Nov 25, 2020
I definitely recommend Fortinet. The Meraki firewall is more intended to be integrated into a Meraki SDWAN infrastructure, with very basic firewall options.
Fortinet FortiGate and Cisco Meraki MX compete in the network security market. Cisco Meraki MX is seen as having an advantage due to its superior features, despite being more expensive than Fortinet FortiGate.
Features: Fortinet FortiGate is recognized for its strong security capabilities, extensive VPN functionality, and comprehensive threat protection. Cisco Meraki MX stands out with its cloud-managed architecture, intuitive management, and security flexibility, allowing seamless integration across different platforms.
Room for Improvement: Fortinet FortiGate could enhance its ease of use, simplify its configuration processes, and offer faster and more immediate customer support. Cisco Meraki MX may improve its pricing to make it more accessible, expand its on-premise integration capabilities, and address limitations in advanced security configurations.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Meraki MX is known for its straightforward deployment and cloud-based management, making it ideal for organizations that require quick setups and reliable remote management. Fortinet FortiGate requires more detailed initial configuration but offers detailed control once implemented. Cisco Meraki MX's support is often praised, whereas Fortinet FortiGate provides comprehensive service that is not as immediate.
Pricing and ROI: Fortinet FortiGate offers competitive upfront pricing and delivers significant long-term value due to its strong security features. Cisco Meraki MX demands a higher initial investment but offers a high ROI by centralizing management and reducing ongoing operational costs.
Clients are now comfortable and not wasting productive hours on IT support.
The automation part is giving us a cost benefit and speed; we can react faster.
It's a very useful tool to mitigate and protect your enterprise.
When we raise a ticket with Meraki MX, they instantly become available to support us for configurations or troubleshooting.
Cisco's TAC support for Cisco Meraki MX is excellent because no other OEM provides support at this level.
They offer very accurate solutions.
The quick resolution of issues with Fortinet FortiGate is due to the support of the company and the fact that the equipment is easy to work with.
I would rate the technical support for Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.
When you have hundreds of thousands of people it is very difficult to scale in Meraki.
We have Juniper solutions, and I would say the Juniper solutions can scale better, however, this solution is still very scalable.
They scale up really well from smaller models like the FortiGate 40 and 50 to bigger sites with the FortiGate 100 for more throughput - up to enterprise datacenters.
The variation comes in terms of the interfaces and throughputs, but from a security perspective, you get the same benefit, irrespective of whether you have an entry-level unit or an enterprise.
We determine sizing based on multiple factors: number of users, available links, traffic types, server count, services in use, and whether services will be published.
There have been no outages, no stability issues, and we have not found any vulnerabilities during security audits.
We're experiencing 99.999% availability consistently.
I would rate the stability of Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.
Currently, we are experiencing a general outage of one of the main internet service providers of the Dominican Republic, and we have not been impacted in our operations because with SD-WAN, we have another internet service provider and we are working with the second WAN connection without any disruption.
It should automatically remediate and find out the issue and then resolve it on its own without interrupting the work of the employees.
Data is the only path, so optimization is essential.
An improvement would be to use Cisco Meraki MX as a software solution as well, which might reduce the cost.
Investing in a solution that can accommodate such growth would be more cost-effective than repeatedly purchasing new hardware.
While Fortinet claims to offer a comprehensive network solution, it falls short in addressing computer application issues, particularly server security.
When considering Sophos XG, which we also use, the logging and reporting functionality is notably more efficient.
I get it for $25,000, a device that can connect up to 75-100 users, whereas in Meraki MX, it goes to 75,000-80,000 per access point.
The price could be reduced by around 30% to make it more comfortable.
In terms of pricing, I would say it is not the cheapest, but it was comparable to the others.
Last year, I renewed the support for three years, which can sometimes be expensive but depends on the security benefits and how it helps us.
It offers cost savings as it is generally cheaper than the competition.
It is about 20% cheaper.
Meraki MX is among those top solutions in their exceptional approach towards VPN-less, Zero Trust client access to office private networks.
We understand that Cisco solutions are very reliable, and we really like the simple management.
Since cybersecurity is my main concern, this type of miscommunication relating to vulnerability blocking is crucial.
In terms of security, we have not experienced any security flaws or loopholes, and it has proven to be quite stable.
FortiGate has helped reduce the risk of cyberattacks that might disrupt our client's production.
These features help reduce our downtime, manage the ISPs, and deploy SLAs for all the website traffic.
| Product | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Fortinet FortiGate | 20.7% |
| Cisco Meraki MX | 3.4% |
| Other | 75.9% |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 42 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 17 |
| Large Enterprise | 16 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 350 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 129 |
| Large Enterprise | 187 |
Cisco Meraki MX offers cloud-managed security with user-friendly setup and efficient management, enhancing VPN and firewall functionalities for businesses.
Cisco Meraki MX is known for its robust cloud-based network management, featuring AutoVPN, SD-WAN, and advanced security. Its centralized control over firewall, traffic shaping, and monitoring ensures excellent connectivity and security. The interface allows easy management by non-technical staff, offering remote access and seamless network performance through real-time alerts and troubleshooting. It supports global connectivity with minimal effort, addressing needs across small to enterprise environments. Despite its strengths, users point out areas needing improvement like load balancing, VPN features, more flexible logging, and session capabilities. Pricing, integration limits, and licensing need enhancement.
What are the key features of Cisco Meraki MX?In industries like retail, finance, and education, Cisco Meraki MX provides enhanced security and connectivity. Retail chains benefit from easy VPN setups for secure multi-site networking, while educational institutions find value in its ability to manage large campuses efficiently. Financial services leverage its robust security features to protect sensitive data, ensuring compliance and trust.
Fortinet FortiGate excels in providing integrated VPN, firewalling, and Unified Threat Management (UTM) with centralized management and high availability. It supports remote access and comprehensive threat protection, making it a preferred choice for securing networks.
Fortinet FortiGate offers a robust security platform with features such as strong intrusion prevention, application control, and web filtering. Its integration with Active Directory and SD-WAN functionality provides scalable solutions for large networks. Users appreciate its ease of use through centralized management interfaces, ensuring robust security with flexible configurations. However, FortiGate could enhance its graphical interface and technical support responsiveness, address firmware bugs and costly licensing, improve logging, integrate better with third-party tools, and strengthen scalability and memory for log storage. Complexity in configuration and the need for intuitive features are noted challenges, and there's a demand for advanced security, zero-trust capabilities, and AI integration.
What are the key features of Fortinet FortiGate?Fortinet FortiGate is widely implemented across industries like education, finance, and government. Companies use it for firewall protection, VPN, and SD-WAN capabilities, ensuring secure perimeter and data center security. It facilitates remote access management and traffic routing optimization, offering reliable security and connectivity solutions.
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