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Fortinet FortiManager vs Qualys VMDR 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
7.4
Fortinet FortiManager offers cost-effective, unified management with long-term savings in time, money, and enhanced security visibility.
Sentiment score
7.2
Qualys VMDR enhances security, risk reduction, and compliance, improving asset management and operational efficiency with substantial benefits.
We saw a return on investment through significant savings in time, money, and resources.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.0
Fortinet FortiManager support is generally good but needs faster responses and improved technical expertise for complex issues.
Sentiment score
6.7
Qualys VMDR's customer service is praised for expertise but faces occasional delays and generic responses, needing faster resolutions.
I'd rate their support a nine out of ten.
Fortinet's support has proven to be reliable, particularly as we've been engaged with them since the project's initiation.
They are responsive and resolve issues quickly when I raise a ticket.
We usually get on calls with tech support, and they are very helpful.
The response time takes a while.
The technical support provided by Qualys is pretty good.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.4
Fortinet FortiManager offers scalable management for businesses, efficiently handling devices despite some hardware limitations, with high user ratings.
Sentiment score
8.0
Qualys VMDR offers high scalability for large networks, efficiently managing resources and adapting to diverse requirements seamlessly.
You can raise the capacity as you go, and there is no limit for hardware.
If you are working with a private or public cloud, it is very scalable.
I'd rate it a nine out of ten in terms of scalability.
Scalability depends on the license and the number of assets being monitored.
Qualys VMDR can handle scalability, although increasing the inventory can raise the licensing costs.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
Fortinet FortiManager stability varies; some experience reboots and bugs, while others find improvements with newer versions and upgrades.
Sentiment score
8.0
Qualys VMDR is praised for its stability, with users rating it highly, despite minor bugs and occasional connectivity issues.
I rate the solution's stability ten out of ten.
95% of the time, there are no problems interacting with other devices.
 

Room For Improvement

Fortinet FortiManager needs improvements in user-friendliness, documentation, integration, performance, technical support, and more straightforward pricing and configuration.
Qualys VMDR needs better reporting, UI, integration, and support to improve usability, manage vulnerabilities, and reduce costs.
FortiManager is a good tool, but there is a lack of really advanced documentation.
If you have a couple thousand policies for FortiGate firewalls, it can take a few minutes to receive a response from the remote devices.
In such cases, their CPE or other devices on-site may become unreliable, leading to occasional configuration discrepancies.
It does not automate patching unless the patch management module is purchased separately.
If AI features were integrated, it could enhance the capabilities significantly.
They can tweak their UI since the new version seems a bit jumbled up.
 

Setup Cost

Fortinet FortiManager is cost-effective compared to competitors, though pricing varies based on device count and features.
Qualys VMDR offers competitive pricing and comprehensive features, justifying its cost for medium to large enterprises with flexible options.
Fortinet has the best pricing currently on the market.
If you compare Fortinet and Palo Alto, Fortinet is cheaper, but if you compare Cisco and Fortinet, sometimes Cisco is cheaper because Cisco gives us more discounts because of the size.
It isn't the most expensive solution.
I would rate the pricing between seven to eight out of ten.
I have a notion that Qualys might be more expensive than Rapid7.
Qualys offers better pricing and is feature-packed compared to other tools.
 

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiManager centralizes management, enhances network performance, and improves efficiency with easy deployment, scalability, and robust features.
Qualys VMDR offers comprehensive vulnerability management with strong cloud capabilities, automated detection, and user-friendly dashboards for efficient threat remediation.
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.
It's very easy to install, and it's easy to discover and communicate with your device.
Without FortiManager, you cannot manage a complex environment across several sites with multiple firewalls.
The prioritization of vulnerabilities has improved our remediation efforts by around thirty to thirty-five percent.
Qualys VMDR offers a one-stop solution for monitoring and reporting.
Qualys VMDR provides a real-time response and reporting feature, which is excellent.
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiManager
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
66
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (4th)
Qualys VMDR
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
93
Ranking in other categories
IT Asset Management (5th), Vulnerability Management (2nd), Configuration Management Databases (2nd), Container Security (12th), Risk-Based Vulnerability Management (2nd)
 

Mindshare comparison

Fortinet FortiManager and Qualys VMDR aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Fortinet FortiManager is designed for Network Management Applications and holds a mindshare of 5.5%, up 4.8% compared to last year.
Qualys VMDR, on the other hand, focuses on Vulnerability Management, holds 8.3% mindshare, down 13.1% since last year.
Network Management Applications
Vulnerability Management
 

Featured Reviews

HamedWasel - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to set up with good integration capabilities but we've had troubles when moving devices
We've faced an issue when we need to move devices. Templates need to be recreated instead of having the policies, et cetera, cut and pasted over. Everything should just move over when we need to move devices instead of recreating everything from scratch. For the IPSEC tunnels, Fortimanager doesn't have all of the features that are available on Fortigate.
Harold Jensen - PeerSpot reviewer
Good visibility but expensive and needs better support
Support: It's often overseas and often following a script, basically asking us to redo what we opened the case with. Multiple APIs: There seems to be a lack of easy onboarding into Qualys. We had to use manual inputs and some API calls to get items in place. Dashboard: It is very rudimentary with very little customization. The Qualys Scripting Language (QSL) works differently in different Qualys modules, so when you get it working in one area you have to modify the syntax in others. User account management: We often have to give users more rights than needed just to give them what they need. Integration with the various Qualys Modules: You can tell the UI is different based on of the different teams that created them. QSL syntax same in all modules Responsiveness of some of the components: They time out, you get a blank screen, etc. Backend updates between the various modules: You update connectors and information takes a few minutes to show in VMDR or Global Asset View Connectors: Connectors have a throttling issue with AWS which causes them to frequently fail unless you manually run them again.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
16%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Educational Organization
31%
Financial Services Firm
11%
Computer Software Company
10%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

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 find Fortinet FortiManager to be a bit more expensive, especially when considering the environment. It shows cost-effectiveness when managing more than ten devices, whereas it is less effective w...
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiManager?
The deployment of Fortinet FortiManager is quite complex and should be easier. It requires improvement in vulnerability management and should integrate automated AI features to enhance its reliabil...
What do you like most about Qualys VMDR?
I like that we have many scanners and channels that don't overload. It helps us scan and track easily. Also, the tagging system is good for tagging. We can still use QualysAgent task ID tools even ...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Qualys VMDR?
Qualys offers better pricing and is feature-packed compared to other tools.
What needs improvement with Qualys VMDR?
They can tweak their UI since the new version seems a bit jumbled up, and the old UI was more user-friendly.
 

Also Known As

No data available
Qualys VM, QualysGuard VM, Qualys Asset Inventory, Qualys Container Security
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Agrokor Group, American Specialty Health, American State Bank, Arval, Life:), Axway, Bank of the West, Blueport Commerce, BSkyB, Brinks, CaixaBank, Cartagena, Catholic Health System, CEC Bank, Cegedim, CIGNA, Clickability, Colby-Sawyer College, Commercial Bank of Dubai, University of Utah, eBay Inc., ING Singapore, National Theatre, OTP Bank, Sodexo, WebEx
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Fortinet and others in Network Management Applications. Updated: April 2025.
850,760 professionals have used our research since 2012.