Fortinet FortiGate and Zscaler Internet Access compete in the cybersecurity field, each offering unique approaches to network security. Zscaler Internet Access has the upper hand in terms of innovative features that justify its cost, particularly in cloud-based security for distributed environments.
Features: Fortinet FortiGate provides robust firewall capabilities with comprehensive threat protection and hardware-based security, focusing on features such as superior IPS, web filtering, and HA clustering. Zscaler Internet Access stands out with its cloud-native approach, offering seamless security across distributed environments, detailed traffic inspection, and robust cloud integration, providing innovative traffic management and application control.
Room for Improvement: Fortinet FortiGate could improve its cloud-based flexibility and seamless integration with SaaS applications, as well as simplifying management complexity for non-hardware-centric solutions. Meanwhile, Zscaler Internet Access might enhance its support and detailed customization options for specific enterprise needs and provide a more intuitive user interface for simplified policy management.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Fortinet FortiGate is known for reliable on-premise control with tangible hardware deployment, offering dependable hardware support. However, Zscaler Internet Access provides easier deployment with its cloud-based framework, facilitating swift integration with existing systems and agile customer service through regular cloud updates.
Pricing and ROI: Fortinet FortiGate is advantageous in initial setup costs, offering cost-effective solutions with substantial long-term ROI through durable hardware investments. Zscaler Internet Access, while more expensive upfront, provides significant ROI through its expansive features and scalability, making it ideal for long-term investments in a cloud-first operational model.
Centralized security management allows our team to monitor users, manage policies, and investigate security events from one place.
With iboss, whenever you turn on your laptop, the iboss agent automatically connects to the iboss cloud, enforcing all security policies. So with respect to the security side, it strengthens measures.
Deploying iboss leads to good return on investment, estimated around 70% to 80%.
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 investing in cybersecurity with Fortinet FortiGate 200, which costs more than $10,000, companies that are growing directly can expect ROI within 1.5 to 3 years.
Reduced risk from web-based threats.
The managed service aspect of Zscaler Internet Access has allowed for reduced staffing costs, resulting in a saving of approximately 20-25% compared to prior expenses.
The quality of the support is fantastic.
We had promising discussions about resolving these issues, but no real action followed.
They do not always reply promptly, but they do try and genuinely want to help us.
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.
As a solution provider, when I encounter problems, I connect directly with Fortinet support, and they provide solutions within a very short time.
I would rate customer support at nine out of ten as they have provided responsive and knowledgeable assistance.
The technical support for Zscaler Internet Access is rated around seven out of ten due to some response time issues and the engagement model.
Zscaler Internet Access customer service is really very good.
They are also able to meet on-demand requirements based on your contract with them, and can easily provide adequate resources and scalability.
I would rate it a nine out of ten for scalability.
If I start seeing sluggishness or anything like that, I just reach out to my rep, and they connect with their dev team, typically resolving it the same day.
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.
The price of the subscription is tied with the size of the appliance, so you have to size it very precisely, considering the future growth of the company.
With the pricing structure that they currently have, it is only for big customers.
I find Zscaler Internet Access to be highly scalable, which was one of the reasons for choosing it.
Zscaler Internet Access is scalable and has points of presence across the globe to ensure low latency and reliable connections.
It's been pretty solid; I've never had an outage with them, and if I ever had, it's only been once out of the seven years.
Our biggest problem with their service was it did not recognize the device despite our ClearPass sending information to the iboss box.
I give them full marks for presales and support during the pilot phase, as well as support when we actually went live.
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.
Zscaler Internet Access is stable and capable of building resilient architectures.
I have not faced any major outages or downtime with Zscaler Internet Access; it is stable in our environment.
Zscaler Internet Access is very stable, and I would rate its stability as nine out of ten.
iboss's single pane of glass console gives centralized visibility into web traffic, user activity, security policies, and alerts from one dashboard.
Better onboarding documents would make the first week easier for new users.
Enhanced policy management, providing smart alerts with root cause context, and improving support with better troubleshooting documents are crucial areas.
It would be better for customers to get immediate replacements even with a standard subscription.
It is how quickly each of these companies adapts to that and brings in more value to the customer.
The main area for improvement in Fortinet FortiGate is the firmware versions, as we face uncertainties regarding upgrades and frequent bugs that require self-fixing of problems.
The response time and engagement model for technical support could be improved to handle complex outages more efficiently.
In future updates, I would like to see some of the features bundled into the existing product set, perhaps more AI features and a refreshed interface.
Zscaler Internet Access has introduced AI control for tools such as ChatGPT, providing options to restrict to text-only input without file or image uploads through CASB restriction controls.
The following year, the cost of just licensing was similar to what was paid the previous year for a new appliance along with the implementation and licensing costs.
Regarding pricing, setup costs, and licensing, iboss is not cheap, and that's my only concern.
during that time, the Blue Coat proxies we were using were costly, as Blue Coat was acquired by Symantec, and then Symantec was acquired by Broadcom, which increased costs.
It offers cost savings as it is generally cheaper than the competition.
It is about 20% cheaper.
The advantages of Fortinet FortiGate over its competitors include good pricing and meeting our requirements at a lower cost.
Zscaler Internet Access is recognized as an expensive solution.
Zscaler Internet Access is less expensive than competitors like Palo Alto, offering a premium service justified by security enhancements and cost-effective scalability.
Of course, it is an expensive product.
It's given us a lot more visibility into our computer assets that may be infected with viruses and also shows us people who have unusually large uploads or might be engaging in high-risk activities, such as searches or going to sites not categorized by their web crawler.
iboss was the best solution for us because, no matter what domain you were in, everything is under a single pane of glass, which is exactly what we wanted.
Because of the points of presence, there is no downtime for us. I can move users to different points of presence, so I experience minimal to zero downtime.
The firewall and VPN features are the most valuable in protecting our customers' networks.
The most valuable feature is the deep inspection for traffic, which is capable of identifying zero-day attacks.
The most valuable features of the FortiGate firewall include SSL inspection, VPN functionality, and threat intelligence features for preventing threats.
It prevents numerous web attacks through its AI/ML incorporated capability which identifies malware, threats, and viruses.
Zscaler Internet Access has positively impacted my organization by reducing the dependency on on-premises hardware and improving security posture, enabling faster user onboarding, and providing better performance for remote users.
It automatically blocks access to known malicious websites and phishing or risky websites before users reach them, thereby reducing the number of security incidents we have to investigate.
| Product | Mindshare (%) |
|---|---|
| Fortinet FortiGate | 6.0% |
| Zscaler Internet Access | 9.8% |
| iboss | 3.2% |
| Other | 81.0% |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 15 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 8 |
| Large Enterprise | 16 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 373 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 139 |
| Large Enterprise | 195 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 17 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 9 |
| Large Enterprise | 39 |
iboss is the Zero Trust SASE platform that gives organizations complete visibility and governance over their AI, data, and applications through one unified platform, one console, one policy engine, and one data lake.
Your endpoints may already stop malware. Your data and application activity can still be invisible. iboss decrypts and understands every connection, then turns that signal into answers security leaders can act on.
The platform leads with three capabilities in this order: AI Security and Visibility, Data Security and Visibility, and App Visibility and Control. Zero Trust Network Access, VPN replacement, and SD-WAN sit underneath as the access fabric that carries those three. Trusted by global enterprises and government agencies.
What are the most important features of Iboss?
- AI Security and Visibility: conversation capture, shadow-AI discovery, AI DLP, and agent governance across Claude, Co-Work, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Grok, and emerging services.
- Data Security and Visibility: full SSL/TLS decryption, deep content inspection, MIP label compliance, and one-click compliance reporting.
- App Visibility and Control: signatureless CASB, dual risk scoring, in-app controls, and SSPM for major SaaS.
- Containerized Zero Trust SASE: dedicated containers, isolated SSL keys, one console, one policy engine, one data lake.
- Access fabric: ZTNA, VPN replacement, and SD-WAN under the same platform.
What benefits should users consider in reviews?
- Complete visibility over AI, data, and applications from one platform instead of separate point tools.
- Encrypted traffic is inspected by default so data decisions use content and context together.
- Shadow SaaS and new web tools appear as they are used, with enforceable controls in one console.
- Native data sovereignty through dedicated containers, in-region inspection, and per-customer SSL key custody.
- Scale proven in published materials: 10M+ users, 100+ countries, 150B+ transactions, 2.5B+ threats blocked.
Economic buyers are CISOs, CIOs, and VPs of Security. Champions include security architects, network and infrastructure leaders, SecOps, and GRC. Primary segments: enterprise and business, financial services, government (including FedRAMP Gov Cloud), healthcare, manufacturing, legal and professional services, retail and hospitality, and MSP/MSSP partners. Education, including K-12, is one vertical among these.
Fortinet FortiGate is a versatile network security tool offering features like VPN, firewall, web filtering, intrusion prevention, and scalability. It is known for its performance and integration with other Fortinet products, making it a preferred choice for robust cybersecurity.
Fortinet FortiGate stands out as a comprehensive cybersecurity solution with strong performance and ease of configuration. It delivers unified threat management, integrating features such as dynamic routing, SD-WAN support, and centralized management. Despite its strengths, improvements in the web interface's stability, pricing structures, and reporting capabilities are needed. Users seek better integration with third-party tools and automation advancements to enhance the experience further. These enhancements, alongside improvements in bandwidth management and the reduction of licensing costs, are points of interest for users looking to capitalize on FortiGate's extensive capabilities.
What are Fortinet FortiGate's key features?Fortinet FortiGate is widely implemented across industries as a primary firewall system for securing internet gateways and safeguarding data centers. It supports businesses in achieving SD-WAN integration and enhances cybersecurity by providing essential features like antivirus, web filtering, and application control. Enterprises utilize FortiGate for securing remote connections and ensuring compliance with security standards, making it adaptable for different network sizes and industries.
Zscaler Internet Access provides internet security through cloud-native architecture, ensuring threat protection and traffic management without relying on traditional VPNs and firewalls.
It enhances security by offering features such as CASB and DLP. With its cloud-native proxy architecture, it facilitates seamless security with reduced latency and high availability. Organizations value the scalability and centralized policy management, integrating seamlessly with existing systems for remote work. It ensures secure traffic management by delivering advanced threat protection and support for applications through SSL inspection and sandboxing. Enhanced measures for DLP, better integration with tools like MFA, and optimized reporting are areas for growth.
What are the key features?Many industries leverage Zscaler Internet Access for securing internet traffic and safeguarding against threats like malware and DDoS attacks. It is integral as a secure web gateway to fulfill data loss prevention, bandwidth control, and filtering needs, allowing remote users robust access and protection globally. Companies employ it alongside existing tools for proper security and policy enforcement.
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