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Fortinet FortiOS vs Qualys Exposure Management comparison

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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
6.3
Fortinet FortiOS offers cost-effective, scalable security, with competitive pricing and partnerships, enhancing ROI compared to top brands.
Sentiment score
5.8
Qualys Exposure Management enhances security and efficiency by reducing vulnerability risks, costs, and incident resolution times for increased ROI.
Once it is deployed, I do not have to revisit or replace the hardware.
Network Administrator at a educational organization with 501-1,000 employees
The pricing of FortiOS is competitive and reasonable compared to other leading products such as Palo Alto and Check Point.
Senior Manager at ITX360 (Pvt) Ltd
Fortinet is strong in terms of cost and compatibility with other vendors.
Technology Consultant at NetWiser
We saw a return on investment through significant savings in time, money, and resources.
System Admin at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
We have seen a return on investment through reduced employee counts and decreased incident resolution times.
Senior Technical Lead at Numeric Technologies
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
8.2
Fortinet FortiOS support is responsive and helpful but sometimes slow with complex issues, lacking top-tier vendor standards.
Sentiment score
6.6
Qualys Exposure Management's customer service is praised for availability, but issues include overseas support, slow responses, and direct communication.
I would rate them nine or ten out of ten.
Technology Consultant at NetWiser
Fortinet technical support is very responsive and helpful.
Senior Manager at ITX360 (Pvt) Ltd
Support engineers sometimes lack eagerness to assist with issues such as the memory problem.
Director, IT Infrastructure Department at Zemen Bank S.C.
The GUI in Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Management is excellent.
Senior Manager at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
We usually get on calls with tech support, and they are very helpful.
Works at a comms service provider with 1-10 employees
False positives are the main issue that we encounter and need to be handled by the support team.
Senior Project Engineer at CDACINDIA
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
Fortinet FortiOS is highly scalable, adapting to different organizations, supporting growth and global deployments, yet may need hardware upgrades.
Sentiment score
7.9
Qualys Exposure Management offers robust scalability, praised for handling large asset volumes, though integration and cost challenges exist.
When customers' networks grow and needs expand, we can easily switch between models to trade up devices.
Technology Consultant at NetWiser
It allows for the expansion of users and devices without additional licensing costs.
Senior Manager at ITX360 (Pvt) Ltd
We have been using Fortinet for bandwidth shaping and many other bandwidth-related functions.
Associate Director IT Operations at Procento
It is flexible and scalable, and we can use it and modify it as per our needs.
Junior Associate at ESDS Software Solution Pvt Ltd.
Scalability depends on the license and the number of assets being monitored.
System Admin at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Scalability is not a challenge.
Senior Manager at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.8
Fortinet FortiOS is praised for stability, with minor issues usually tied to configurations or external factors, not the system.
Sentiment score
7.8
Qualys Exposure Management is stable and efficient, with minimal downtime, excelling in vulnerability identification and handling heavy usage.
While the product is largely stable, it sometimes faces memory issues in specific versions like 11 OE, which can be disruptive.
Director, IT Infrastructure Department at Zemen Bank S.C.
There were no lags, there were no issues, and no hanging of the firewall.
Associate Director IT Operations at Procento
Stability is a seven out of ten because during version migrations, and sometimes with new versions, Fortinet is not as good.
Technology Consultant at NetWiser
Qualys VMDR is stable.
Cyber Security Solution Engineer at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
This tool has good and excellent performance in the companies that we sell to in the last months for customers, so stability is evident.
QA Manager at a consultancy with 51-200 employees
I rate the stability of Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Management at eight point five out of ten because I occasionally find bugs that are frustrating, and I have already commented on the support issues.
Senior Manager at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees
 

Room For Improvement

Fortinet FortiOS requires improvements in VPN, pricing, compatibility, UI, security features, support, updates, deployment, and pricing consistency.
Qualys Exposure Management needs interface upgrades, simplified setup, better integration, improved support, and expanded IoT/SCADA assessment features.
Fortinet FortiOS faces memory issues, which can lead to unexpected downtimes.
Director, IT Infrastructure Department at Zemen Bank S.C.
There should be more documentation on how to use the CLI or how to perform CLI versions of tasks that can be done through the GUI.
Network Administrator at a educational organization with 501-1,000 employees
Compared to other market leaders like Palo Alto and Check Point, FortiOS has many bugs in its initial releases.
Senior Manager at ITX360 (Pvt) Ltd
The main issue is the reporting delay, and sometimes the Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Management agent will not scan the system, which means we do not receive accurate reports in a timely manner.
System Engineer at a outsourcing company with 10,001+ employees
It does not automate patching unless the patch management module is purchased separately.
System Admin at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
If AI features were integrated, it could enhance the capabilities significantly.
Information Security Analyst at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
 

Setup Cost

Fortinet FortiOS is often pricey but justified by features, with agreements influencing costs, suitable for mid-size businesses.
Qualys Exposure Management is costly but valued for its comprehensive features; discounts and pricing negotiations are available.
It is an affordable solution for us.
Technology Consultant at NetWiser
Fortinet products are somewhat pricey, similar to Cisco equivalents, however, they have justified their price point.
Network Administrator at a educational organization with 501-1,000 employees
I am satisfied with the pricing, licensing, and setup costs of FortiOS, rating it nine out of ten compared to other familiar leading firewalls.
Senior Manager at ITX360 (Pvt) Ltd
I would rate the pricing between seven to eight out of ten.
System Admin at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
I have a notion that Qualys might be more expensive than Rapid7.
Information Security Analyst at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Qualys offers better pricing and is feature-packed compared to other tools.
Works at a comms service provider with 1-10 employees
 

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiOS is praised for UTM, user-friendly interface, robust security, excellent performance, cost-effectiveness, and seamless management.
Qualys Exposure Management excels in risk prioritization, AI-powered analysis, and user-friendly dashboards for comprehensive security insights.
It is user-friendly when it comes to turning on features, and it has been reliable and effective.
Network Administrator at a educational organization with 501-1,000 employees
The threat intelligence in FortiOS is very high, and the system is scalable without additional licensing costs.
Senior Manager at ITX360 (Pvt) Ltd
The solution offers good threat intelligence, which is crucial for our customers' security purposes.
Technology Consultant at NetWiser
The prioritization of vulnerabilities has improved our remediation efforts by around thirty to thirty-five percent.
Works at a comms service provider with 1-10 employees
It impacts my workflow overall, with the patch management features as it has the missing patches listed in detail, making it easier to get a comprehensive report and providing some dashboards that offer visual representation.
JMS, RPSG Ventures Limited at RP Sanjiv Goenka Group
Qualys VMDR's continuous monitoring capabilities help us respond to emergent threats by enabling my team to reach out to the security engineers whenever there is any detection of a vulnerability, informing them about it, and creating an incident.
Soc Lead & Edr Administration at Persistent Systems
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiOS
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
8.0
Number of Reviews
82
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (18th)
Qualys Exposure Management
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
102
Ranking in other categories
IT Asset Management (5th), Vulnerability Management (2nd), Configuration Management Databases (4th), Container Security (11th), Risk-Based Vulnerability Management (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

Fortinet FortiOS and Qualys Exposure Management aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Fortinet FortiOS is designed for Firewalls and holds a mindshare of 1.1%, down 1.2% compared to last year.
Qualys Exposure Management, on the other hand, focuses on Vulnerability Management, holds 4.0% mindshare, down 6.6% since last year.
Firewalls Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Fortinet FortiOS1.1%
Fortinet FortiGate12.9%
Cisco Secure Firewall8.1%
Other77.9%
Firewalls
Vulnerability Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Qualys Exposure Management4.0%
Wiz4.7%
Tenable Nessus3.6%
Other87.7%
Vulnerability Management
 

Featured Reviews

MS
Associate Director IT Operations at Procento
Single-pane management has simplified firewall control and has improved risk mitigation
I would not say that Fortinet FortiOS is not very scalable. Generally, what happens is that for enterprises, we hire consultants who do the capacity planning and sizing to determine what kind of firewalls to put in place. At the same time, it is not only the number of users; it also depends on the number of WAN links coming in and everything, because we have been using Fortinet for bandwidth shaping and many other bandwidth-related functions. They should improve their machine learning AI capabilities of Fortinet FortiOS because there is too much competition. Other players are also improving and making a lot of changes in their UI and overall operating system.
Ajay Paul - PeerSpot reviewer
System Engineer at a outsourcing company with 10,001+ employees
Vulnerability management has prioritized high‑risk patching and simplified bulk system reporting
The primary issue is with the reporting functionality. Even though we fix vulnerabilities, the reports do not reflect the changes immediately. Sometimes we need to manually run a script to scan the systems before Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Management will update the scan results. The main issue is the reporting delay, and sometimes the Qualys Enterprise TruRisk Management agent will not scan the system, which means we do not receive accurate reports in a timely manner. Additionally, there are many metrics for calculating vulnerabilities, such as the Qualys ID, severity scores, CVSS scores, and other metrics. The abundance of information can be confusing. These two aspects are the most significant negatives I have experienced with this tool.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Outsourcing Company
11%
Construction Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
13%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Manufacturing Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business43
Midsize Enterprise13
Large Enterprise23
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business21
Midsize Enterprise12
Large Enterprise75
 

Questions from the Community

Features comparison between Palo Alto and Fortinet firewalls
In the best tradition of these questions, Feature-wise both are quite similar, but each has things it's better at, it kind of depends what you value most. PA is good at app control, web filtering a...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiOS?
I rate the pricing for FortiOS as eight or nine out of ten. It is an affordable solution for us.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiOS?
I would not say that Fortinet FortiOS is not very scalable. Generally, what happens is that for enterprises, we hire consultants who do the capacity planning and sizing to determine what kind of fi...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Qualys VMDR?
My experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing shows that we can consider both time and money saved.
What needs improvement with Qualys VMDR?
I haven't explored Qualys VMDR's vulnerability lifecycle automation yet. One of my analysts mentioned that queries lack grouping operators in Qualys VMDR. From my experience, I would appreciate imp...
What advice do you have for others considering Qualys VMDR?
I have some understanding about PeerSpot, and I have visited the website. PeerSpot is similar to TrustRadius. It takes reviews from customers or end users who are using the tools and technologies i...
 

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 Fortinet, Cisco, Netgate and others in Firewalls. Updated: October 2026.
920,769 professionals have used our research since 2012.