Fortinet FortiAuthenticator and Microsoft Identity Manager compete within the identity and access management category. Microsoft Identity Manager appears to have an advantage given its seamless integration with the Microsoft ecosystem, making it a strong choice for businesses already invested in Microsoft solutions.
Features: Fortinet FortiAuthenticator includes robust two-factor authentication, seamless integration with Fortinet products, and supports diverse authentication methods such as LDAP, RADIUS, and social login. Microsoft Identity Manager focuses on tight integration with Microsoft platforms, providing strong synchronization with Azure Active Directory and Windows Server, as well as hybrid resource management capabilities.
Room for Improvement: Fortinet FortiAuthenticator could improve its interface and integration capabilities with non-Fortinet technologies like ADFS and VMware. Users have noted configuration challenges and the need for enhanced documentation. Microsoft Identity Manager requires better governance reporting, broader support for non-native environments, and improved cloud solution integration. Its strong focus on Microsoft environments can be restrictive for diverse systems.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Fortinet FortiAuthenticator is primarily deployed on-premises, facilitating streamlined installation within the Fortinet environment but presenting challenges elsewhere. Although customer support is responsive, some issues take time to resolve. Microsoft Identity Manager offers flexibility with private and hybrid cloud solutions but experiences delays in support due to its complex features. It requires substantial Microsoft ecosystem integration, suiting companies deeply embedded in this network.
Pricing and ROI: Fortinet FortiAuthenticator offers competitive pricing with stackable licenses to scale with user demands, being less expensive than some competitors like Cisco. It delivers positive ROI via improved security and compliance. Microsoft Identity Manager is included in premium Microsoft subscriptions, potentially reducing expenses for existing Azure service users. It's cost-effective within Microsoft environments but may lack apparent ROI outside of these services.
It enhances security by ensuring only the right person can access systems, even if their login credentials are compromised.
The technical support team is proficient and has all necessary resources to support all types of requirements.
Customer service and support are excellent.
At times, some technical staff lack knowledge, which delays issue resolution.
It is important to get to the right engineer quickly, but the process sometimes involves multiple levels before reaching the best support.
I rate the technical support nine out of ten.
The technical support is of good quality
I find Fortinet FortiAuthenticator to be highly scalable, and I would rate it an eight out of ten for scalability.
The scalability of FortiAuthenticator is good, and I would rate it an eight on a scale of one to ten.
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator should be sufficiently scalable.
In terms of scalability, Microsoft Identity Manager allows management of up to 400,000 objects with a standard configuration.
It remains stable even when the number of concurrent users increases.
Not all conditions can be satisfied at all times, leading to some employee or user accounts experiencing deviations and syncing issues.
For example, authentication for wireless users expires after 24 hours, requiring re-authentication daily.
I recommend Fortinet make its images migratable between environments.
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator could benefit from some artificial intelligence functionality.
Very often customers require real-time or almost real-time updates, and this feature is missing in Microsoft Identity Manager.
The current policy management features are limited, and custom, flexible policies would be ideal.
While the initial setup of Microsoft Identity Manager is not completely complex, migrating or upgrading to a new version can be complex and requires multiple backups to ensure it goes smoothly.
Fortinet FortiAuthenticator is not overly expensive compared to other Fortinet subscriptions.
Microsoft's licenses are bundled, allowing access to multiple services, which is beneficial.
The pricing of Microsoft Identity Manager is expensive.
Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing of Microsoft Identity Manager, it has a couple of cloud connectors that can sync directly with the O365 admin center, which is good enough.
The integration with FortiToken is outstanding, adding a layer of security for authentication.
This logging capability allows for providing access to more admin users while ensuring security is not compromised and all users can be monitored.
We use multi-factor authentication for enhancing security.
The best features of Microsoft Identity Manager are its 100% compatibility with Active Directory.
It is more efficient, much quicker, and does not cost as much.
These features have been impactful in improving our security and compliance.
| Product | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Fortinet FortiAuthenticator | 1.7% |
| Microsoft Identity Manager | 2.3% |
| Other | 96.0% |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 38 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 18 |
| Large Enterprise | 11 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 13 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 3 |
| Large Enterprise | 11 |
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."
Microsoft Identity Manager (MIM) builds on the identity and access management capabilities of Forefront Identity Manager. MIM helps you manage the users, credentials, policies, and access within your organization. Additionally, MIM adds a hybrid experience, privileged access management capabilities, and support for new platforms.
We monitor all Identity Management (IM) 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.
