Fortinet FortiClient Reviews

Our primary use case is when we've set up a Forti VPN or a IPsec VPN Full Mesh of 18 different locations on our FortiGates. It goes hand in hand with the FortiAPs as well.

The most valuable feature is the single pane of glass, single point of management.

One area that could be improved is cost, but you've got to pay for what you get.

The stability of the solution is very good.

Scalability of the solution is very good.

The tech support with Fortinet is phenomenal.

The initial setup is very straightforward.

Return On Investments for the solution would be about a 4 out of 5.We've set up Full Mesh and then we piggybacked on the ability to print anywhere. We have networked our phone systems together so that we can dial any of our locations on a four-digit dial, versus having to dial the 10-digit phone numbers. It's quick, it's easy, and a lot better for the staff.

The biggest lesson I've learned with this solution is just keep the documentation up to date.

I would give this solution a nine out of ten.

Our primary use for FortiClient is just for its capability to securely connect VPN users from outside our environment during the lockdown. It has strong authentication.  

We use it for a VPN client for our network users. They just connect to our network in order to get access to our enterprise environment and for the EFT (Electronic File Transfer) system.  

FortiClient is valuable because it is free for us to use to provide VPN services to the people who need to access our network from external locations.  

This product is very good. Graphically, it is okay, but this may be one area where it could be better. It should be more graphically inviting. It is okay as it is, but it could be improved.  

If I compare FortiClient VPN and OpenVPN, FortiClient VPN takes too much time while installing on someone's computer or laptop. I do not know why that is. The installation takes too much time compared to OpenVPN. OpenVPN is a very light software. It is installed in a couple of seconds. It does not make sense that FortiClient takes so long to install. I just feel it is a problem that could be addressed.  

We have been using Fortinet FortiClient since February or March of 2020. So it is a little over six months.  

This solution is definitely stable.  

I think this solution has good scalability. Originally when I installed it I thought maybe 30 or 40 or 50 users could be connected with this extra VPN. It would have been okay if it could just do that. But now, I connected about 200 users and they are able to connect using this VPN software and they can securely access my network from outside our physical location. The performance has not degraded.  

I have had some experience with Fortinet's technical support. If I feel I have the need for some support, I can contact the local Fortinet representative. I can also contact some good local vendors. I can talk with them as well and get support easily. I do sometimes reach out to get support from the local vendors that I have a good relationship with. That is why I can get good support from them as well as from Fortinet. Support is no problem.  

We used another VPN solution before FortiClient VPN. It was called OpenVPN. That is an open-source solution and we still use it.  

Both of these VPN solutions are good. But, also it depends on routing or which kind of traffic I am permitting. With my Fortinet VPN, I grant access to those users who want access to my EFT network. I just connect with them through FortiClient. Other VPN users can connect still with OpenVPN to access the corporate network.  

We were interested in implementing an SD-WAN (Software-defined Wide Area Network) for better access for our employees during the lockdown. We just wanted to implement SD-WAN technology to help remote workers access the office network. We configured the FortiClient VPN just for these users. That is the reason why we took on Fortinet FortiClient.  

We have a long-term plan. We just want to use one firewall in our data centers. At present, our whole network is in our head office. This network will not be there anymore. It will be migrated to one of our data centers.  

There are about 200 users who we have currently given this VPN access to.  

Other than OpenVPN we used Cisco for an internet solution. It was three years back that we were using the Cisco-based system solution. But, this is not exactly the same as what we use Fortinet for now.  

I think FortiClient is very easy to configure, definitely. That is the VPN only. There is also an option to use FortiClient as an antivirus solution and it is also free. Some of my colleagues told me that they are using FortiClient already for an antivirus solution. I have not yet used that or tried to configure it so I do not know if that is more complicated.  

The product we are using is not subscription-based. This is a free version. I just downloaded from the Fortinet website and it is free to use.  

I can definitely encourage other people to use the FortiClient VPN. FortiClient is a pretty great solution for the VPN.  

On a scale from one to ten (where one is the worst and ten is the best), I can rate FortiClient as a seven-out-of-ten from my experience with this product over the past six months.  

The primary use case of this solution is as a firewall. 

I have two Fortinet perimeter firewall boxes in my local data center. The two boxes also provide the SSL VPN functionalities, intended for authorized users only. Not everyone in my organization has access.

The most valuable features of FortiClient are that it can be integrated with Active Directory to the central authentication and that I can manage the permissions.

When the user gets authenticated, I can assign a different VPN or network to each user.

It's a  good solution for the IT department to control the access permission. I find this quite useful.

I think that FortiClient can enhance the multifactor authentication. Currently, if you want to enable dynamic tokens with FortiClient authentication, you only have one option, which is supplied by Fortinet.

You cannot integrate FortiClient VPN with Google authenticator or Microsoft authenticator, it's impossible. I think that they can improve this module.

In the next release of this solution, if they could improve the MFA, it would be a perfect solution.

I have been using this solution since March of 2018, almost two and a half years. 

We are always using the latest version, as they regularly update their software.

It's quite stable.

They say that it can support more than 1,000 concurrent users, so I would agree that it is scalable. We have 800 users.

Because we have only authorized certain people to use it, it is restricted to the IT department. This has less than ten people in other departments. There is a total of approximately 20 people who maintain this solution.

I have used several solutions. Previously, I worked with Cisco AnyConnect Access VPN and also Pulse VPN, which is originated by Juniper.

We use these other solutions to access other organizations. It is not a decision to switch. These other solutions have been provided by previous employers.

The initial setup is very easy and quite straightforward.

If you are an experienced network engineer then you can easily configure that to a VPN feature in less than half an hour.

FortiClient is quite reasonably priced. 

You can get the firewall box rather than just the SSL VPN box. When you purchase extra hardware, you are not restricted in the number of end users. 

This compares favorably to other solutions such as Cisco AnyConnects or Pulse VPN, where you have to pay extra for the end-user license and it gets quite expensive.

If you are thinking to adopt the Fortinet SSL VPN, you have to consider the security level, because, by default, FortiClients can only integrate with FortiToken with a very limited license that will give you two. You can purchase additional FortiToken licenses for the MFA, or you can change to another solution, or the final option is to have the security level compromised, where the users just have user passwords to get authenticated.

If users share their password with other users then the account is compromised. You cannot use multifactor authentication to prevent or to mitigate that risk. If you choose to use FortiClient you have to consider that feature.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

I use Fortinet FortiClient across various scenarios to enhance security.

What I find valuable in FortiClient is its patch management capabilities, allowing remote updates efficiently. Additionally, the integration with FortiNAC and FortiGate servers is advantageous for a holistic security approach. The suite's ability to log and report information is user-friendly and effective.

One area for improvement in FortiClient is the speed of connectivity. 

I have been using Fortinet FortiClient for ten years.

Fortinet FortiClient is highly scalable. It can easily handle a significant increase in users, and the scalability is practically seamless. In my company, we currently have around 10,000 users.

Setting up Fortinet FortiClient is straightforward and user-friendly. The app is easily accessible online, and configuring it is a breeze. For enterprise use, FortiManager streamlines infrastructure management with intuitive blade screens. Deployment involves parallel migration, allowing testing of functionalities before a full transition. The process is efficient, and even for firewall installations, it is manageable with minimal disruption.

Fortinet FortiClient offers a free version, especially if you only need the VPN service. However, licenses are required for additional features. If you want to use endpoint services for network perimeter control or implement OTP, there are specific licenses for those. The free solution covers basic needs, while licenses are needed for advanced functionalities.

Our main use case is when I need to work from home. For instance, if I'm not going to the office today and I need to access files hosted on our local servers, I use FortiClient to connect to the network. This also helps me avoid using virtual machines that are located on-premises. So, my primary use case is accessing the network remotely via VPN to work with VMs. However, I'm not responsible for the overall management; that's handled by our IT team.

Almost every VPN solution offers similar features. You input your credentials, log in, and gain access to a virtual IT environment assigned to you. This is the core functionality of a VPN, and we have that with FortiClient. Personally, it's fine for me.

While it's been excellent, I suppose even faster connectivity would be great.

More integration would be beneficial. Faster connectivity is always welcome.

I have been using this solution for three years. We use the latest version. 

From my perspective as an end user, it's consistently stable, and I would rate the stability as a nine out of ten.

It's not designed for scalability; it's a VPN solution meant for individual users.

FortiClient was pre-installed on my machine.  It is deployed both on-premises and cloud environments. 

Overall, I would rate the solution a nine out of ten because it has been very stable for me.

It's useful to permit users working from home to connect to the internal infrastructure, sort of as an on-prem resource, in a secure way.

I find it very easy to configure and also very stable. It integrates well with Windows 10.

An area of improvement could be better integration with the active directory. I did not find it easy to configure.

I worked with different versions of Fortinet for two years, specifically in 2019 and 2020. I used it to configure the server part of the FortiClient.

It is a stable solution.

It's not very scalable. We don't have a lot of availability. We only have one gateway and the clients connect to it.

It depends on the product you buy based on the performance, but you can start from 200 and above.

The customer service and support are good. Although, the only point I don't like is that they take too much time to escalate the case. You have to do a lot of things yourself, even if it's something that needs their attention, so it's quite difficult to escalate it a little bit.

The initial setup is quite easy. It's not so much about the technical staff as it is about the initial configuration on the firewall side. This includes setting up certificates for secure connections and creating groups for users. It requires understanding what is needed for each group and user and then configuring it accordingly. If it's a new deployment, it's quite easy. However, it could be more difficult if you need to replicate it from other systems.

The deployment process involved several steps to ensure the solution was properly configured and accessible.

First of all, we had to configure the company's firewall to ensure it was deployed correctly. Then we had to configure the interface to connect to the system, set up certificate group user policies, and configure all the necessary steps. After that, we had to install FortiClient and configure it correctly to ensure the resources were accessible.

The deployment process took around two weeks to complete, but that was because we had to ensure everything was configured correctly and tested thoroughly before it could be fully implemented.

There are no licensing fees for the VPN.

I would rate it an eight out of ten.

We use Fortinet FortiClient to secure our connection when our team works in different locations worldwide. We needed dual authentication for our user verification. 

The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiClient is dual authentication and the VPN is secure.

The features of Fortinet FortiClient could be improved.

I have been using Fortinet FortiClient for approximately two years.

I rate the scalability of Fortinet FortiClient a nine out of ten.

We have approximately 34 licenses being used in our company.

I have received a high level of support.

I rate the support of Fortinet FortiClient a nine out of ten.

Positive

The initial setup of Fortinet FortiClient is simple. 

The solution is set up on many servers and it has been working very well.

I rate the stability of Fortinet FortiClient a nine out of ten.

The solution is not expensive. We need more discounted rates in Pakistan. The price of the solution could be reduced to be more affordable for the solution.

I rate the price of Fortinet FortiClient a nine out of ten.

I recommend this solution to others because it is simple and secure, we depend on it.

I rate Fortinet FortiClient a ten out of ten.

We are using an on-site EMS server for this product and our clients install it on their workstations. I'm a security officer and we are customers of Fortinet. 

The valuable features for us are the integration of the vulnerability scan, mobile detection, and VPN client. The advantage of FortiClient for us is the integration with FortiGate and that they support Linux, which most other solutions do not. One-third of our users have Linux workstations.

FortiClient has compatibility issues between different versions, for example, the VPN doesn't work well between FortiClient 6.4 and FortiGate. There are usability issues with vulnerability scanning and with reporting. It's often difficult to interpret and there are inadequate features in management identity. I would appreciate a better explanation of the findings of the malware scanning and of things like real-time protection. The solution is geared toward centralized single sign-on for the workstations, which is something we do not have. From that point of view, it's not a good match. I've also found the SSL VPN very sensitive to network disruptions. The anti-ransomware feature is hard to use because when it finds something, it doesn't provide adequate information and there are false positives that are hard to identify. Generally, it's difficult to access the documentation of the APIs as it requires an invitation via sponsorship from a Fortinet employee. We had some long-running issues, but that's perhaps because our configuration is not mainstream.

I've been using this solution for over a year. 

We haven't had any crashes, so the product is stable. We have problems with the stability of the VPN connection which tends to disconnect, but my impression is that it's just sensitive to network disruptions and is not related to the solution.

It's hard for me to comment on scalability because we are a company of 50 employees. We have one person who deals with maintenance for a minimal amount of time.

The technical support could be improved because it takes time to get through the first level of support, where you have to prove your case. When you get to where you need, it gets better, but just to get to someone who understands the problem can be tedious. We had some technical problems that they were never able to resolve.

The solution can be set up manually which can be quite complex on some operating systems because it requires a lot of manual settings. It can also be set up on Linux but they only support some distributions. 

I believe that licensing costs $500 per year for a 25-seat pack. It's a reasonable price although for small businesses, the disadvantage is that you have to buy a minimum 25 licenses.

I rate this solution six out of 10.