Fortinet FortiGate-VM Reviews

Our main use cases for Fortinet FortiGate include using it as a perimeter firewall. Fortinet FortiGate manages all our policies and other things.

Fortinet FortiGate has impacted our cost savings and security efficiency positively.

Fortinet FortiGate's VPN capabilities are very effective for us. We utilize the VPN facilities of Fortinet FortiGate all the time, so anybody who accesses our SAP systems utilizes the VPN of Fortinet FortiGate.

It has been quite seamless in terms of integration. We find it very useful for us.

The features I find most useful in Fortinet FortiGate are its simplicity of utilization, which is very important, and its provision of interfaces to see the alerts and other things. It is very useful. We use it to understand who our top users of the internet are, what they are using, and when they are using it. It gives us many glimpses into the inner workings of the organization.

At this moment, we believe that Fortinet FortiGate should be improved by injecting more AI because the kind of threats we are seeing are more ransomware threats. Fortinet FortiGate is able to ensure these threats do not enter, but we would prefer to see more proactive alerting mechanisms come out.

I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate in this company for about a year or over a year now, and in my previous company, I used it for almost four years, totaling five years of experience.

For stability, I have no complaints; we are satisfied customers.

Fortinet FortiGate is scalable enough for our environment. We are using Fortinet FortiGate in the consumer durables industry for electrical products. We currently have a little over 2,000 users working with Fortinet FortiGate in our environment.

We plan to increase the usage of Fortinet FortiGate in the future, shortly upgrading and increasing the number of users.

For technical support of Fortinet FortiGate, we utilize a channel partner and we are very happy with them. They support us almost instantly. They have backend support from Fortinet FortiGate, which they utilize. I would rate the support an eight out of ten.

The setup of Fortinet FortiGate is very simple, worthy of a nine out of ten rating.

The deployment part of Fortinet FortiGate takes a couple of hours. We decided to go for Fortinet FortiGate because it was simple to implement, it was simple to get the policies implemented, and the interfaces were quite simple. Simplicity was the main reason. The product is very good.

I find it quite reasonable.

Before working with Fortinet FortiGate, we evaluated Check Point, Palo Alto, and Blue Coat solutions. The reason we chose Fortinet FortiGate was basically because of security and simplicity of use.

I would recommend Fortinet FortiGate to those who are looking into using it because if they look at the manner in which it protects their enterprise, it does a wonderful job of that. 

I would rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten.

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.

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 mostly use FortiGate VM for securing cloud databases or internal in-house databases. It serves as the main perimeter firewall in our data centers.

FortiGate VM allows me to avoid the hardware lease recycle every five to eight years. I can purchase the VM, lock the hardware cost, and simply pay for licensing each year. This saves on capital expenditures in the long run. It can be upgraded or downgraded as needed. If the organization grows, a partial license can increase the device's capacity.

The previous version 5.6 had integrated features for logging, monitoring, and management. Now, these features require separate products like FortiManager, FortiAnalyzer, and a FortiCloud subscription for reporting. Many users are now turning to Sophos for the integrated features that were once part of Fortinet but are now separate.

I have been working with FortiGate VM for three to four years.

I would rate the stability as eight out of ten. Previously, patches had fewer bugs, however, recently they have had more, requiring internal testing to ensure deployment stability.

Scalability is an excellent selling point for FortiGate VM. It can start with a single core and scale up to a 32-core license for a robust deployment.

The partner support is quite low, and the end-user support is delayed at levels L2 and L3. L1 support is quick.

Neutral

Many users have shifted to Sophos due to changes in Fortinet's logging and monitoring features.

The initial setup depends on the hardware. It should be compatible with supported drivers for optimal performance.

I often customize the hardware and drivers based on client needs to deploy FortiGate VM.

FortiGate VM is considered a premium product, which can be costly, especially in regions with low budgets for IT infrastructure like Pakistan.

I evaluated Sangfor and MikroTik as the main competitors in Pakistan.

The solution rates as an eight out of ten. 

It is essential for the best solution to be properly deployed with appropriate policies, and users must be trained; otherwise, it might fail.

The main use is for clients who are migrating to the cloud. We started this journey during the pandemic, and the main case is with clients who are moving to either a private or a public cloud.

The solution allows us to organize our networks and access within one vendor, using an integrated platform. The more integrated we become, the less we spend on solving bugs and issues, allowing us to reduce time focusing on understanding and improving our network. We value the reliability and versatility.

I have used the solution for two years.

Fortinet offers stability with fewer fixes and adjustments needed compared to other solutions like SonicWall.

Customer service and support are very good. I would rate them a nine on a scale of one to ten.

Positive

I had a small experience with SonicWall. The main difference is Fortinet's stability, requiring fewer adjustments.

The initial setup is easy.

We have three people specialized in Fortinet. One person can handle a normal project with one or two VMs. They are SOC engineers providing support.

Clients receive operational impacts through improved reliability. They have a platform that organizes their networks and access effectively.

Pricing is complex. They could be slightly cheaper, however, Fortinet offers a good cost-benefit ratio. They are above average.

I evaluated SonicWall.

I would recommend Fortinet FortiGate-VM as a very good solution.

I'd rate the solution nine out of ten.

We utilize Fortinet FortiGate appliances at six branch offices, one data center, and one DLP site. Our network is driven by SD-WAN, and we employ FortiGate as our firewall, FortiEDR for endpoint protection, and FortiSwitch for alerting on all layers of the network.

For me, the best practice is to deploy on-premises for data centers. However, for small branch offices with over ten to twenty staff members, I can deploy the devices remotely. We can provision our cloud and push the configuration to those devices from the cloud.

The visibility that FortiGate provides into our devices is crucial for network segmentation. I want to see the output in a specific way. The traditional approach has shifted slightly, as I'm accustomed to Cisco networking equipment. Typically, we have a call feature, but I'm currently using all the call features for internal routing. However, with FortiGate, most security subnets are segmented and protected behind the firewall. This allows me to lock down or secure sensitive subnets, such as HR or departmental information. I can log in from there, and all other subnets for client users require centralized access. This means that all traffic must go through the firewall, enhancing security.

FortiGate enabled us to achieve compliance with governance requirements. The FortiGate, along with fabric security and checkpoints, essentially act as regulatory checkers, reviewing our security practices against industry best practices and guidelines. If they identify any discrepancies, they alert us, allowing us to develop and implement mitigation plans to address the issues. For instance, if our SSH configurations don't meet security standards, such as algorithm or cipher requirements, FortiGate will notify us, enabling us to take corrective action and regain compliance.

We utilize API calls for FortiGate, including those related to our PRTG monitoring system. Additionally, we employ HVAC calls and leverage another MDR solution from Arctic Wolf to trigger specific events on the FortGate. This API functionality enables us to generate API keys and seamlessly integrate with API features across various platforms.

Integrating FortiGate into our environment is straightforward. Our transition from Palo Alto to FortiGate was seamless, utilizing our existing policies and migration tools. FortiGate also provides provisioning capabilities for defining branch office configurations. As long as branch office devices can access the internet to communicate with Fortinet Cloud, we can remotely implement provisioning for these devices, offering greater convenience for small branch offices.

The built-in APIs streamline integrations with other vendors, reducing deployment time. They effortlessly generate API keys upon logging into the Fortinet network, facilitating the deployment of our PRTT monitor tools. These tools seamlessly integrate with each other, fostering rapid deployment. Most platforms, including Cisco Meraki, Palo Alto, and Check Point, now adhere to industry standards and support API calls.

FortiGate has been instrumental in mitigating the risk of cyberattacks that could potentially disrupt our production operations. I am particularly impressed with Fortinet's cloud-based FortiGuard service, which continuously updates our systems with the latest zero-day attack protection, significantly reducing the threat landscape within our industry. Given the energy industry's heightened vulnerability to cyberattacks, we have implemented measures to restrict access to our network based on geolocation IP addresses. This includes restricting access from countries such as Russia and China, further safeguarding our environment from potential threats. Additionally, FortiGuard's regularly updated list of malicious websites provides an invaluable layer of protection for our industry.

In the event of a production-disrupting attack, we can utilize FortiManager to remotely isolate and mitigate the threat by shutting down specific subnets or networks. We can easily navigate through the unpacked data, and upon detecting a suspicious event, we can initiate automation or SOAR processes to notify the Cloud Service Provider team with whom we have been collaborating. Additionally, we can establish traffic alerts. For instance, since not all users access the AD server simultaneously each month, if we observe such suspicious behavior, we can remotely shut down that network, thereby minimizing our risk exposure.

FortiGate provides us with actionable insights to guide our decision-making regarding the appropriate actions to take. We generate 20 gigabytes of log data daily, which we utilize to establish a baseline for network traffic on our servers and compare it to our generated report. This approach allows us to set a threshold for the read volume of 20 gigabytes of FortiGate data attempting to reach a server from an external source. If this threshold is exceeded, an alert is triggered, prompting us to take corrective action. The centralized monitoring of our environment provides significant value.

Security is not a single, isolated element. It encompasses the entire network infrastructure, including firewalls, routers, switches, endpoints, and even mobile devices. The Fortinet Security Fabric seamlessly integrates these components to provide comprehensive protection. It generates detailed logs, including those from access points linked to FortiSwitch. The FortiSwitch, fully integrated with the FortiGate Fabric, relays security alerts to the FortiViewer in the SOC. This centralized view provides complete visibility into the network, including SSIDs, wireless networks, subnets, and devices protected by FortiClient. The Fortinet Security Fabric tracks individual devices connected to the network, including compromised laptops. FortiClient triggers alerts and sends them to FortiCloud, which also receives logs from the EMS server and the firewall. These logs are consolidated in the FortiAnalyzer and forwarded to the cloud-based log server for analysis. This comprehensive approach to security ensures that all potential threats are identified and addressed promptly.

FortiGate has contributed to a reduction in our operational expenses. Prior to adopting Fortinet, we utilized Palo Alto for firewalls and Cisco for call switches. However, as we began using Fortinet, we gradually transitioned to their products. Currently, we employ FortiGate for our firewall, FortiSuite, and FortiAP Access Points, phasing them in one at a time. This approach has effectively minimized downtime and lightened our workload by enabling centralized management through a single pane of glass.

FortiGate has significantly reduced our time to remediation. We can now check logs from servers, firewalls, switches, access points, clouds, and even devices from different brands, all from a single centralized location. This has greatly reduced the time required for threat hunting and security event investigation.

Fortinet has been instrumental in enhancing our cybersecurity approach to safeguard our industrial machinery. We rely on some heavy equipment that is critical to our industry's operations. To protect this equipment, we have isolated it on a single subnet and implemented strict access controls, allowing only authorized users and MAC addresses to access the network. This ensures that only internal staff can operate the equipment unless authorized maintenance personnel are present. The high level of security we have implemented is essential because our industry's operations are closely tied to the core applications of our industry. We are committed to safeguarding our equipment and preventing any potential risks.

I appreciate FortiGate's flexibility, which allows for centralized management through FortiManager. Additionally, its integration with FortiAnalyzer, which can be deployed in the cloud, enables centralized monitoring of all firewall logs.

Fortinet needs to overhaul its documentation. Our current reliance on outdated documentation has resulted in significant time wastage. While we can locate the necessary documentation, the constant daily revisions necessitate meticulous identification of the relevant documents to prevent the use of outdated information that could jeopardize our environment. At the very least, Fortinet should classify its documentation to clearly indicate the applicable version, as our attempts to do so manually are becoming increasingly tedious.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for over three years.

Fortinet FortiGate is stable. I have not encountered any performance issues.

Fortinet FortiGate is scalable. 

The speed of Fortinet's technical support is significantly faster compared to Palo Alto. I recall an instance where I experienced an issue with Palo Alto, and it took an hour to connect with a real technician from Palo Alto. However, when I call Fortinet, it takes a maximum of two minutes to get a knowledgeable individual to address my concerns. Considering the stark contrast in service levels, imagine having a network issue with Palo Alto and having to wait an hour for support. Conversely, with Fortinet, we can receive proper assistance within two minutes. The difference is immense. This is the one aspect I find lacking in Palo Alto.

The reason I don't give Fortinet's support a perfect score is that I've worked in this field for many years and have come to expect a certain level of expertise. Even when we call Palo Alto, Cisco, Check Point, or any other support service, our experience can vary depending on who we get on the phone. If we're lucky, we'll get a highly experienced expert who can quickly resolve our issue. However, we may also get someone who is new to the team or to their role, and they may take a long time to understand our problem. While Fortinet's support is generally excellent, I have had a couple of experiences where I felt like the person on the other end was inexperienced and asked me irrelevant questions. Despite these occasional issues, I am still very satisfied with Fortinet's support overall, but I wouldn't give it a perfect score.

Positive

We previously used Palo Alto for five years and switched to Fortinet FortiGate. Palo Alto is expensive.

The initial deployment is simple. We need to determine which interface is the WAN interface and which is the internal interface.

With Fortinet, we should prioritize a centralized approach to ensure synchronization and consistency across the network. This centralized management strategy will streamline the implementation of SD-WAN, as it allows for the deployment of standardized templates and traffic configurations. Centralized management also simplifies future modifications, as minor changes can be pushed down without requiring complete redesigns. Conversely, deploying SD-WAN without prior centralized management can lead to complexities and potential disruptions. For instance, if WAN interfaces are configured independently of SD-WAN, integrating SD-WAN later will necessitate removing and reconfiguring existing data, policies, firewall policies, and rules. This process can be time-consuming and error-prone.

For medium and enterprise organizations, FortiGate is more affordable. We can choose from a variety of bundles to find the right license for our needs. The software is reliable and easy to install, and it will run smoothly on our systems. FortiGate is priced lower than Palo Alto.

I would rate Fortinet FortiGate nine out of ten.

I compared SD-WAN solutions offered by companies like Cisco Meraki, and Palo Alto. I'm impressed with SD-WAN solutions in general, but I recommend considering purchasing Fortinet's SD-WAN solution, as it could lead to significant cost savings. However, proper planning and design are crucial before deployment to avoid incurring additional expenses due to rework. That's my suggestion.

I use FortiGate VM primarily to enhance network security within our environment. It acts as a primary firewall.

FortiGate VM provides valuable network security features that are effective in enhancing our security posture. The ease of deployment and management is commendable. Its VPN capabilities support our remote workforce effectively. Monitoring and cost-effectiveness are also significant areas where it helps. AI integration has not been tested yet.

Interoperability could be improved. The API needs better integration to match accounts and objects more effectively. VPN capabilities present some issues, and configuration and customization could be refined.

I have been using FortiGate VM for four years now.

I rate the stability of the solution at eight out of ten.

I rate the scalability of the solution at nine out of ten.

I rate technical support at eight out of ten. Their support is helpful and effective.

Positive

I switched from another vendor to FortiGate VM, which has significantly reduced our operational costs.

The initial setup was easy, and I did it myself without requiring assistance from third-party services.

Two engineers from our side were involved in the installation process.

I observed a fifty to sixty percent reduction in operational costs after migrating to FortiGate VM.

I find the pricing of FortiGate VM to be quite affordable.

I considered other vendors and chose FortiGate VM primarily for its cost-effectiveness.

I would recommend FortiGate VM to others due to its ease of deployment, ease of management, and cost-effectiveness. 

I rate the overall solution eight out of ten.

Fortinet FortiGate is our primary security solution for network communication. It enforces segregation between the IT and OT networks. All communication, integrations, and other traffic between IT and OT must pass through the FortiGate, which inspects and controls it.

FortiGate also serves as our VPN concentrator. Both internal users and partners connect their VPNs to FortiGate. We manage the entire VPN process, including access control and security policies.

All web traffic within the organization flows through the FortiGate for inspection and security controls. We leverage FortiGate's UTM capabilities, including web filtering, intrusion prevention, and application control.

While we have several websites running behind FortiGate, they are primarily static content sites with limited business activity. Therefore, we utilize the basic WAF functionality within FortiGate instead of a dedicated WAF device. This approach has proven effective for our needs due to the low volume of transactions and sensitive data on these websites.

FortiGate also manages communication between our internal IT units. With five units in operation, efficient inter-unit communication is critical. FortiGate ensures secure and controlled data exchange between these units.

FortiGate provides us with both visibility and segmentation for our industrial devices. This allows us to achieve good segmentation and also gain a clear view of the assets that reside behind them. Now, if I need to find a specific asset within our industrial environment, I can simply access Fortinet and check the assets listed there. Additionally, FortiGate utilizes sensing technology that identifies the type of each device, further enhancing our overall visibility.

FortiGate helps a lot to reduce the risk of cyberattacks that could disrupt our production.

FortiGate enables centralized management of our organization's network and security operations, providing comprehensive visibility into our environment for proactive threat detection and mitigation.

The effectiveness of our response to a production disruption depends on the affected environment. Some environments have sufficient redundancy to continue operating without the system, while others require immediate intervention. To address this variability, we utilize a strategically deployed FortiGate across all environments. This firewall enforces pre-defined rules to manage traffic and data flow effectively, ensuring that disruptions are minimized and operations continue smoothly.

FortiGate provides us with actionable data, enabling us to make informed decisions. The visibility it grants into the devices operating within our environment empowers us to take timely action and safeguard them.

All our OT traffic traversing to and from our IT environment passes through our Fortinet FortiGate firewall, which helps to reduce our operational expenses.

The security fabric helps reduce our mean time to remediation.

Fortinet has helped us take a more serious approach to cybersecurity. 

The Intrusion Prevention System and the web filtering are both working well. The Deep Packet Inspection is also functioning properly, allowing us to see all network traffic, including encrypted data. I find the DPI to be a valuable and user-friendly feature. Additionally, the logs are clear and easy to understand. Having worked with Cisco and Check Point in the past, I can confidently say that these logs are on par with those of other leading security solutions. They greatly aid in troubleshooting, investigations, and general network monitoring. Overall, I am impressed with this solution's web filtering capabilities and robust IPS functionality. It is both easy to manage and deploy, making it a valuable tool for our network security.

While FortiGate offers a wide range of security features, I sometimes feel that the platform could benefit from more extensive improvements. Given the multitude of functions it provides, I wonder if the developers have enough time to adequately refine each aspect. However, for our specific needs, FortiGate currently performs adequately.

The debugging and troubleshooting has room for improvement.

I would like to see greater integration with third-party solutions. For instance, one example would be integrating Endpoint Protection with FortiGate, such that if an issue arises with Endpoint Protection, an action could be automatically triggered on FortiGate.

I am concerned about Fortinet's ability to help us meet regulatory compliance because its optimal functionality requires deploying all solutions within the mesh as Fortinet products. This raises questions about the compatibility and integration of non-Fortinet technologies within the Fortinet Security Fabric. 

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for two years.

I would rate the stability of Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten. 

I would rate the scalability of Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten.

The technical support responds quickly.

Positive

I have worked with Cisco, Check Point, and Palo Alto. I worked with Cisco for ten years and I find Fortinet FortiGate to be a better solution.

The price is fair for what we get with FortiGate.

I would rate Fortinet FortiGate a nine out of ten.

Although we currently don't use any Fortinet devices designed for extreme environments, we are planning to test a few Fortinet switches in such conditions. This initial experiment aims to assess their performance and suitability for our harsh environment. If the switches perform well, we may consider switching our current supplier. While we don't frequently change our OT networks, prioritizing long-term stability has been our main objective, and we've achieved that so far. However, since Fortinet is our network supplier, testing their switches and confirming their reliability is a prudent step for when we need to update our switches.

Potential users should understand their needs before purchasing the solution.