Fortinet FortiGate-VM Reviews

My company had once deployed multiple firewalls and switches in an organization.

My company uses the firewall capabilities of the product for L1, L2, and L3 switches, along with FortiClient VPN.

My company mostly deals with an organization that works with on-premises software. My company uses the tool to block the traffic from the outside area that may reach our infrastructure or network. My company uses the product as a firewall to create a blockage for outside traffic.

The most likable feature of the firewall functionalities stemmed from the fact that it did not allow anyone from outside the organization to have any kind of access to the company's information, and it ensured that it blocked outside traffic.

The product's setup is quite complex, making it an area where improvements are required.

I have experience with Fortinet FortiGate-VM for four to five years.

Stability-wise, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

My company is involved in research and development activities, and some of our employees or teams are constantly involved in research or development, owing to which some product features are not implemented in our organization. In general, the product is not used to its 100 percent potential.

Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

I have experience with Palo Alto Networks.

The product's initial setup phase is a bit complex.

The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.

The solution can be deployed in three working days.

The deployment process can be carried out with the help of our company's in-house team.

Though I cannot give any numbers, I can say that the product's ROI is good. The tool is able to give good returns considering the amount of money that my company invested in the product for our infrastructure.

I rate the tool's benefits a nine out of ten since the product always helps to maintain security and safety in our company.

There is a need to make payments towards the licensing costs attached to the solution.

The tool improved the security in our company's virtualized environment, as it was helpful in creating an additional layer of security for the organization and for the use of the internet. The tool was the most important product to be implemented in the organization.

To be able for our organization to build our services, we need to operate inside a certain network while ensuring that the outside traffic gets blocked by using the firewall services from the tool, as it helps to create a secure network inside our company. Without the tool in our organization, our network would have been compromised. The aforementioned area consists of details related to how the tool helps with the workload protection aspect.

I recommend the solution to others who plan to use it since it helps in areas where it helps block a particular website with the help of the firewall functionalities that it possesses. The tool also helps block outside traffic, and it is mandatory to implement a firewall as an organization grows for the smooth operations of business.

I rate the tool a ten out of ten.

We use FortiGate-VM as a firewall. My company has more than 4,000 users, and we plan to increase usage. 

I like FortiGate's IPS, IDS, and URL filtering. 

I think Fortinet should provide us with more reporting from the AI/ML point of view. They could also offer the SaaS application in a single box. The VPN and ZTNA have so many verticals that they work as a standalone solution. They need to be in a single box.

I have worked with FortiGate-VM for the last three years.

I rate FortiGate-VM eight out of 10 for stability. 

From a scalability point of view, we have a physical user license. If we need to upgrade, we can get a box. There is presently sufficient formal organization to scale up.

I have no problems with Fortinet support.

Positive

We have used Check Point and Palo Alto firewalls. 

We deployed FortiGate-VM with the help of a partner and the vendor. The deployment process took three months. We previously used Cisco ASA and had no migration tool, so we had to start from scratch. 

FortiGate-VM is affordable. In terms of operating costs, we contract with the OEM for a three-year contract and then renew. We haven't received any notice from them because all of our infrastructure is under contract. Every three years, if we cannot get a good price from the vendor, we replace the box.

I rate Fortinet FortiGate-VM eight out of 10. It has all the features. The only recommendation is to combine the vertical into a single box. To improve performance, they should build an engine in the box that enables them to scale per the user requirement. 

Fortinet FortiGate-VM is used for the firewall. Some clients would like to go for the solution because of pricing. They feel they can run it on their own hardware, cut down costs, and manage it.

I can vouch for the security aspect of Fortinet FortiGate-VM. It's a value-for-money appliance. Fortinet has always been our number one firewall appliance regarding recommendations to customers. The solution is very secure, and its technical support is on point.

I like Fortinet FortiGate-VM for tutorial purposes. You can set up the solution on your personal computer for apps and teaching.

Fortinet FortiGate-VM should improve its asset identification, wherein the device can identify assets on the network, like computers. We should be able to identify a device and the user account used to log on to that device.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate-VM for more than five to six years.

Since it is a VM, the solution runs on a client-provided host machine. Most of the time, the host machine gives issues that affect the VM.

I rate the solution a five out of ten for stability.

Around 20 users are using Fortinet FortiGate-VM in our organization.

I rate the solution an eight out of ten for scalability.

The solution's technical support is responsive, but the only issue is you need to be specific with your problem. If you are not specific with your problem, it will take longer to resolve the issue because of time zone differences. All the engineers would like to know exactly the problem before they offer solutions.

Positive

We previously worked with pfSense. We switched to Fortinet FortiGate-VM because pfSense was giving us issues.

Fortinet FortiGate-VM is easy to implement, provided you know your network architecture and the basics.

On a scale from one to ten, where one is complex and ten is easy, I rate the solution's initial setup a nine out of ten.

The solution can be deployed in less than ten minutes.

Fortinet FortiGate-VM is a very expensive solution. It's a value-for-money appliance. You don't have every client going in for the solution unless there are some specific points.

You need to know exactly what you need at the point of purchase. That will guide you in purchasing the required license. If you miss and purchase the wrong license, you can wait and purchase another license during renewal. You can also negotiate with Fortinet to have your license changed to get the feature you want.

On a scale from one to ten, where one is expensive and ten is cheap, I rate the solution's pricing a three out of ten.

We used to troubleshoot for Fortinet FortiGate-VM, but now the new firmware doesn't really give issues. We do maintain the solution by checking on devices and updating the firmware. We have seven engineers in our technical team to deploy and maintain the solution.

I would not recommend Fortinet FortiGate-VM to other users because most users don't have the infrastructure. They will tell you they want to cut down costs. You get them the solution, and at the end of the day, as a technical person, you will be bothered by the solution.

Regarding the upgrade, the only time we've had an issue is when the customer gave the wrong information. The utilization exceeded what they actually needed. Aside from that, Fortinet FortiGate-VM is a good appliance for us.

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

I have experience in deployment for banking processes and at the perimeter of a financial institution. I have experience in configuration for PCI DSS compliance.

The best feature of Fortinet FortiGate-VM is the deployment. I applied best practices for deployment with Fortinet FortiGate-VM. By the VPN connection into the site, on-premise and cloud or hybrid for segmentation of level of security, the perimeter and inside zone.

It's very robust. It's a solution that is very complete with accessible support. The feature for deep inspection (DPI) for Fortinet FortiGate-VM is used for generating alerts or to automate threat response.

Licensing could be easier to understand.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate-VM for around six years and Cisco for around 10 years.

The support deserves a rating of ten out of ten.

Positive

I have also worked with Cisco firewalls. The main differences between FortiNet and Cisco include the price, which is very different. The variant of Cisco ASA, Cisco Firepower, is more difficult for configuration. Firepower is more complicated. Fortinet FortiNet is easier to deploy and also less expensive.

I find that the initial setup of Fortinet FortiGate-VM is easy. Of course, I am very experienced in the area of telecom, and this setup and configuration is friendly. I see that other people find Fortinet FortiGate-VM to be user-friendly. The setup and learning curve is short.

I would rate Fortinet FortiGate-VM a 10 out of 10. It is very good.

I use the solution in my company for the data center's server protection to segregate the data center VLANs and the other VLANs used in the production, testing, and development phases, including the areas consisting of DMZ and VLAN. We are using Fortinet FortiGate-VM as a software-based tool and as a firewall for our data center.

It filters out the unnecessary connectivity that I would probably expect to be connected from the end user site or from external to the data center site. It is also used to filter unauthorized access to sites and to mitigate risks if, in cases, because of the asset policy, the remote desktop connectivity or remote connectivity is not allowed to restrict something. It is used to deal with phishing or something that may not pass through the network. The tool serves as an industrial firewall so that we can use it as a filter more efficiently.

The security offered by the tool has certain shortcomings, making it in area where improvements are required. Security, by nature, is very dynamic, and continuous improvement is required. Every time, the policy and the configuration need to be checked in that aspect now, so in that aspect, it needs some improvement, especially when it comes to some filtering mechanisms, and protocols.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate-VM for more than three years.

In terms of stability, it is stable. Stability-wise, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

It is scalable because it is a virtual appliance. You can probably scale it up more.

Fortinet FortiGate-VM is a security solution, so users are not expected to access it. It is actually required to protect the network and the environment, so there is no need for actual user access for the solution.

The product's initial setup phase requires some special expertise. The initial setup phase might not be complex, but it requires experts since it is a security solution.

If there is an expertise that is actually doing the implementation or deployment, then it is a straightforward process.

The solution requires a license. The tool is neither expensive nor cheap, so it is okay.

The product's implementation does affect our compliance with industry regulations, and it is one of the reasons why we prefer using Fortinet FortiGate-VM.

My suggestion to other people related to the tool depends on their requirements because there are other different solutions in terms of cost, efficiency, security, reliability, and security. Depending on the requirements, the tool is recommendable. Fortinet is one of the top security solutions in the market. Anybody can choose from multiple tools in the market, including Palo Alto products and other solutions. Fortinet is usually recommended to others.

I think that Fortinet FortiGate-VM has some solutions that offer AI features. For our use case, we don't actually use the AI functionalities since we want to control everything. In my company, we are the ones who are actually dealing with the product and are just not supported by AI.

I rate the tool a seven out of ten.

It's crucial for protecting my internet network. It works well internally.

Fortinet FortiGate-VM improved security within our virtualized environment.

However, I would rate the ease of management a seven out of ten, with ten being the best. 

The policies are very valuable. They allow me to secure and manage future traffic effectively.

The biggest area for improvement is storage configuration. It could be smoother.

I have been using it for four years. 

When it comes to stability, various factors are involved, including partners, configurations, and third-party integrations. 

However, we do use it, and it seems reliable and secure for most situations.

The company that acquired us already had similar technology in place, so there wasn't a significant change when they integrated FortiGate-VM.

We have around 60 end users in our company using this solution. It is a very scalable solution.

It's a new technology, and we're still learning. Support is crucial.

Neutral

The initial setup is straightforward and quick.  

We moved the equipment to the site, connected it to the internet, and configured it through the console.

I took a consultant's help.  

It improved security a lot.

My recommendation is: If you use FortiGate-VM, make sure your infrastructure is good first and that power generation is very stable. 

We use the solution for our private cloud.

We use Fortinet for everything in our organization. Our organization has Fortinet experts. The virtualized network features work fine. The flexibility is fine. It’s easy to integrate the solution with our network infrastructure.

We face some issues with the IPsec connection during replication. It must be improved.

I have been using the solution for six months.

The stability is fine.

I rate the tool’s scalability an eight out of ten. We have many users in our organization.

The initial setup is complex because we use CLI. The solution is cloud-based. We have moved our on-premise VM to a private VM.

I have used Netgate. I prefer Fortinet FortiGate-VM.

Overall, I rate the product a nine out of ten.

I use the solution in my company mostly as a firewall product.

The strong point of the solution is that Fortinet FortiGate-VM is a good tool to spend money on, as its price is not as high as the ones offered by Palo Alto. Compared to Palo Alto's performance, most people like Fortinet FortiGate-VM. In general, Fortinet FortiGate-VM is a tool that is available for a good price, and its performance is comparable to that of Palo Alto and Check Point.

I believe that Fortinet FortiGate-VM makes improvements on a quarterly or yearly basis.

In Fortinet FortiGate-VM, the area around the configuration, performance monitoring, and GUI are not as easy as in Palo Alto. Fortinet FortiGate-VM's configuration part, performance monitoring, and GUI are areas where improvements are required.

The scalability feature of the solution has certain shortcomings, making it an area where improvements are required.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate-VM for more than ten years. I work as the solution's system integrator. I use the solution's latest version.

It is a very stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a six or seven out of ten.

My company deals with customers with various ranges regarding the number of users who use the solution. Some of the customers I deal with and who use the solution have around 500 users.

My company plans to increase the number of users of the solution in our company.

I am not about the online support services offered by Fortinet FortiGate-VM, but our company deals with local support for the solution, which is very good.

I rate the technical support a ten out of ten.

Positive

As a system integrator, my company not only provides services for Fortinet FortiGate-VM but also for products like Palo Alto and Check Point.

The product's initial setup phase was easy.

The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.

The product's installation phase takes three hours if our company's customers provide us with all the prerequisites required for the deployment.

Cost-wise, I would describe Fortinet FortiGate-VM as a tool that is available for a good price.

Two years ago, the price for the license of the product was affordable, but I think that in the present time, there has been an increase in the price of the product by around 30 percent, making it an expensive tool in the process. I rate the product price a three on a scale of one to ten, where one is a high price, and ten is a low price.

My team consists of around 15 engineers who help me take care of the technical aspects of the product.

I recommend the product to those who plan to use it. I rate the overall tool an eight and a half to nine out of ten.