of one to ten.
I find Fortinet FortiAuthenticator to be highly scalable, and I would rate it an eight out of ten for scalability.
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator should be sufficiently scalable.
Microsoft Active Directory scales effectively; I don't foresee any issues with that at all.
It remains stable even when the number of concurrent users increases.
I've been working with Microsoft Active Directory for over 3 years, and we've had no problems.
With multiple domain controllers, stability is ensured.
For example, authentication for wireless users expires after 24 hours, requiring re-authentication daily.
I recommend Fortinet make its images migratable between environments.
I would like to see more integration and inclusion of features for ransomware protection directly within the FortiAuthenticator without requiring additional devices.
Sometimes, it can be overly complicated, and when you apply Group Policy in an Active Directory environment, sometimes those settings apply and sometimes they don't.
Microsoft Active Directory Federation Services is very difficult for on-premises solutions, while for the cloud solution, it's very easy.
Exporting and verifying group memberships require command line scripts, which isn't simple.
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator is not overly expensive compared to other Fortinet subscriptions.
For the cloud solution in our region, the pricing of Microsoft Active Directory is very high.
I consider Microsoft Active Directory expensive because if you buy this thing bundled with the Windows Directory Server, you get five user licenses for about a thousand euros, or a little bit less than this.
The pricing, setup cost, and licensing with Microsoft Active Directory is straightforward; you just buy the server and then have to buy the user CALs.
The integration with FortiToken is outstanding, adding a layer of security for authentication.
We use multi-factor authentication for enhancing security.
The most valuable feature I find in FortiAuthenticator is web filtering.
These Group Policies provide enhancement, helping to reduce administrative overhead and enhance productivity.
The features and capabilities of Microsoft Active Directory that I have found the most valuable over the years are that it is a mature technology, it's stable, and it delivers what it promises.
If I change a password or need to reset a password, the information propagates relatively quickly, and the structuring inside is easy to understand and use.
| Product | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Fortinet FortiAuthenticator | 5.7% |
| Microsoft Active Directory | 3.2% |
| Other | 91.1% |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 38 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 17 |
| Large Enterprise | 10 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 19 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 6 |
| Large Enterprise | 20 |
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator is the primary secure point of approved access into the Fortinet network, authorizing users, reviewing access permissions, and relaying the information to all Fortigate devices for comparison with identity-based protocols. Fortinet FortiAuthenticator is a top-ranked authorization and SSO solution.
Appropriate secure access is fundamental to every role in an enterprise ecosystem. It is an integral function of every organization to ensure that every access and privilege is secure and to mitigate any possible risk to an organization. Approved users should only have access to the necessary information when they need it, from the appropriate location(s) to safeguard an organization's security at all times.
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator is available as an appliance, virtual machine, or in the cloud.
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator Methods
Reviews from Real Users
Ernesto C., Presales Engineer at a comms service provider, shares,
”Key Features and Benefits
Ibrahim M., Senior Network & Security Engineer at a tech services company, relates, "The initial setup is a valuable point on Fortinet products. Most of the time, putting the theory into practice on the devices is quite friendly and straightforward. As long as you can read English you can find your way around the solution and make it work. This is a high value point on Fortinet - the way everything is laid out in the web UI is user-friendly and quite straightforward. The UI is quite simple."
Active Directory stores information about objects on the network and makes this information easy for administrators and users to find and use. Active Directory uses a structured data store as the basis for a logical, hierarchical organization of directory information.
This data store, also known as the directory, contains information about Active Directory objects. These objects typically include shared resources such as servers, volumes, printers, and the network user and computer accounts.
Security is integrated with Active Directory through logon authentication and access control to objects in the directory. With a single network logon, administrators can manage directory data and organization throughout their network, and authorized network users can access resources anywhere on the network. Policy-based administration eases the management of even the most complex network.
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