Fortinet FortiGate Reviews

I handle solutions architecture for security and systems design. I have customers who use Fortinet FortiGate. 

All the features of Fortinet FortiGate are good. When customers have issues, it's very easy to talk them through the interface, and when they've got any support issues and they want to figure them out themselves, it's very easy for them to contact the FortiGate support. All the knowledge bases have various information and knowledge articles to assist them in getting solutions as quickly as possible.

We use SASE, and it's a great product; I wish FortiGate had come out with it sooner because it helps significantly.

Fortinet FortiGate stands out due to its functionality and longevity. It's stable once you've completed the setup.

In Fortinet FortiGate, they've already improved many areas and built in new features. When considering what can be improved in Fortinet FortiGate, more competitive pricing is needed more than anything else. Fortinet FortiGate is a very good product, but when we look at the South African market, they just need to relook at the pricing because it's a bit pricey for some of the local government organizations.

I've been using Fortinet FortiGate for the last 15 years.

The stability of Fortinet FortiGate rates as a nine out of ten.

It is scalable. I would rate it a nine out of ten for scalability.

Our clients range from across the board.

It's easy for customers to get assistance with the product.

I would rate their support a nine out of ten. I don't have any problems with the vendors.

Positive

It's mostly on prem. I'm going to do data center solutions and cloud deployment.

It's very easy to do the implementations. Even training the customers on how to do their own rules and whitelists is very easy. On average, it takes me about two and a half hours with all the customization for the clients.

Fortinet FortiGate does not require any maintenance. Once it's done, the only times we do maintenance is if the customer wants something or there are updates.

I've shown them how it works with FortiSIEM, so now I can get them to actually do inspections on their infrastructures every six months, do penetration testing, and see that their environments are secure.

When you look at certain sectors of the market, the pricing is a little high. 

We are implementing FortiGate's data center solution now because I'm starting to let local government sites work through one data center. 

With FortiGate SD-WAN, the impact has been very little on the network performance because we've done certain things at night and certain things during the day, so the impact on the network is very low. In my organization, there are about three Fortinet specialists focusing on FortiGate.

I'd recommend Fortinet FortiGate to other users. Overall, I'd give Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten, with pricing being the main factor preventing a higher score.

We're working with Fortinet FortiGate firewalls, network devices, and Wi-Fi, specifically for Wi-Fi and networking.

The best features of Fortinet FortiGate include the flexibility of hybrid cloud capabilities and the way they are structuring their multi-tenancy and for managed services, along with manageability. The services have improved data center protection at scale because we have standardized, and it's all more manageable.

Technical support would probably be an area for improvement, particularly around the extensibility of hybrid multi-cloud integration with AI. I have faced some issues with technical support, particularly with the speed of response not being so quick at times. We also want to improve the partnership program, as it is not flexible enough for global companies. The partner program's level of certification and commercial commitment is not really well-suited for global partners.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for many years now.

I would rate their technical support as a six.

The implementation and initial setup of Fortinet FortiGate depends on various factors and is not straightforward. The person who implements it needs to know what they are doing and should be certified on how to implement it. However, if you know what you're doing, it's more straightforward than most other products.

Fortinet provides training as part of our partner program.

I have seen a return on investment, more or less.

My experience with pricing is good; we're sorting out our global partnerships. Before I joined the company, we had a pricing problem because the partnership was not set up correctly, but now I've managed to get that sorted out and hopefully, that will resolve the issue and lead to better pricing globally.

For a firewall perspective, your next option would probably be Palo Alto or Check Point, but Fortinet has made significant improvements to go ahead in that space. I think your closest contender right now is probably Palo Alto.

I would recommend Fortinet FortiGate to most organizations. I would rate Fortinet FortiGate overall as an eight.

We use Fortinet FortiGate for network segmentation. We protect from the outside world and make segregation with the outside world. With Fortinet FortiGate, we primarily focus on network segmentation.

The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiGate is the price-quality ratio. It's a very good fit as it's not very expensive and offers extensive functionality. It functions effectively as a firewall, performing its intended purpose compared to the competition. When activating the Unified Threat Protection, users gain access to FortiGuard. The SASE possibility is also interesting even though we do not currently use it.

It's not only about the product itself. It is also the team around Fortinet. We receive substantial help from Fortinet, which is very valuable as they assist us in choosing the right solutions. If we need configuration assistance, they can send specialists who help design the solution. The value comes from both the FortiGate firewall itself and how the team supports you.

One area for improvement involves FortiAnalyzer, specifically regarding the SOC part and log interpretation. Sometimes interpretation is very difficult. They send an extensive amount of logs, and when putting that in a SOC or SIEM, payment is based on gigabytes sent. We send many unnecessary items, resulting in unnecessary costs.

We decided to reduce the logs and now send only half of what we had before after determining what was unnecessary. They should improve what needs to be sent to the SIEM. The logs should be lighter. In the log structure, there are many unnecessary columns, resulting in a large amount of redundant data. They should improve the way logs are sent to the SIEM.

We have been using Fortinet for more than ten years. 

Fortinet FortiGate is stable overall when choosing a release that has been tested. We have observed more vulnerabilities on Fortinet, however, this indicates that as the product becomes more successful, it becomes a larger target for hackers. This issue exists with every major vendor.

The scalability of Fortinet FortiGate for our organization is one of the best aspects, as they use the same OS for everything. This means you can find your way back and upgrade without changing everything in terms of configuration. Scaling up infrastructure is not problematic as it doesn't require a major migration.

Based on my experience with their support, I would rate Fortinet FortiGate eight out fo ten. Sometimes it takes more time if the issue is complicated. Overall, the support is good.

We've always used Fortinet; we were working with someone else who was also using Fortinet.

I personally participated in the initial setup and deployment of Fortinet FortiGate a very long time ago. Currently, I am more involved in management than operations, so I no longer follow this aspect.

Fortinet FortiGate is deployed on-premises in my organization.

The return on investment with Fortinet FortiGate is measured in terms of security. A firewall can be nice, however, if it is poorly configured, it will result in poor value for money. 

Return on investment for a firewall is about performing its intended function. Without one or with poor configuration, you can lose substantial money. The return on investment is reflected in the level of protection provided.

I am aware of the pricing of Fortinet FortiGate through our purchasing service. I have access to the list price and know the discounts. The price-quality ratio is very good, and we have an excellent representative who helps us secure good pricing.

I evaluated other options before choosing Fortinet FortiGate through a tender process. They met all the feature requirements and testing criteria. The dedicated ASIC provides very good performance, which was initially the key factor for our needs. We continue monitoring what Palo Alto and Cisco do, but we maintain a partnership agreement with Fortinet.

I have experience comparing Fortinet's SD-WAN with Cisco's solution. We currently don't work with SD-WAN, having returned to an MPLS network since we own the network and cables. 

We don't integrate SD-WAN capabilities with Fortinet FortiGate in our network yet since we own our whole network, including all the cabling and optical fibers in the region. While SD-WAN is a good feature, it's not necessary for our use case. 

Regarding Fortinet Unified SASE, implementation may come in the future. 

We don't use Fortinet FortiGate's data center solution. 

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten. 

We are using Fortinet FortiGate firewall as a data center firewall.

Two aspects I'm happy with regarding Fortinet FortiGate firewall are the easy user interface and its resilience during power interruptions. We experienced two power interruptions where the firewall got disconnected from electricity, but it resumed working normally without any issues. 

The firewall provides enhanced security for our network, and as administrators, we are satisfied with the friendly interface. We are particularly pleased with the Fortinet FortiGate firewall's ability to provide network and security convergence.

We have been using it for three years.

It is scalable.

We did not use any solution before Fortinet FortiGate.

The price-to-performance ratio that we get from using Fortinet FortiGate firewall is very good.

The pricing is affordable. We are satisfied with the Fortinet FortiGate firewall.

I would highly recommend Fortinet FortiGate firewall. We feel more secure after implementing it. We are securing the whole network with the Fortinet FortiGate firewall, not specifically the data. 

On a scale of one to ten, I rate this solution a nine.

It is just for firewalls and network security.

It's mostly compliance, like just meeting our security requirements to keep our data secure. We don't make money out of it. It just keeps our data safe.

I have FortiGate for SD-WAN and all access points here, which has helped with traffic shaping capabilities.

I also use AI (Rapid7) to improve my cybersecurity. 

It's easy to use and provides good visibility of network traffic.

The SD-WAN functionality is a bit overly complicated and not fully documented.

I have been using it for six years. 

The customer service and support are good. I can contact them online or over the phone.

Neutral

I have used Sophos XTM and Palo Alto.

FortiGate is more feature-rich and has a broader range of hardware. They offer switches, access points, firewalls, and the whole network stack, whereas a lot of others only do firewalls.

It's just a good value and the possibility of using those features. We haven't used FortiSwitches yet; we're investigating them at the moment, but we haven't ordered any yet.

The SD-WAN was certainly tricky and took a while to figure out, but the rest of the security features were straightforward.

The deployment took us six months. 

It's hard to measure the return on investment, but it certainly helps us manage our security requirements easier than other solutions that I've used.

It's good value for the money.

It was worth the money overall. It's good value.

Overall, I would rate the solution an eight out of ten. 

Our company uses this solution for endpoint network security. 

The ECC management and the GUI that offers single interface management are the most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate. 

The documentation available for Fortinet FortiGate should be improved. Often, I find documentation of older models and not the latest version of Fortinet FortiGate. I have to often utilize the older documentation and reengineer the information for the latest model of Fortinet FortiGate. 

There are competitor products in the market that can monitor all logs, which are referred to as SOC; Fortinet FortiGate should have such in-built features. The solution should be able to implement machine learning and analytics of all the logs for threat detection and protection. 

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for more than a year.

I would rate the stability an eight out of ten. 

The solution is used daily in our organization. I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten. 

I would rate the tech support an eight out of ten. Our company needs to contact customer support on certain issues. The support team is usually able to resolve the issues by communication over call a few times. Sometimes, there was quite some back-and-forth through support tickets with the vendor team before the issues got resolved. 

Positive

Our company previously worked with Juniper, NETGEAR, and Cisco. The devices from the aforementioned vendors reached the End of Life, and their support was expiring in our company, so we switched to Fortinet FortiGate to have visibility and manage all devices through a single vendor. 

I would rate the initial setup a nine out of ten. Due to some network complexities, we had to schedule the downtime of our organization's business, so the initial deployment of Fortinet FortiGate took more time than anticipated. But the setup process was seamless and our company didn't face any abrupt down time. 

At our company, first, we prepared a deployment plan and then divided the services into varying areas based on which the deployment was performed in phases. Only two professionals, a system engineer, and an infrastructure manager, are required to deploy Fortinet FortiGate.

Another two individuals are needed to maintain the solution with the same aforementioned professional job designations. In our company, we didn't face any issues while integrating Fortinet FortiGate with our existing infrastructure and even with other tools.

A third-party team deployed the solution for our organization. 

In our company, we haven't realized an ROI yet, as the solution was implemented just a year ago. There are some devices that I need in addition to other area devices of my company, we are in process of renewing all old devices with newer versions.

In the next few months, our company will be able to obtain the actual capex purchase with at least ten switches. Fortinet FortiGate is worth the money, offers multiple solutions under one roof. 

I would rate the pricing a five out of ten. Our company onboarded the solution through a traditional capex purchase of the standard license with three years of customer support. 

Our company has been using Fortinet FortiGate since 2009 at the firewall level, due to familiarity with the RTO and FortiGate environment, complete adoption of Fortinet FortiGate was an easier choice than other solutions for a single clear management. 

Fortinet FortiGate also had all the features that our company was expecting, and in terms of ease of management, opting for the same vendor from firewall to edge device was a comfortable option. 

Previously, in our organization, we didn't have a network monitoring tool. With the adoption of Fortinet FortiGate, we can now check the port level of the switches that can be witnessed at the EP end, where all devices remain connected to the network. The management and monitoring are the major benefits of Fortinet FortiGate. 

I would advise others to consider adopting the solution without hesitation. I read the latest Gartner Magic Quadrant report, and it mentioned that, based on its track record, Fortinet can compete with the best in terms of network and security solutions.

For the last five years I believe Fortinet has dominated the market. I recently attended a Fortinet event where I met all the local and regional support team; I learned that the vendor is continually expanding, and in our region, we can easily avail support and guidance regarding Fortinet solutions whenever required. 

The monitoring subscription that is provided with the Fortinet FortiGate has built-in AI features for the past three years. I believe Fortinet is in the sixth generation of their AI and ML utilizing the native infrastructure. Thus, the AI features have been available for a long time in Fortinet FortiGate, but they are promoting it now due to the market trends. I would overall rate the solution an eight out of ten. 

Our use cases include link aggregation with core switches and WAN switches solutions when having multiple ISPs to reduce the number of utilization ports in the Fortinet FortiGate firewall. We can provide link aggregation bandwidth and throughput of 1GB and create LACP for their traffic. The solution includes LACP link aggregation solutions, LDAP integrations, and read-write profiles for L1 and L2 access integrations. It also includes dial-up VPN, hub-and-spoke setup, IPsec tunnels setups, and automation features where administrators receive notifications for any changes in the firewall. Currently, in India, approximately 30 to 40% of organizations utilize these devices.

The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate include web filtering and application category functionality. The application category allows web filtering based on categories, which is one of the strengths of the Fortinet FortiGate firewall. The traffic is stable and seamless. We have found minimal bugs in the firmware, and when issues are discovered, they are immediately rectified with TAC engineers.

Fortinet FortiGate can be deployed in both large and small organizations. The solution can be implemented in organizations with 150, 60, or 100 users. We can provide solutions based on their throughput requirements, which is a significant advantage of the firewall.

I require many more features as of now.

I've been working with Fortinet FortiGate for four years.

The traffic is stable and seamless. We have found minimal bugs in the firmware, and when issues are discovered, they are immediately rectified with TAC engineers.

I have not gone in-depth regarding scalability, but from economic, financial, and security level perspectives, everything is manageable and better understood. We also receive support from the TAC team.

Support services are excellent, deserving a rating of 8.5 to 9. Technical support provides better clarity about issues. Only two or three cases rarely remained unresolved by TAC engineers.

When comparing with other OEM levels, we can provide better solutions.

The complexity level is not significant.

When using another OEM firewall, we can provide alternative solutions.

The solution is very easy to understand and handy. We have customers deployed both on-premises and in the cloud. Our main focus is on monitoring bandwidth utilization and identifying which applications are used most frequently and which IPs are affected. We have separate monitoring tools to identify malware or malicious content downloads, providing additional benefits. 

For data center solutions, we provide solutions based on throughput, number of users, and traffic routing from hubs to DC. The application utilization tracking allows us to see bandwidth usage per IP and MAC address, helping allocate traffic shaping for particular departments.

I would rate it a nine out of 10

I primarily use it for the Nextiva SIM firewall and the website application firewall. We strive to serve our customers, including utilizing the SD-WAN feature in FortiGate in our office.

The features that are beneficial for failure mitigation and security include PPN and firewall security. The integration of multiple networks, especially in complex environments such as the finance and manufacturing industries, makes FortiGate valuable. In these industries, it can be difficult to implement and integrate several applications.

Currently, I am working on improvements. One of the main areas is the processing and integration of new features. In my opinion, refreshing the CPM technology with zero-trust access could enhance its performance.

I have used the solution mostly for maybe ten years.

The product has been very stable, based on my ten to eleven years of experience. When I propose FortiGate to customers, hardware problems have been minimal, which suggests a reliable performance.

Scalability is well-supported, with the notable ability to implement features easily. FortiGate offers robust scalability options.

I find the customer service to be good.

Positive

The initial setup typically takes three to five days.

Sometimes, questions arise about the backup position, especially regarding firewall operations. FortiGate, placed next to Nextiva SIM, excels in terms of pricing and operational efficiency. Customers can easily troubleshoot with great technical support. I would rate it nine out of ten.