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Fortinet FortiManager vs Palo Alto Networks Panorama comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
5.6
Fortinet FortiManager offers cost savings, improved visibility, and effective management, though pricing complexity varies with deployment size.
Sentiment score
3.2
URL filtering and a single interface enhance efficiency, with quick benefits for large networks, despite high pricing challenges.
Fortinet provides a strong ROI for organizations focused on comprehensive security.
Network Security Engineer/ Firewall Engineer at Charter Communications
The cost has been reduced for us by 24%.
Global Head of IT Infrastructure at EPL Americas
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.9
Fortinet FortiManager's customer support varies, with responsive teams but inconsistent service quality and regional disparities in expertise.
Sentiment score
6.5
Palo Alto Networks Panorama support is responsive and knowledgeable, but some users experience delays, especially for complex issues.
The people are very good, and they are very attentive.
Engineer of Preventa Sir at InterNexa S.A
They are responsive and resolve issues quickly when I raise a ticket.
Senior Associate at City Union Bank Ltd
Fortinet support is responsive and helpful.
Global Head of IT Infrastructure at EPL Americas
The technical support from Palo Alto is rated around nine out of ten.
Security Engineer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
The technical support by Palo Alto Networks is great because the response time is solid.
Application Support Administrator at Meridian Port Services
The tech support I've encountered has been good, prompt, and fast.
Senior Principal Solutions Architect, HPE Aruba Networking - Full Stack Platform Expert at Danoffice IT ApS
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.1
Fortinet FortiManager is praised for scalability and central management, suitable for medium to large enterprises despite some cost concerns.
Sentiment score
7.3
Palo Alto Networks Panorama offers adaptability and scalability for managing large networks, praised for flexibility despite some cost concerns.
Whenever you are monitoring or managing more than 10 or 20 firewalls, it is evident that you need a single pane of glass, which Fortinet FortiManager is offering.
Global Head of IT Infrastructure at EPL Americas
You can raise the capacity as you go, and there is no limit for hardware.
Security Architect at Bouygues Telecom Mobile
The problem is cloud connectivity and roaming profiles are not working, as there is no option for them.
Network engineer at JOYALUKKAS
Scalability is primarily enhanced by Strata Cloud Manager as it is much easier to scale in the cloud than in an on-premises installation.
Senior Principal Solutions Architect, HPE Aruba Networking - Full Stack Platform Expert at Danoffice IT ApS
Scalability depends on whether it's a hardware or virtual machine model.
IT Security Engineer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.9
Fortinet FortiManager is generally stable and reliable, with improvements in recent updates, though occasional bugs may occur.
Sentiment score
7.5
Palo Alto Networks Panorama is praised for its stability, reliability under load, and performs well on cloud platforms like AWS.
I rate the solution's stability ten out of ten.
CISO at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
95% of the time, there are no problems interacting with other devices.
Security Architect at Bouygues Telecom Mobile
It is an absolutely very stable product, and we have not encountered any kind of disruption as far as the product is concerned.
Global Head of IT Infrastructure at EPL Americas
Palo Alto Networks Panorama is very stable.
Consultant at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
 

Room For Improvement

Fortinet FortiManager needs better documentation, GUI improvements, simplified configuration, enhanced integration, and more accessible pricing and support.
Palo Alto Networks Panorama needs improvements in updates, integration, user interface, pricing, analytics, security, and storage for efficiency.
FortiManager is a good tool, but there is a lack of really advanced documentation.
Security Architect at Bouygues Telecom Mobile
The graphical user interface could use improvement as it appears complex and not user-friendly.
Senior Network Engineer at SP SYSNET PTE. LTD.
Fortinet FortiManager could benefit from integrations with Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solutions.
Senior Associate at City Union Bank Ltd
In terms of operation, it is quite important that the staff managing the Panorama should be technically sound enough, and they should know exactly what they are doing.
Sr. Staff Network Engineer at Blackhawk Network India
The AI module should be on-premises, not in the cloud.
Senior Network Engineer at UPS
I would like to improve the dashboards on Palo Alto Networks Panorama, especially because I work in an environment where my managers are not really that technical.
Application Support Administrator at Meridian Port Services
 

Setup Cost

Fortinet FortiManager is cost-effective for large deployments, despite higher costs for fewer devices and optional advanced features.
Palo Alto Networks Panorama is costly but offers robust, reliable features, with negotiable pricing and possible discounts for bulk purchases.
I would rate the price 8 out of 10 with 10 being the most expensive.
General Manager/ Owner at Security Parameter
Some competing solutions in the market, like Sophos and SonicWALL, offer lower costs of up to 40 percent.
Network administrator at PISystems
I find Fortinet FortiManager to be a bit more expensive, especially when considering the environment.
Head of Presales at AcSys Networks Private Limited
Virtual Panorama is well-priced and is sold every time there's a solution.
Senior Principal Solutions Architect, HPE Aruba Networking - Full Stack Platform Expert at Danoffice IT ApS
Commercially, compared to Fortinet, Palo Alto is more expensive.
Security Engineer at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Palo Alto Networks Panorama is expensive but provides good value for money.
Consultant at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
 

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiManager offers scalable, centralized device management with automation and security features for efficient network administration in distributed environments.
Palo Alto Networks Panorama centralizes firewall management, enhancing security with user-friendly interfaces, advanced reporting, and scalable integration features.
I can automate the installation of configurations using different programming languages like Python or HPE, and it's a GUI solution, so it's pretty easy to use, even for basic users.
Security Architect at Bouygues Telecom Mobile
Being able to push consistent firewall rules and configuration changes across multiple FortiGates saves a ton of time and reduces errors compared to managing each device individually.
Network Security Engineer/ Firewall Engineer at Charter Communications
FortiManager captures all devices and provides reports for security analysis.
Senior Network Engineer at SP SYSNET PTE. LTD.
I find this solution valuable for full monitoring, centralized control for reporting, and centralized management.
Senior Network Engineer at UPS
We do not currently have a SIEM solution, so we are heavily relying on the monitoring features of Palo Alto Networks Panorama to conduct our investigations and log reviews.
Application Support Administrator at Meridian Port Services
Palo Alto Networks Panorama has positively impacted our organization by allowing a couple of network engineers to use Panorama simultaneously with different templates or device groups, which helps us save time and reduce the complexity of the network.
Network Security Engineer at Cyberwell Solution
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiManager
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.9
Number of Reviews
72
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (3rd)
Palo Alto Networks Panorama
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.6
Number of Reviews
93
Ranking in other categories
Firewall Security Management (3rd)
 

Mindshare comparison

Fortinet FortiManager and Palo Alto Networks Panorama aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Fortinet FortiManager is designed for Network Management Applications and holds a mindshare of 4.4%, down 5.1% compared to last year.
Palo Alto Networks Panorama, on the other hand, focuses on Firewall Security Management, holds 7.0% mindshare, down 8.6% since last year.
Network Management Applications Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Fortinet FortiManager4.4%
Cisco DNA Center14.4%
Cisco Catalyst Center7.9%
Other73.3%
Network Management Applications
Firewall Security Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Palo Alto Networks Panorama7.0%
AlgoSec21.1%
Tufin Orchestration Suite21.0%
Other50.9%
Firewall Security Management
 

Featured Reviews

SudeepMaydeo - PeerSpot reviewer
Global Head of IT Infrastructure at EPL Americas
Ensures seamless integration and centralized visibility for network security operations
The version upgrade from a single dashboard for all the firewalls in one click is the beauty of Fortinet FortiManager as the most impactful feature in managing our network security. Fortinet FortiManager's policy management enhances our security protocols by enabling us and giving integrated centralized visibility, which has proven to be very healthy. Because of this, we have identified some of the vulnerabilities in our systems, and we mitigated them through Fortinet FortiManager. The central dashboards and the visibility are what appealed to us to go with Fortinet FortiManager. Fortinet FortiManager has adapted to changes in our network scale and complexity as we have geographically 18 international locations, all equipped with firewalls and some cybersecurity initiatives and IT infrastructure initiatives.
Richard Dombo - PeerSpot reviewer
Application Support Administrator at Meridian Port Services
Monitoring and managing multiple firewalls has become more efficient through centralized oversight and reliable logging
I would say that while Palo Alto Networks Panorama reporting capability is functional, it is not really intuitive. The presentation is not really as advanced as what an advanced solution would have provided. I would like to improve the dashboards on Palo Alto Networks Panorama, especially because I work in an environment where my managers are not really that technical. They do a great job leading us, but they do not have a technical background. If the dashboard could be improved to suit more executive use cases when it comes to reporting, that would be excellent. It is basic as far as I am concerned, and from an executive standpoint, it is not really that good. I would rate Palo Alto Networks Panorama as a product nine or 9.5 out of ten because there is always room for improvement, especially on the dashboard. I think if they could improve the dashboard, I would give them ten out of ten because from a technical standpoint, the dashboard is good, but at an executive level, it is not really that good. I usually struggle when doing presentations to my bosses because the dashboard and reporting from Palo Alto Networks Panorama are not as polished as they could be.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Comms Service Provider
13%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business35
Midsize Enterprise16
Large Enterprise19
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business33
Midsize Enterprise15
Large Enterprise46
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Fortinet FortiManager?
The most valuable feature is the centralized management console.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiManager?
I am satisfied with the licensing cost, and I would rate it an 8.5.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiManager?
I do not use Fortinet FortiManager daily, but I can speak with my security team and ask them what areas need future improvement for Fortinet FortiManager. When I installed it, I found it somewhat d...
What do you like most about Palo Alto Networks Panorama?
The most valuable aspect of Palo Alto Networks Panorama for me is the centralized management of multiple firewalls.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Palo Alto Networks Panorama?
If you go with the cloud-based deployment, it is pretty much affordable. If you go with the physical bare-metal hardware, then it is quite expensive.
What needs improvement with Palo Alto Networks Panorama?
I would say that while Palo Alto Networks Panorama reporting capability is functional, it is not really intuitive. The presentation is not really as advanced as what an advanced solution would have...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
University of Arkansas, JBG SMITH, Temple University, Telkom Indonesia
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Fortinet, NetScaler and others in Network Management Applications. Updated: January 2026.
880,490 professionals have used our research since 2012.