Fortinet FortiClient and Microsoft Defender for Business compete in the cybersecurity category. Defender for Business often has the upper hand due to its integration with Microsoft ecosystems and advanced threat detection features, particularly appealing to businesses using Azure and Office 365.
Features: Fortinet FortiClient offers an integrated security solution including VPN, antivirus, and web filtering, useful for those seeking an all-in-one package. It integrates effortlessly with FortiGate products, making it a budget-friendly choice. Microsoft Defender for Business boasts strong threat detection, integration with Microsoft products, and the Extended Detection and Response (XDR) capabilities that bolster security for small to mid-sized businesses. Defender is favored for its seamless integration with Microsoft's ecosystem.
Room for Improvement: Fortinet FortiClient could benefit from an improved management system, additional next-gen features, and better compatibility. Enhancements in connectivity and support are also needed. Microsoft Defender for Business faces challenges with false positives and complex integration with non-Microsoft systems. Support responsiveness and pricing improvements would cater more to budget-conscious organizations.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Fortinet FortiClient supports diverse deployments including on-premises, cloud, and hybrid setups, though support varies in quality. Microsoft Defender for Business is often linked with Azure and receives positive feedback for technical support, despite occasional delays. While both offer deployment flexibility, FortiClient may experience more support-related complaints.
Pricing and ROI: Fortinet FortiClient is economical, especially for current Fortinet users, due to its comprehensive features and low licensing costs. Microsoft Defender for Business is generally pricier but offers significant integration and security advantages within the Microsoft framework. Defender for Business is seen as cost-effective when considering its extended Microsoft service integration benefits.
The VPN performance has a substantial impact on our remote workforce.
Using Microsoft Defender for Business results in cost reductions as it consolidates various features under one product, saving around 20% to 30% of the budget.
The value I see in Microsoft Defender for Business is in its ability to track and respond to application usage and security threats through its CASB and automation features, which are cost-beneficial.
They initiate the troubleshooting process quickly and resolve issues in a timely manner.
In 99% of cases, we do not have to do configurations on our own as they are normally handled by their service providers.
They provide very good support, and an issue I had was resolved quickly over the phone.
It is rated ten out of ten for its quality and assistance.
The onboarding support is exceptional, ensuring seamless integration and implementation.
Faster support is needed for endpoint security solutions.
We normally take into consideration while installing the product that it can scale up to approximately 20%, but not more than that.
I hope Fortinet will start an insider developer program where professionals can provide feedback on new releases to ensure improvements.
We can add more licenses and Fortinet tokens, demonstrating excellent scalability.
The cloud-based nature of the solution ensures high scalability.
The scalability of Microsoft Defender for Business is rated as ten, indicating it is very scalable.
In terms of scalability, I would rate Microsoft Defender for Business a ten.
Its stability level is excellent.
I normally get a call within 15-20 minutes after logging a complaint.
The overall stability of Fortinet FortiClient rates at nine out of ten.
No customer complaints about its functionality or reliability.
Although it generally works, there are occasional issues and errors that sometimes require a complete system format to rectify.
I would rate the stability of Microsoft Defender for Business with a three out of ten, where one is very bad.
FortiClient needs improvement in restricting user information and ensuring more secure customer data to better protect source code and reduce the risk of security breaches.
There are advanced features like Zero Trust that I currently do not use but could be beneficial for security.
Fortinet frequently releases updates without thorough testing.
Microsoft should provide batch management solutions with the application, integrating pass management with roles.
Features related to Advanced Persistent Threat detection vectors and cyber kill chain integrations are not available out-of-the-box.
There can be improvements in the user interface to make it more intuitive.
FortiClient is a value-for-money product and is not considered expensive compared to similar products on the market.
Justifying the price to clients can be difficult.
FortiClient is included in a package with the UTM features, so there is no separate cost for it.
Single-year pricing remains good.
The pricing is quite affordable at the enterprise level with no extra expenses noted.
Although the cost can be slightly higher, it expedites deployment, which is beneficial, especially for startups.
The most valuable feature of FortiClient is its high security level.
We appreciate its VPN capabilities and the features that offer extra security functionalities like antivirus and malware scanning.
I strongly recommend this solution, especially for Fortinet customers who use FortiGate or other Fortinet products, as they can easily integrate these features and exchange information seamlessly.
The threat detection capabilities are robust, with a dedicated research team and a continuously updated threat feed.
Its vulnerability management is regarded as one of the best in the industry.
The most effective features of Microsoft Defender for Business include its threat detection and response capabilities in managing vulnerabilities and ransomware attacks.
| Product | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Fortinet FortiClient | 1.8% |
| Microsoft Defender for Business | 2.1% |
| Other | 96.1% |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 58 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 23 |
| Large Enterprise | 24 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 15 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 2 |
| Large Enterprise | 3 |
FortiClient is a fabric agent that delivers endpoint protection, endpoint compliance, and secure access in a single, lightweight, lightweight client, providing visibility, information, and control to your endpoints. In addition, it enables secure, remote connectivity to the security fabric. It also integrates network and endpoint with segmentation and automation. FortiClient enables unified endpoint awareness by sharing endpoint telemetry with the security fabric. It is compatible with third-party EDR (endpoint detection and response and anti-malware solutions.
The FortiClient fabric agent can:
• Report on the status of a device, including firmware version and applications running.
• Send all suspicious files to a fabric sandbox.
• Enforce USB control, application control, URL filtering, and firmware upgrade policies.
• Provide application firewall service and malware protection.
• Enable devices to connect securely to the security fabric over either ZTNA tunnels or VPN (IPsec or SSL), both encrypted. The connection to the security fabric can be either a SASE service or a FortiGate next-generation firewall.
You can purchase FortiClient with one of three levels of capability:
Zero Trust security - The ZTNA edition enables both VPN and ZTNA encrypted tunnels, as well as USB device control and URL filtering.
Endpoint security - The EPP/APT edition adds AI-based NGAV (next-generation antivirus), application firewall, endpoint quarantine, and support for cloud sandbox.
Cloud-based endpoint security
Benefits and Features
• Fabric agent leverages integrations and provides telemetry information to the rest of the Fortinet security fabric.
• SAAS control and web/content filtering
• Dynamic access control helps with automation and simplifies compliance.
• Software inventory management enables visibility as well as management of licenses.
• Automated response detects and isolates any endpoints that may be compromised.
• ZTNA delivers better remote access and consistent application access policies
• Managed endpoint security services remotely assist with setup, configuration, deployment, vulnerability monitoring, and overall monitoring of endpoint security.
Reviews from Real Users:
PeerSpot users like that FortiClient is easy to use and integrates well with other solutions. They also appreciate the richness of its features and find it to be inexpensive in comparison to other products that require separate purchases for separate features.
Microsoft Defender for Business is a new endpoint security solution that was designed especially for the small and medium-sized business (up to 300 employees). With this endpoint security solution, your company's devices are better protected from ransomware, malware, phishing, and other threats.
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