Fortinet FortiAP Reviews

We are using the product in a few kiosks, and on a few shopping squares that our clients have. As a promotion for the client's stores inside the shopping center, we give thirty minutes of free Wi-Fi. After thirty minutes, they have to pay a small fee. Or, if they buy something, they get a voucher that can add another thirty or fifteen minutes or an hour to their Wi-Fi. It depends on how much they spend. 

However, 80% of the use is for institutions. We install it in the offices of companies. That's for when login infrastructure is not enough and we need the secure transportation of the data, especially for team meetings or for sharing of data, and the client is not too comfortable using the normal APs. It helps with authentication. 

The integration part is excellent. It integrates well with other Forti products. There are certain aspects of AP that are pretty standard to other competitors. However, the main benefit is if a company has other Forti products and wants complete integration with FortiGate and/or FortiAnalyzer. Integrated with everything, it's beautiful. We can see everything. We can detect and block anything. We get alerts for everything. FortiGate also automates the AP itself. It's great if you have a stack of Fortinet products.

The pricing could be better. There are competitors like Ruckus that cost less. We can give the client more, yet price-wise, there's a 45% price increase compared to Ruckus AP. Of course, Ruckus is just a plain, simple AP. 

I've been working with the solution for three and a half years.

I've had no issues with stability.

The solution can scale. You can go up to 200 or 300. It depends a lot on your firewall and what you have in place. 

In my organization, I have about 20 users on FortiAP. Some of our clients have 500 or more.

Technical support is a pain. Fortinet has to get its act together. If you don't pay for premium service, you will have issues. While their product is great, their service is awful. We don't have premium services. We use standard support.

Negative

The deployment is very specific to each office, and to each building. It is not just plug-and-play. It shouldn't be either. If you want something really robust and a mash of APs and everything working accordingly, the deployment requires going to the building and getting the plans. We have to understand the volume, displays, the walls, the windows - everything inside the building so as to distribute better.

With Cisco and Ruckus, it's only connectivity. You just go and install it and connect. With Forti AP, if you want things to work properly, you need to measure, note the parameters, and go and physically install it. Once that is done, it works well. It's set and forget. You don't have to worry about it. 

It all boils down to whether you have a stack of Fortinet or whether you have just the AP. The clients we have, have Fortinet stacks. Since they're Fortinet clients, we do their job. We study the place, we study the blueprints, we study the location, and we implement the AP according to the location. 

The configuration itself just takes five minutes. That is easy. You put in the IP and Fortinet does all the work. If you do the pricing correctly, once you plug into the network and register the AP with Fortigate, it's set and forget - unless you want SSIDs or a specific guest account. In that case, you'll have a little more work to do. 

The solution does bring in ROI. It helps that you are on a secure network and don't have to worry about spoofing.

The pricing is reasonable for what it offers.

I'm a customer and end user and use the solution for customers. 

I'd advise new users to carefully pan their placements and have Fortigate as well. This product was made to work with the Fortinet stack.

I would rate the solution nine out of ten.

We deploy it for our clients, in conjunction with the FortiGate and FortiSwitch for their wireless networking connectivity.

When you deploy it with those other tools, the FortiGate and the FortiSwitch, it's very easy to manage from an administrative perspective. You can manage it from the same online interface that you can manage the switch and the firewall from. It's all kind of baked into the same console, to where you don't have to log in to your AP management, and you don't have to log in to switch management. Instead of having four or three different things to monitor and manage, it's all in one console.

The ease of management is excellent. 

The wireless functionality is not the best. If they focus a little bit more on fine-tuning the wireless and how it works, that would probably be the area for improvement.

It's pretty standard in the industry. There isn't anything that sets it apart.

I've been using the solution for a little over four years.

I'd rate the stability between six or seven out of ten. It's not the best wireless product out there. 

The scalability is very good. I'd rate it between an eight and nine out of ten. Based on the model number of firewalls that you have, you can manage a specific number per model. It's pretty easy to scale. 

We really don't need to call technical support. Any time we have had to call, they've been great. 

The solution was very easy to set up. 

We have seen an ROI. 

As an enterprise solution, it is priced pretty well for the market. For a consumer-level product, it's a bit high in terms of cost. 

For other wireless products, you can just plug in and let them run. You really need to fine-tune your settings for this solution, however. You need to go to the site and do your homework in order to get the most out of your product. You should do a wireless survey and things of that nature to set it up for success.

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten. 

Our company suggests Fortinet FortiAP depending on the client's requirements. My company is involved in generating the heat map for FortiGate. Based on the requirements of our company's customers, we suggest the product's models to them.

The valuable feature of the solution that stands out from The Other products in the market is the fact that with Fortinet FortiAP, users can manage everything using a single console, especially if they use Fortinet-related equipment. With a single dashboard, users can manage everything very easily. Even the management of alert correlations is easy with the tool. If you use different vendors, managing the configurations and all the differences will be difficult, as you will have to manage different consoles.

Fortinet FortiAP is a scalable solution. Nowadays, all vendors provide scalability. If you are upgrading any Wi-Fi switch to a higher model, then the switch needs to be replaced, which is one of the only problems for the existing customers.

SQL is an area in the product that needs improvement. The support offered by the solution has certain shortcomings, making it in areas where improvements are required. Considering the product's support available in India, people mostly go for the premium support, which is considered to be the best. Despite going for premium support services, it is very difficult to get help from Fortinet's technical team since it may take up to 48 hours and may involve emails, making it a cumbersome process.

I have been using Fortinet FortiAP for more than ten years. My company has a partnership with Fortinet.

A few months ago, Fortinet found some vulnerabilities in FortiOS, after which they suggested all the users upgrade to FortiOS, and at that particular point in time, I saw that the OS was not stable. Whenever our company upgraded all the access points, switches or the firewall, we saw some fluctuations.

When Fortinet came out with the new version of the solution, everything became stable.

My company mainly provides the product to SMBs and also to one entity that focuses on an enterprise-level customer.

I rate the technical support a four out of ten.

Neutral

Nowadays, nobody uses WLC since everything is all about cloud-based solutions. People mostly prefer Aruba and Meraki for wireless solutions. I have worked with Aruba and Meraki. Meraki is far better than Fortinet FortiAP since we can manage the previously mentioned tool from anywhere. With Meraki, access points are available. Even with mobile phones, my company can configure and manage Meraki products while getting access to logs. Aruba has been coming up with some AI technology that can help us with minor areas where troubleshooting is required. I work with Meraki SD-WAN. All products from Meraki support Meraki SD-WAN. My company uses Unified Threat Management, but it is handled by a different team.

The product's deployment phase is very easy since its documentation part is available in the public domain.

One access point can be deployed in 30 minutes.

The number of people required to deploy the product depends on the size of the project. If it is a big project, there will be more people involved in the deployment process. At least two engineers are required to take care of any of the tool's implementations.

Speaking about Fortinet FortiAP's impact on our company's operational costs or productivity, I would say that the tool is cost-effective, especially when compared to Meraki or Aruba.

The product is available at a very comfortable price for my company compared to the other products available in the market. The prices of products from Meraki and Aruba are high compared to those of Fortinet. There are many competitors of Fortinet in the market attempting to offer their products at a better price.

In terms of the challenges I have faced with the integration of Fortinet FortiAP into our company's infrastructure consisting of other systems problems, I would say that the problem arises when you try to configure WiFi switches, and the integration part becomes very difficult.

In India, people prefer other products over Fortinet FortiAP since people look at the budget first and then the technology part. Users will have to opt for the paid support services offered by Fortinet.

I rate the solution a six out of ten.

We primarily use the platform to extend our network within the organization, segmenting various departments effectively.

The ability to select which SSIDs I want to be broadcasted on which FortiAP has been particularly valuable. We integrate it with FortiGate, allowing us to monitor and set up everything through a single console.

There is room for improvement in the product by expanding the number of SSIDs that can be broadcast.

I've been using Fortinet FortiAP for five years.

The stability of the platform is very high. We've encountered minimal issues.

The product is highly scalable. However, there are a few limitations. I rate the scalability an eight. 

While I haven't personally used technical support, the available information and training resources are commendable.

I found FortiAP more reliable than other solutions I've encountered. We evaluated other options, but FortiAP stood out for its reliability, security, and ease of use.

The setup was straightforward. Deployment time and steps vary due to testing processes and different scenarios. 

I rate the process a ten out of ten. 

We implemented the platform with the help of our in-house team.

We've been able to utilize more of our building space efficiently, resulting in improved productivity.

I'd rate the product pricing a seven out of ten. We purchased perpetual licensing, and additional costs may vary depending on the services acquired from Fortinet.

I rate Fortinet FortiAP a ten out of ten. 

We use FortiAP for some of our firewalls.

Our network is segmented, and we use an access control list in conjunction with our Fortinet FortiAP wireless access points to secure network access.

The integration with the Fortinet security ecosystem has been good. It helps save time with the configuration instead of having to go one by one.

The most valuable aspect of Fortinet FortiAP is the support.

I would like to have automation capabilities that would help us reduce the configuration steps.

I am currently using FortiAP.

I would rate the stability of Fortinet FortiAP eight out of ten.

I would rate the scalability of Fortinet FortiAP eight out of ten.

The support is good.

Positive

The initial deployment is straightforward.

Fortinet FortiAP provides a good return on investment because of all the features it offers.

Fortinet FortiAP offers a more cost-effective solution compared to Palo Alto and Check Point.

I would rate Fortinet FortiAP eight out of ten.

I would recommend Fortinet FortiAP for the support it offers and the lower cost compared to other more expensive solutions like Palo Alto and Check Point.

We use FortiAP internally for our office network. 

I like FortiAP's performance and stability. The reporting is also quite good. 

FortiAP could be a little cheaper. 

I have used the core features of FortiAP for about a year.

FortiAP is quite stable once deployed.

FortiAP is scalable, but it's somewhat complicated to add new units. We use it for a small office with only 30 or so users. 

I get support from a local partner. They were easy to deal with and knew what they were doing. 

The setup process is a little complicated. I deployed FortiAP by myself, and it took a couple of days. Using the online option, you can set it up immediately. There's a code you need to use. You need to connect to the Internet to customize the system. It's a little bit broken,

FortiAP is more expensive than some other options.

I rate FortiAP eight out of 10. It isn't my first choice, but FortiAP is good for a basic office environment. It initially requires somebody with IT experience to set it up, but once it's good once it's running.  

FortiAP is utilized to offer wireless network access, and we have employed it across various industries, including banking, warehouses, and hospitals.

FortiAP's integration using SSID configuration for the input/output makes deploying permission rules easier. 

The security integration between the network and firewall has room for improvement.

I have been using FortiAP for ten years.

The quality of Fortinet technical support was superior five years ago. However, it has declined over the last few years.

Positive

The initial setup is straightforward and FortiAP is easily integrated with FortiSwitch and FortiGate.

The price is comparable to Cisco and Aruba, but the quality is not on the same level. Therefore, I believe that FortiAP should be sold at a lower price point.

On a scale of one to ten with ten being the most expensive, I would rate FortiAP a six.

I would rate FortiAP a six out of ten.

In Brazil, organizations often lack the necessary manpower to sustain distinct teams for wireless, networking, and security functions. Typically, all three of these areas are managed by a single team. FortiAP assists us in effectively overseeing and safeguarding our wireless networks within such contexts.

The primary use case for Fortinet FortiAP is to provide Wi-Fi signal coverage.

Fortinet FortiAP has helped us by enabling time savings. We manage everything from the firewall dashboard, which simplifies the process of registering and configuring access points.

We appreciate that we don't need to go to a separate dashboard for FortiAP. Everything can be managed directly from the firewall, which is a good feature.

The radio band support could be improved, especially for legacy devices. We have faced issues where older devices are not able to connect to the access point, often receiving messages that the password is incorrect. We resolved it by changing to a simpler configuration for older devices.

We have been using Fortinet FortiAP for almost two years.

In general, Fortinet FortiAP is stable. However, we have faced some issues in certain locations.

Fortinet FortiAP scales well in some places where we have never received any complaints. But in other locations, there have been a lot of issues.

The support from Fortinet is awesome when we receive it, but we often find ourselves waiting in a queue.

Positive

We have used other vendors like Cisco and Palo Alto. With other vendors, we had to configure each access point separately. With Fortinet, everything is central and much easier to configure.

The initial setup of Fortinet FortiAP is always easy and not hard to implement.

A couple of people in networking roles deploy Fortinet FortiAP for us. Their job titles are network engineers.

The pricing for Fortinet FortiAP is good compared to other competitive vendors.

We have evaluated solutions from Cisco and other vendors.

Yes, I would recommend Fortinet FortiAP to other people. I have already recommended it.