We performed a comparison between Fortinet FortiGate-VM and WatchGuard Firebox based on real PeerSpot user reviews.
Find out in this report how the two Firewalls solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI."Its stability is the most valuable."
"The simplicity of the configuration and the stability of the product are most valuable. The VPN concentrator is very useful."
"Security management tool that's easy to integrate and easy to work with. No issues found with its stability and scalability."
"It is quite easy to handle."
"This solution made it very easy to manage our bandwidth."
"The technical support in our region is excellent."
"Fortinet FortiGate is user-friendly and affordable."
"Fortinet FortiGate is a security device. It can optimize security on the networks of a company. It actually protects the company from attacks from outside. With FortiGate, you can categorize the users. You can create a group of users that can access all of the websites for their work. You can limit other users' access."
"The ease of access and user-friendly setup is a valuable feature. Fortinet proves to be particularly straightforward to configure, offering simplicity without complexity. Moreover, visibility is easily attainable due to certain factors. Price, implementation, and budget considerations play a role. When it comes to Cisco implementation, the process tends to be more intricate, which many customers find unfavourable for their business needs."
"The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is easy to operate."
"Regarding specific features, I appreciate the option for external selection, where you can choose either to use a default or create a self-description. This simplifies the process compared to other vendors that require creating a test extension profile and then applying it to the installation. With FortiGate, there is a streamlined approach. From the benefits perspective, clients mainly see cost reduction, especially with FortiGate VM Firewall, as it eliminates the need for additional hardware."
"I rate the tool's stability a ten out of ten."
"The dashboards are a good feature."
"It is very useful to make lists for rules and prepare firewall rules."
"The tool's most valuable feature is its ability to deploy it on live physical hardware. Specifically, when providing firewall services for clients, we can leverage such hardware appliances to support multiple customers on the same hardware."
"An enhanced security solution for any kind of alert that we have configured."
"I could still keep the data rates really high, up near the two gigahertz data speeds, without compromise on the security perimeters being acted simultaneously."
"The product's usability is good. It is straightforward and simple. One of the benefits is that it is easy to navigate and intuitive."
"The main reason we went with it was the security protocols. They were more robust on this device."
"I have found the DNS Watch feature for intrusion and prevention response and APT Locker most valuable to me."
"The most valuable feature for small and medium businesses is the support for various protocol proxies."
"After conducting several tests I found the antivirus is working very well. Additionally, they have a very interesting feature, DNS WatchGuard, which is checking DNS requests for phishing, among other things, and it has caught a lot of unwanted attempts and attacks."
"[A] valuable feature would be the branch office. We have five offices throughout the United States, and it coordinates the connections of those offices."
"The reports are detailed."
"The logging details need to be improved."
"The support team for Fortinet FortiGate needs to be more customer friendly."
"Difficult to add or define, and not that easy to configure and manage."
"We have an issue with hotel guest vouchers."
"Fortinet FortiGate could improve by having more storage in the hardware for log data."
"One area for improvement is the performance on bandwidth demands for smaller devices, as well as better web filtering."
"It should provide better visibility over the network and more information in the form of reports for the end users. Its installation should also be easier."
"Fortinet FortiGate is a stable solution. However, my issue is the performance only. When I use all the profiles, this affects the performance. From the beginning, I should have had a better sizing of the box."
"One thing that can be better is added automation. And, on top of that, enhanced security when it comes to the automation itself."
"When new versions are deployed they tend to be a little buggy, so they should be more fully tested before release."
"Sizing can be challenging for customers interested in using Fortinet FortiGate-VM."
"The licensing needs to be improved. We need longer licensing periods, especially for POCs and trials. It should be for six months. Right now, it's too short of a timeframe."
"The reporting is not as good as it is with other firewalls and it should be improved."
"The graphical user interface should be enhanced."
"The operating system isn't stable, so it goes to memory counters every night."
"I have had a data issue with physical devices that could improve."
"Some of the configuration options are somewhat confusing."
"The reporting is a little on the weak side. I would like to see a better reporting set and easier drill-down options."
"The way Secure Sign-On authentication is happening needs to be improved. When the Secure Sign-On portal is turned on, anybody who comes into the campus, whether he or she is a staff member or a guest, has to go past the initial portal. One of the shortcomings is the username. It shouldn't allow permutations or combinations with upper or lower cases. For example, when there is a username abc, it shouldn't allow ABC or Abc. It should not allow the same username, but currently, two separate people can go in. Therefore, its authentication or validation should be improved, and the case sensitiveness should be picked up. If I have restricted someone to two devices, they shouldn't be able to use different combinations of the same username and get into the third or fourth device. It shouldn't allow different combinations of alphabets to be used to log in."
"The level of support from WatchGuard is not as good."
"I would like to see more training become available for us."
"I would like to see more tutorials on setting up the Firebox."
"The next release should have better software and configuration systems that can also be used on Linux."
"I'm not really impressed with the reporting side of it. It may be something I just haven't figured out very well, but it's hard to filter down on reporting of the actual valuable information that you would want. There is a lot of information out there so you have to have some kind of tool capture it and then filter through. So far, I haven't found the reporting side of the WatchGuard to be that user-friendly."
Fortinet FortiGate-VM is ranked 9th in Firewalls with 113 reviews while WatchGuard Firebox is ranked 13th in Firewalls with 78 reviews. Fortinet FortiGate-VM is rated 8.4, while WatchGuard Firebox is rated 8.6. The top reviewer of Fortinet FortiGate-VM writes "An easy-to-manage and configure tool that provides ample documentation to help with the setup phase". On the other hand, the top reviewer of WatchGuard Firebox writes "Offers a streamlined deployment, intuitive interface and robust security features". Fortinet FortiGate-VM is most compared with Azure Firewall, Palo Alto Networks VM-Series, Fortinet FortiOS, OPNsense and Netgate pfSense, whereas WatchGuard Firebox is most compared with Netgate pfSense, Sophos XG, OPNsense, SonicWall TZ and Meraki MX. See our Fortinet FortiGate-VM vs. WatchGuard Firebox report.
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