Fortinet FortiGate OverviewUNIXBusinessApplication

Fortinet FortiGate is the #1 ranked solution in best firewalls, SD-WAN tools, and top WAN Edge tools. PeerSpot users give Fortinet FortiGate an average rating of 8.4 out of 10. Fortinet FortiGate is most commonly compared to Cisco Secure Firewall: Fortinet FortiGate vs Cisco Secure Firewall. Fortinet FortiGate is popular among the large enterprise segment, accounting for 47% of users researching this solution on PeerSpot. The top industry researching this solution are professionals from a computer software company, accounting for 18% of all views.
Fortinet FortiGate Buyer's Guide

Download the Fortinet FortiGate Buyer's Guide including reviews and more. Updated: May 2023

What is Fortinet FortiGate?

Fortinet FortiGate is an innovative line of firewalls that aim to protect organizations from all types of web-based network threats. They come in a wide variety of product types. Fortinet FortiGate’s solutions are available in a large range of sizes and form factors and are key components of the Fortinet Security Fabric, which enables immediate, intelligent defense against known and new threats throughout the entire network.

Fortinet FortiGate provides users with next-generation firewall solutions that provide proven protection with unmatched performance across the network, from internal segments to data centers to cloud environments. You can protect every part of your network without exception. Additionally, your protections can be managed from a single central location. This ensures that the task of protecting your network is infinitely easier to accomplish.

Benefits of Fortinet FortiGate

Some of the benefits of using Fortinet FortiGate include:

  • The ability to manage your firewalls from a centralized automated control console. Fortinet FortiGate’s FortiManager enables administrators to exercise control of their firewalls in a streamlined manner. Administrators have full visibility and control over their system from a single location. It utilizes automation that collects information in real time, which greatly simplifies and reduces the cost of running various types of workflows. Administrators can free up resources by automating the most basic tasks.
  • The ability to produce uniform, appropriate, and coordinated responses to threats across networks. Fortinet FortiGate’s FortiGuard feature generates system protections in near real time. This allows administrators to address threats to the system with custom-made solutions that can be uniformly enforced.
  • The ability to scale up your security to fit your changing security needs. Fortinet FortiGate’s design allows users to accelerate the transfer of data between users and escalate the number of users that are covered without compromising security of performance. This means that users can grow their networks and continue to collaborate without worrying about the system slowing down or coming under attack.

Reviews from Real Users

Fortinet FortiGate’s firewall solutions are cutting edge. They stand out from competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are the robustness and power of their firewalls. Fortinet FortiGate’s firewall provides users with many valuable features that allow them to maximize what they can do with the solution. These firewalls enable users to use a single piece of software to accomplish tasks that often require the use of multiple pieces of software.

PeerSpot user Eric S., a Solutions Engineer and Consultant at a tech-services company, notes the robustness of this solution when he writes, "One of the nice things about FortiGate is that it can be deployed on the cloud or on-premises. You can actually do both. That's the biggest reason why I stick with this solution as opposed to something like Cisco Meraki. Another nice thing is that I can log directly into a FortiGate or get to it through their FortiCloud access products. They're pretty reliable and consistent. One of the reasons why I started using the product was their single pane of management. I can deploy their line of firewalls in conjunction with their switching and access points, and I can manage the entire network from one interface.”

PeerSpot user Jim M., a network admin at Penobscot Valley Hospital, notes the power of Fortinet FortiGate’s security software when he writes, "It does a lot for you for intrusion protection and as an antivirus. The threat management bundle is worth the money. You don't need another company to monitor your web traffic for you. You can do everything yourself on the firewall. You restrict your own black list for people on the firewall.”

Fortinet FortiGate was previously known as FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate.

Fortinet FortiGate Customers

Pittsburgh Steelers, LUSH Cosmetics, NASDAQ, Verizon, Arizona State University, Levi Strauss & Co.

Whitepaper and case studies here

Fortinet FortiGate Video

Archived Fortinet FortiGate Reviews (more than two years old)

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Dy General Manager at a real estate/law firm with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Rich in features, good support, and setup and deployment straightforward
Pros and Cons
  • "Some of the valuable features are the firewall, IPS, web filter, and gateway capabilities. Additionally, it is easy to use and flexible."
  • "It would be a benefit if Fortinet would release a one-stop solution that is better integrated with other products and an automated emergency response system."

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution for network security protection.

What is most valuable?

Some of the valuable features are the firewall, IPS, web filter, and gateway capabilities. Additionally, it is easy to use and flexible.

What needs improvement?

It would be a benefit if Fortinet would release a one-stop solution that is better integrated with other products and has an automated emergency response system.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using the solution for 12 years.

Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiGate
May 2023
Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiGate. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: May 2023.
706,951 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution's scalability is a problem because when you use a LAN, you use hardware and hardware wastes resources. However, it is more scalable than some of its competitors, such as Check Point. We have 620 users using the product.

How are customer service and support?

The solution is designed in a way to help you, the support is good. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We have used many solutions previously such as Check Point and Stone software. We changed to this solution because we wanted something more stable.

How was the initial setup?

The setup was easy.

What about the implementation team?

You will need one or two integrators for the deployment and it was very easy. The maintenance is simple too.

What other advice do I have?

We are going to continue using this solution.

I rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Lead Architect at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Scalable with good core functionality and good support
Pros and Cons
  • "The base firewall features are quite valuable to us."
  • "The Wi-Fi controller needs a lot of improvement."

What is our primary use case?

We use this solution for different reasons.

We use it for the firewall with SDWAN functionality

We use it in some use cases as a VPN Server.

 We use it as a Wi-Fi controller on some sites.

We use if for internal network segregation and routing

How has it helped my organization?

Fortinet FortiGate has improved the way our organization functions.

What is most valuable?

Versatile with a lot of controls and expert level customizations for advanced users

NGFW features seems to be effective are relatively easy to implement. 

Fortigate DC Agent is a useful free feature to automatically detect logged on users and implement user based access policy

Basic VPN is included without extra charges

What needs improvement?

The Wi-Fi controller feature needs a lot of improvement. The function itself is not as stable as it should be in our use case which might be a problem in either the APs or the controller.

Would like to see more wizards and automation for more features such as virtual servers, SSL VPN, and others where policies, rules entries are created automatically form wizard input.

Some of the features related to load-balancing and traffic shaping are not as straightforward as they need to be. 

The VPN functionality needs low-level debugging get what really going on. Log level is too detailed and requires someone who is quite experienced to analyze and solve those issues. 

Zero-trust base features are lagging behind the other competition, based on what I have read. Would like to see those features in a clearly in the UI.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for four years.

We are not using the latest version, but close to it.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

There are some stability issues when move to a newer version. It's always good to be a couple of steps behind when you upgrade as usually the latest major releases are a not stable. We are quite cautious to update.

The stability of VPN connection phase is can be enhanced

Wifi AP/Controller stability is an issue for us

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's quite scalable. The scalability and the migration are okay as well. Licensing model is also stright forword and certain features such as basic SSL VPN requires no to min additional cost per user.

How are customer service and technical support?

Their technical service is quite good. The application notes and the help on the web are quite good.

I would rate technical support an eight out of ten.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

By the time I joined a Fortigate was selected against pfsense.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is intermediate in complexity but support and online documentation covers for it.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

If you're a small-medium size business:

- Size your use case carefully as licensing price jumps significantly with HW changes. 

- Customizable Forticilent SW can be downloaded for free with FNDN membership

- If you have multi sites and require Fortigate based 2FA then consider getting a dedicated fortiauthenticator (VM) with fortiokens acting a central RADIUS server which can be cheaper than cloud tokens an with additional authentication flexibilities.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

pfsense; was decided against based required features (mainly VPN which is based in OpenVPN)

Paloalto; is a more expensive with comparable security features based on a recent NSS LABs report

What other advice do I have?

Follow the instructions on the application manual carefully. Otherwise, certain features would not be running quite as they need them to without clear errors reported. 

Contact technical support, they're responsive and have solutions for most of the problems.

Chose/size the HW carefully based on your use case as certain features are HW accelerated  in higher variants but takes a huge toll on CPU/ memory when running on lower variants.

Consider using Fortigate DC Agent which is  useful free feature to automatically detect logged on users and implement user based access policy

Consider segregating functions on different units instead of having all features on a Fortigate (i.e avoid having wifi controller + firewall + VPN on a single unit specially for lower variants)

Because of the flexibility, the advanced user features, the high level of security controls, and the tweaks that are available for the user, I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiGate
May 2023
Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiGate. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: May 2023.
706,951 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Compliance Officer at a venture capital & private equity firm with 11-50 employees
Real User
Good UI, easy to use, and offers reasonable pricing
Pros and Cons
  • "Overall, the pricing of the solution is very good. The product offers good value."
  • "There aren't really any negative aspects to discuss."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use this solution for our network, as virtual security of the network. It helps protect us and keeps us safe.

What is most valuable?

The overall experience has been very good. It fully meets our requirements. We find the solution to be pretty user-friendly.

The solution has a lot of features. I'm not sure if there is one that stands out as the most valuable for us.

The stability of the solution is very good.

The vendor has been very good at providing us with everything we need.

Overall, the pricing of the solution is very good. The product offers good value.

The product is quite flexible.

We've found the scalability to be very good.

The dashboards and UI are very nice.

What needs improvement?

We aren't really missing any features. 

The solution isn't lacking anything. We've been overall very please with the experience we've had. There aren't really any negative aspects to discuss.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have used the solution for a while. It's been more than five years at this point.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

So far, we have found the stability of the product to be quite good. It doesn't crash or freeze on us. We haven't experienced bugs or glitches. The performance is reliable. It's good.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

You can scale the solution if you need to. It's not a difficult thing to do.

We do plan to continue using this solution.

How are customer service and technical support?

We don't have any experience with technical support. No problems have really presented themselves, and therefore there hasn't been a need to reach out at all. Therefore, we can't really speak to the helpfulness of technical support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We didn't previously use a different solution.

How was the initial setup?

This is a cloud-based solution. Therefore, there really isn't an installation process per se. It's very easy to get started. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution offers good value for your money. It isn't too expensive.

What other advice do I have?

It is my understanding that we are using the latest version of the solution. However, I am not 100% positive. I don't know which version number we are currently on.

I'm not sure if I would recommend the product. It would depend on each individual company's needs.

I would rate this solution at an eight out of ten. It's been a pretty positive experience overall.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
President at Integral Design Software
Real User
Reasonably-priced, intuitive, and offers a seamless VPN
Pros and Cons
  • "Using this product makes the VPN seamless and almost invisible to me in the sense that I don't have to think about it."
  • "The initial setup and configuration are not intuitive and require training."

What is our primary use case?

I am primarily using FortiGate to provide a hardware VPN or an equipment base of VPN to a central office. I am only using a small fraction of its capabilities, so I'm not pushing it at the edges.

How has it helped my organization?

Using this product makes the VPN seamless and almost invisible to me in the sense that I don't have to think about it.

What is most valuable?

Once it is in use, it is intuitive to use. Once it's in place, it doesn't require any further interaction.

What needs improvement?

The initial setup and configuration are not intuitive and require training.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for approximately four months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability has been rock-solid, and I haven't seen any glitches or bugs at all.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

With only two people in the company, we haven't needed to scale. Our roles include software development and providing technical support for various clients.

How are customer service and technical support?

I have not needed to contact technical support.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

This is the first firewall product that I have used.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is fairly technical and it's not something the untrained person would want to do. You need to know what you're doing in order to set it up.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price of FortiGate is reasonable. In terms of the market, it's not a cheap product, but it's cost-effective.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

I purchased this product because this is the one that the central office supports.

What other advice do I have?

In summary, this is a good product, it works, it doesn't need any attention, and I'm satisfied with it. Although the initial setup is slightly complex, security is a complex question and I'm not sure that it can be simplified.

I would rate this solution a ten out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Manager IT at Riphah
Real User
Good threat prevention with a straightforward setup and good stability
Pros and Cons
  • "The threat prevention is the solution's most valuable aspect."
  • "The logs need to be better. They need to be more visible and easier to access."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution for security, including threat prevention.

What is most valuable?

The threat prevention is the solution's most valuable aspect.

The solution's initial setup is very simple and straightforward. It's not hard to implement it.

The stability if the product is very good so far. We haven't had any issues.

The pricing of the product is reasonable.

What needs improvement?

The logs need to be better. They need to be more visible and easier to access.

The VPN features could use some improvement.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for about two years at this point. It hasn't been too long.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is excellent. We haven't had any issues in that sense. It's not buggy and there aren't glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. We find it reliable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I do not foresee the product being easy to scale. We find it so hard. It does not seem to be possible.

Currently, we have around 15 users and there are five to ten people handling the management aspect of the product.

How are customer service and technical support?

Over the past two years, we really haven't had any issues that would require us to reach out to technical support. The user experience has been good. If we run into little issues, we may reach out directly to the vendors, however, I can't say that I've spoken with technical support. I wouldn't be able to evaluate their services or speak to their level of knowledge or responsiveness for that reason.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I've used other solutions in the past, including, for example, Sophos. However, I have found Fortigate to be more reasonably priced and generally much better as a product.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is very easy. It's straightforward. We didn't run into any complexities. We were able to set it up without any issues at all.

What about the implementation team?

The initial implementation was handled by the vendors. They were great at assisting us with the process.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We've found that the cost of the product isn't too high. They are a bit higher than other options, such as Meraki, however, it's still not so bad.

You need to pay for the hardware and then you need to pay for the licensing as well.

What other advice do I have?

We are just a customer. We don't have a business relationship with Fortinet.

We are using the latest version of the solution at this point.

Overall, we've been pretty happy with the solution. I would rate it at an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Head of Technical at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Reseller
A firewall solution that enables total integration
Pros and Cons
  • "I like how we can achieve total integration."
  • "The cloud features can be improved."

What is our primary use case?

Fortinet products are used mostly for internet firewalls. Fortinet's has a great reputation, and all our computer operators are very happy with it. When it comes to firewalls, Fortinet packages are very attractive, which also helps.

What is most valuable?

I like how we can achieve total integration.

What needs improvement?

The cloud features can be improved. The sandboxing part is only available in limited parts of the cloud. If they could expand that, customers would find it slightly better. The price can always be cheaper as well.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Fortinet FortiGate for about five or six years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Fortinet FortiGate is very stable. It's a good product.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support was very good.

How was the initial setup?

You need some training, but it's mostly easy. It's a bit of pain, but it's not that difficult, even if you're untrained.

What about the implementation team?

This solution was deployed by a team of four engineers who work under me.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It's expensive, but compared to the competition it's okay. Fortinet's pricing is more attractive than some of its competitors. There's also an annual support license that you can buy with it.

What other advice do I have?

On a scale from one to ten, I would give Fortinet FortiGate a nine.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Distributor
PeerSpot user
Director at a consultancy with 1-10 employees
Reseller
Detailed reports, amazing stability, and easy implementation
Pros and Cons
  • "Some of the key features of the solution is that it has good reporting, you can receive many details from the connection, for example, clients and website information."
  • "In the balance between links feature normally you can just choose one option to balance. It would be better for the solution to have more than one option, preferably three."

What is most valuable?

Some of the key features of the solution is that it has good reporting, you can receive many details from the connection, for example, clients and website information. Additionally, you can determine if an action has taken place such as virus scan information.

What needs improvement?

In the balance between links feature normally you can just choose one option to balance. It would be better for the solution to have more than one option, preferably three.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is amazing.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is good. We have approximately 50 employees using this product in our company.

How was the initial setup?

The setup is easy.

What about the implementation team?

The solution is easy to implement, it takes approximately one day for deployment.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution to others.

I rate Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
IT Analyst at Comdados
Real User
Stable with good technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "This version is stable. I don't have any issues with this solution, in our environment, it works well."
  • "We would like to see better pricing."

What is our primary use case?

We are resellers of Fortinet FortiGate.

We use this solution locally and as a VPN.

What is most valuable?

We have a lot of experience with this solution and haven't had any issues. For repairs, the RMA process is also good.

We don't have any issues with the interface, customization, or integration. This solution works well.

What needs improvement?

We would like to see better pricing.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This version is stable and I don't have any issues with this solution. In our environment, it works well.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is good.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price of the license and warranty can be better because it is very expensive.

The license renewal is very expensive.

There are no additional costs in addition to the standard license fees.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Owner at Computech Associates
Real User
Good web filtering facility and application control, very stable and scalable, and easy to deploy
Pros and Cons
  • "The web filtering facility and application control are the most valuable features from the point of view of our clients. The VPN feature is also quite popular amongst our clients. Two-factor authentication is one of the good features in Fortinet. These features are important for the current scenario of security. Security has become a necessity nowadays. With cyber-attacks becoming more common, protecting an organization's data is one of the major tasks. It is also very stable and scalable, and it is very straightforward to configure. Their technical support is also good."
  • "Security is a continuous process. In every product, there is a requirement for improvement. Its pricing should also be improved according to Indian market requirements. They must also improve on the reporting part. Its reporting can be more precise. If we can get a real-time report in a specific format, it will be helpful for customers to know about the current status of their security."

What is our primary use case?

We are basically system integrators. We design and implement firewall solutions for our customers. We also provide after-sales services. 

We have deployed this firewall for different types of clients. We are providing solutions starting with FG-30E, which is the lowest model in the FortiGate series, and up to 1000 series.

How has it helped my organization?

We understand a customer's requirement of current internet users. After that, we design a perfect solution through which they can not only protect their network but also have load balancing between multiple internet service providers. They can also have secure connectivity from a remote office by using a single box device.

What is most valuable?

The web filtering facility and application control are the most valuable features from the point of view of our clients. The VPN feature is also quite popular amongst our clients. Two-factor authentication is one of the good features in Fortinet. These features are important for the current scenario of security. Security has become a necessity nowadays. With cyber-attacks becoming more common, protecting an organization's data is one of the major tasks. 

It is also very stable and scalable, and it is very straightforward to configure. Their technical support is also good.

What needs improvement?

Security is a continuous process. In every product, there is a requirement for improvement. Its pricing should also be improved according to Indian market requirements.

They must also improve on the reporting part. Its reporting can be more precise. If we can get a real-time report in a specific format, it will be helpful for customers to know about the current status of their security.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been working with this solution for the last 12 to 13 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is very stable. We have been working with this solution for a long time, and we found it to be stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is a scalable solution, and you can also upgrade. They come up with a new feature every time. Whenever you're updating your firewall firmware, it is ready to mitigate threats available in the fiber scenario.

Our clients are small, medium, and large businesses. We have deployed it for small offices or retail stores as well as for big manufacturing units. We also have clients from Education and Healthcare. Some of the large companies have between 800 to 1,000-plus devices protected through this firewall.

How are customer service and technical support?

Their technical support is good.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I have a little bit of experience with other firewalls such as Sophos and Check Point. There are some basic differences in the features and their functionality, but I cannot say that this one is the best, or this one is not good. I have more confidence in Fortinet FortiGate, so we are focusing only on this.

In terms of support, we had purchased a Check Point product for a customer, and we were trying to get support from the team, but it was very difficult. Sophos is okay in terms of support.

How was the initial setup?

Its initial setup is very straightforward. It is very easy if one knows the basic concepts. It has a graphical user interface, which makes it straightforward to configure. You can configure it step by step. The basic implementation of this firewall can be done in a very simple way. There could be some complexity at the Enterprise level, but at a basic level, it is very straightforward.

The deployment duration depends on the complexity level. A simple deployment can be completed in a few hours. A complex deployment can take one to two days depending upon the requirements. This is because, in addition to implementation, we also have to test the solution as per a customer's requirements to see whether it is fulfilling the given task or not.

What about the implementation team?

We are a very small company with seven to eight people. We have a total of three people working with firewalls. They're network and support engineers.

What was our ROI?

Our clients definitely get a return on investment. It is a really good product, and the stability of the product is a very important factor for our clients.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Pricing and licensing is a little bit complicated in FortiGate. They are always on the higher side. This is one issue that we always raise with the company that they should reduce the price according to Indian market requirements. There are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees.

What other advice do I have?

It is a good product, but I would always recommend selecting an implementer partner carefully. The implementor should be able to implement all the features so that you get the best benefits of the firewall. An implementation partner is very important. If you don't have a proper partner, you will probably end up with a mashup, and you won't be able to use all the features. Your performance might also not get optimized.

I would rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Channel Partner
PeerSpot user
Service Delivery Engineer - Network Security Lead at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
Reseller
Integrates smoothly, scales well, and high-quality features
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is highly scalable because they have devices that can handle a large amount of traffic."
  • "The solution could have licensing fees reduced in the future."

What is most valuable?

When trying to move from MPLS to SD-WAN they have a very good SD-WAN offering. 

The solution integrates well.

It has high-quality security features.

It provides a full end-to-end security suite.

The security of the solution is good.

What needs improvement?

The solution could have licensing fees reduced in the future.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for 5 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is not common for the solution to become unstable, but it does happen. The good thing is, they constantly release updates. If the version you are using has a bug, in the next version it definitely will be fixed.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is highly scalable because they have devices that can handle a large amount of traffic. The VM version with the hardware appliances is widely scalable. It can handle small businesses to large scale enterprises. In terms of mode of deployment, you have VM, hardware appliance, and cloud. There is cloud management as well that is scalable. It can suit a number of deployment scenarios.

We currently have 50 employees using the solution, some of our clients that have deployed it has 1000 users and it has not given a problem.

How are customer service and technical support?

The customer service was very fast to respond to our needs.

How was the initial setup?

The installation is not difficult but there is a learning curve, it becomes easy over time. 

The basic installation took approximately two days. A more complicated scenario can take even up to two weeks. Depending on the options that you are looking for, there are many things you can consider. If you are looking at a complex design then you are going to take more time.

What about the implementation team?

I did the deployments myself with one other technician.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing of the solution is very competitive. The license price can vary depending on the product you have and the different types of licenses you need. For example, they have an enterprise and UTM license. It depends on the type of license and the size of the company.

What other advice do I have?

Fortinet has a product that can cater to any area of the security market. For example, application firewall and authentication products.

I would recommend this solution to others.

I rate Fortinet FortiGate a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
CEO/CTO with 201-500 employees
Real User
Stable with good pricing and fairly easy to use
Pros and Cons
  • "The simplicity of the product is great. It's very easy to use, which is a compliment we get all the time in terms of feedback."
  • "You do need some IT knowledge in order to effectively work with the solution."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution as a hardware firewall. In China, there's a lot of content that would be available in the West that isn't allowed here. We're able to block certain content from getting through filters.

What is most valuable?

The solution offers a very good package for all kinds of virtual appliances, subscriptions, and so on. It's a reasonable price. It's not too much.

The services on offer are just superb. 

The way it can block certain content is very useful for us. It gives you a good heads up as to what streams are being blocked from the network, which helps with visibility.

The simplicity of the product is great. It's very easy to use, which is a compliment we get all the time in terms of feedback.

There seems to be good reporting features. 

The scalability is there. If you need to expand the product, you can.

The menu structure is more logical than, for example, Cisco or SonicWall. I find that the Fortinet is easier to understand in terms of the installation process and setup. 

What needs improvement?

The only problem that we have here in China is that the whole subscription process on Fortinet is a little bit difficult if you are doing it from China. China has kind of a firewall around the country, and we sometimes have complications due to that aspect.

As a whole, I don't think that the product is actually missing any features.

You do need some IT knowledge in order to effectively work with the solution.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been working with the solution since about 2016. It's been a few years at this point.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is very stable. There aren't issues with bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's very reliable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is good. You can expand it as needed and add on extra apps to add in extra functionality if you want to.

We mostly deal with mid-range companies. 

How are customer service and technical support?

I only talk with people here in China that are the Chinese sellers or distributors from Fortinet. They are Chinese and I don't speak or understand one single character Chinese. So for me, it's very difficult to communicate with technical support. Most of the time, I let them talk with one of the people who I know who is fluent in English and Chinese. That's what I do. 

Most of the time, I can do all the research on the internet to see what kind of device I need and then I get a translator and we figure it out.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We only use Fortinet's FortiGate for our hardware firewall protection.

However, if our clients need extra security, we may add other brands and security layers. We also work with SonicWall, Checkpoint, and Barracuda, for example.

I've also worked with pfSense, which is free, however, it has much more of a do-it-yourself approach. It's also quite different from other solutions. If you have Cisco experience, you'll be able to navigate Fortinet, whereas pfSense requires much more in-depth study. It has its own language, basically. That's one of the reasons you won't find too many of its configurations in China.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup, for me, at least, is very straightforward. It's just a few clicks and you're set up. It may be a bit more complex for someone else who may not be as familiar with the product.

What about the implementation team?

I have partners that assist with the initial setup and I have network engineers who are doing the job for me. They are working for me as they are my employees. As their boss, of course, I have to know a little bit about how to handle it as well. We handle the implementation process for our clients. We implement it according to ISO and Chinese security standards.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The solution is pretty affordable. It's not overly expensive. It's not like Cisco where you pay an awful lot of money mostly for the name.

There are extra apps you can add to the product, however, those come with an extra price tag as well. That said, it allows you to do more things and expands its capabilities.

I like to use Fortinet due to the fact that with the device you can do so much more, it's not only web filtering. If you decide to use it for something else, you just pay some money to Fortinet for another package and you are good to go. It makes it a little bit easier for small or large companies as it's so flexible in its offering. 

In China, due to business constraints, licensing is quite complicated here.

What other advice do I have?

I'm a service provider in China. Basically, I'm connecting companies, foreign companies or Chinese companies, or even foreign public services to business VPNs or business cross border interconnections.

Whether we use the latest version of the solution or not depends on the client, their needs, and the environment. If a client needs more security, we may even layer in other brands to help with that.

We tend to keep deployments on-premises as you can run into issues with using the cloud in China. We prefer to have it on-premises and then bring lines in to hook everything up. It's simpler and there are fewer issues.

In general, I would rate the solution at a ten out of ten. We've just been pleased with the product and the ease of use.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Integrator
PeerSpot user
Sr. Network Engineer at a pharma/biotech company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Great VPN feature with IPS providing excellent stability
Pros and Cons
  • "The VPN is the most valuable feature."
  • "Fortinet doesn't provide multiple virtual firewalls which would facilitate end users and customers."

What is our primary use case?

We have created a virtual cloud on-prem, providing services to our different IT domains in terms of software, database and ERP. We've also created a virtual firewall handling the security and protecting servers in the network. No unwanted or unauthorized user can access the servers. That's a good sign of security and the handling of the network. It provides us with oversight. I'm a senior network engineer and we are customers of Fortinet. 

What is most valuable?

With the Covid pandemic, the VPN has become the most valuable feature. With the majority of traffic connecting from remote locations, the VPN provides stability and reliability. The antivirus and its IPS, intrusion prevention system, also helps with stability.

What needs improvement?

In our environment, we need multiple virtual firewalls to facilitate end users and customers. Fortinet doesn't provide that but they really should include that feature. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this solution for three years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Overall stability of the solution is good. I am totally dependent on this device. Basically, it's deployed on the edge of our network. All the software and HR, admin, every department is behind this network. And every user connects their internet services via the VPN. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability of this solution is good, we can add devices whenever we like. 

How are customer service and technical support?

Whenever there's an issue and we contact support, the response is positive. The support is impressive. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We previously used Cisco ASA but that model didn't support the latest technology, and was also very expensive. The main issue that caused us to switch solutions was the throughput of the interface. Cisco was providing us with one gig interface. Because of our gradually increasing bandwidth and network requirements, we had to move to more bandwidth and a 10 gig interface, which Fortinet provides. Although Cisco provides the same on a different model, that model was very expensive. That's why we chose to switch to Fortinet Firewall.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is simple. It's only complex if the design hasn't been sorted or tested. If we're deploying, we study the network, traffic patterns, and traffic path, which is, I think, the most important thing about deploying any network device. We can easily create or delete, modify or customize and optimize the feature, the network, the routing, the policy, and the different features of this device. Most of the time we carry out the implementation ourselves, deploying in different phases; firstly connecting the network, and then partially shifting the traffic phase by phase. When we removed ASA and shifted all the traffic to Fortinet, the overall performance and overall working was very impressive. Downtime probably came to a total of 15 to 20 hours. We have multiple groups using this product - I would estimate somewhere between 12,000 to 13,000 users and the solution is used continuously. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I think the licensing of Fortinet is in the middle range. We also had a demonstration from the vendor that gave us the confidence to work with these devices. We purchased the solution on a bundle basis which the vendor offered us. There are additional costs if we enable a new feature not included in the bundle.

What other advice do I have?

I think Fortinet is a cheaper, stable, scalable, and reliable device. 

From my experience, I would rate this solution a nine out of 10. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
System Administrator at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
MSP
Plenty of features, good quality hardware, and reliable
Pros and Cons
  • "There are lots of features and most of them are deployed for internet security. Users are protected if they accidentally go to some malicious sites."
  • "The way everything is set up could be easier. Currently, people need a lot of experience and knowledge to administer it and to link it to devices."

What is our primary use case?

The solution is recommended for medium-sized and enterprise businesses that want their sensitive information secured.

What is most valuable?

There are lots of features and most of them are deployed for internet security. Users are protected if they accidentally go to some malicious sites.

What needs improvement?

The way everything is set up could be easier. Currently, people need a lot of experience and knowledge to administer it and to link it to devices.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for approximately four years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is very reliable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

My colleagues have easily switched licenses and features for the device. There was not any complication, it was really intuitive.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support agents are really responsive. They are a small company, but they are providing high-quality technical support every time we contact them.

How was the initial setup?

The initial set up is complicated.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price for the device and software is high. However, the solution is of good quality and has a lot of features. Licensing is on a yearly basis, it can also be purchased for a couple of years ahead. For example, for a single year or three years. If you purchase a license for a longer period you receive a discount or some type of credit. 

What other advice do I have?

We are recommending this solution to help increase the possibilities of securing internal systems of companies against intrusions.

I rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Engineer at The Learning Network
Real User
A very stable firewall and numerous functions we use on the IPS; good interface
Pros and Cons
  • "We use a lot of function on the IPS and it works well for us."
  • "A lack of integration between our data centers."

What is our primary use case?

Our primary use case of this solution is for the firewall and IPS; the security on behalf of our network, to support north and south traffic. We are customers of Fortinet and I'm a systems engineer.

What is most valuable?

The firewall is stable and that's important. There are a lot of functions we use on the IPS and it works well for us. It's stable, the interface works for me.

What needs improvement?

We currently have two on-premise data centers with several separate firewall units and unfortunately they don't connect with each other. We'll likely migrate to Azure in the next two years because of that. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using this product for about seven years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This is a stable solution. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

For the traffic we have all five firewalls. The log is minimal with the traffic, which is going over the firewall and we don't require a lot of scalability. 

How are customer service and technical support?

We have support in the Netherlands, direct contact with our partner but not with Fortinet. For big changes and difficult issues I can get extended support from a partner. I do the simple fixes myself. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I've used a heap of different products. I've worked with Palo Alto and also with Fortinet. From experience, I prefer Palo Alto, but for the business I'm working in now, Fortinet is okay.

What other advice do I have?

I've had great experience with Palo Alto but I think Fortinet FortiGate is also a great solution. Some time ago we upgraded to the Fortinet solution of our previous partner and there was a memory leak which created problems. Our firewalls crashed multiple times a day and we had a lot of issues. I think the issue was a systems error and it shouldn't have been deployed. It's all very stable now. 

I would rate this product a nine out of 10. 

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
System ADM at a recreational facilities/services company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Stable, with a quota to monitor and control user access
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature of this solution is Quota."
  • "In the next release, I would like to see the interface simplified to be more user-friendly."

What is our primary use case?

We use this solution as our Firewall.

FortiGate is a service, and because of that, I don't use it very much. The equipment is for the operator that monitors who is on the internet, nothing more.

How has it helped my organization?

It has improved our productivity because we can control the people who go on the internet, and we control their access to social networks.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature of this solution is Quota. It allows the user to go where they want to go and to use the internet.

What needs improvement?

The price could be improved.

In the next release, I would like to see the interface simplified to be more user-friendly.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for approximately six years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's a stable solution. It works for us.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

This is not an area fully explored. It has been sufficient for what we need.

We have 700 users in our organization who are using this solution. We don't have plans to increase our usage at this time.

How are customer service and technical support?

We have not needed any technical support for the Fortinet FortiGate service.

How was the initial setup?

The initial set up was not something that I was concerned with.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price could be lower.

What other advice do I have?

It's a good tool to control users.

I would rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Sr. Corporate Marketing Executive at Amity Infosoft Pvt. Ltd.
Reseller
Improved our organization through single pane of glass management
Pros and Cons
  • "Anti-Spam web content filterinG."

    What is our primary use case?

    VPN Over 3 Location Across India and We Get SD-Wan + UTM from Fortinet and Final got Solution SDWAN as well as UTM for Every Location 

    How has it helped my organization?

    • Single pane of glass management
    • Easy GUI for monitors
    • Logical Network Diagram from GUI
    • Physical Network Diagram from GUI
    •  

    What is most valuable?

    FortiGate is really strong in the following:

    • UTM
    • IPS
    • Antivirus
    • App control
    • AntiBotnet
    • Anti-Spam 
    • Web content filtering
    • IOC (indicator of Compromise)
    • Web Application Firewall
    • Vulnebarity Management 
    • FortiView
    • L3 routing

    What needs improvement?

    Need to Improvement in Reporting

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We have been using it for the last nine years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Stability is fine. I rebooted after 755 Days from the date of installation.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Scalability is Fine.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    Customer Service:

    Partner support is very good.

    Technical Support:

    FortiGuard Service is also good with the push method update.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    We were previously using SOPHOS.

    How was the initial setup?

    Easy by WebGUI and also mobile app.

    What about the implementation team?

    We have implemented in-house.

    What was our ROI?

    Excellent ROI, due to virus spambot intrusion free network.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    It's a little bit higher than Cyberoam but the security is More higher compared to the other vendor.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    Sophos, Check Point, and SonicWall.

    What other advice do I have?

    Buy FortiGate for a hassle free network management and excellent ROI.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    reviewer690582 - PeerSpot reviewer
    reviewer690582COO/CTO at a pharma/biotech company with 11-50 employees
    Real User

    I have used Fortigates for 6 years. Like you, similar experiences augmented by an additional support subscription due to my early learning curves. What I did not realize was the speed compromises with all the security apps acivie - if I have a Verizon FiOS true Gig subscription, my speed was tapered down to 100 Mbps or less. That is a 90% reduction. With 6 users multiplied by cell phones accessing the same WiFi, you can imagine the data speeds we were actually working with.

    So, I picked WatchGuard, the T70 specifically. The data speeds with everything turned on remains near the subscription (1 Gig) and I have the same types of protections as the Fortigate. It is too early to report the reliability and other specs since this has changed only in the last week, but the specs tell me a lot that helped me to understand what I missed on my first go-around with Fortigate. Don't get me wrong, I had zero issues over the last 6 years to Fortigate's credit. However, that speed compromise doesn't work for me. Perhaps I missed something, but my support knows the product and there were no adjustments available, other than turning certain feature off. I couldn't afford that security risk, not these days.

    Network Engineer at a retailer with 10,001+ employees
    Real User
    Scalable, extremely reliable, and has a good user interface
    Pros and Cons
    • "The solution is extremely reliable."
    • "The pricing could be a bit better, especially when you consider how they have the most basic offering priced."

    What is our primary use case?

    In most cases, we use the solution as a firewall to access the internet. For example, we use Cisco Wireless for our clients to have access to the network and we use within the same solution the FortiGate Firewall for them to access the internet as well.

    What is most valuable?

    The solution offers very easy usability. 

    The product can scale well.

    The solution is extremely reliable.

    The pricing and licensing models are pretty good. 

    The user interface, both the web and CLI versions, are very good.

    What needs improvement?

    The solution overall is quite good. It works how we need it to. I can't recall seeing any features that are lacking.

    We haven't had any breaches in our organization, however, I have read in journals that there have been some issues.

    There may have been some bugs after an update, however, that has since been resolved. We saw a few bugs in the web field and when we ran an update it was resolved in the new version. 

    Some resources must be accessed via web fields. We were not able to access them at first. However, it was a simple task to fix it and that has since been resolved.

    The pricing could be a bit better, especially when you consider how they have the most basic offering priced.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've been using the solution since I started at my current company. I began my employment here about a year ago or so.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The solution is quite stable. It doesn't give us issues. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash on us. It doesn't freeze. It's reliable. Fortinet has created a really reliable solution.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    We've found the scalability of the solution to be very good. If a company needs to expand on this solution, it can do so with ease.

    We have between 2,000 and 3,000 users on the solution currently.

    We do plan to continue to use the solution going forward. We have no plans to change anything.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    I've never contacted technical support. Having never dealt with them, I can't speak to their responsiveness or knowledgeability. I don't know enough about them from any kind of personal experience.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    I also use Cisco wireless solutions. Our company uses both simultaneously.

    How was the initial setup?

    While I did not participate in the main part of the installation, I've discovered from deploying small FortiGates such as FortWiFi 60E, that it's good. It's not too complex of a process. It's pretty straightforward. It's easy.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    We've found the pricing to be fair and the licensing model is quite good. It's a reasonable cost. It's not too expensive.

    That said, I do feel they could work on the pricing policy a bit.

    Right now a license to use some of the simpler features like web filtering or antivirus, you have to pay about 80% of the hardware price to have a license for a year. That's a bit too much for such basic features.

    What other advice do I have?

    We use a variety of Fortinet products. We are using mostly FortiGate 200E and we have some of FortiGate 100E and the FortiWiFi 60E.

    We are not using the latest version of the solution at this time. We have version 6.0 and it completely meets our requirements. When we will have to update it we will do so. However, that is not so necessary right now. We will not update it until we need to.

    I'd recommend the solution to other organizations. It's been a positive experience overall.

    I would rate the solution at a nine out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    PeerSpot user
    Program director at a tech consulting company with 201-500 employees
    Real User
    Safe and stable but could be more user friendly
    Pros and Cons
    • "It is a safe product."
    • "The solution could be more user friendly."

    What is most valuable?

    It is a safe product.

    What needs improvement?

    The solution could be more user friendly.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using the solution for approximately 6 years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    It is a stable solution.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    We have over 5000 users using the solution at my company.

    How was the initial setup?

    All the firewalls, more or less are similar, it is very easy to install this type of equipment on the premise of the customer. 

    What about the implementation team?

    I configured the solution for my clients. We have a minimal of three technical employees doing the maintenance of the solution.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    I think Check Point or Cisco are more user-friendly solutions.

    What other advice do I have?

    We do not have plans to expand usage of the product at this time.

    I rate Fortinet FortiGate a seven out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Director Of Technology at PT Exa Teknologi Indonesia
    Real User
    Top 20
    I like the SD-WAN feature and their IP4 policy
    Pros and Cons
    • "The features that I have found most valuable are the SD-WAN and their IP4 policy."
    • "In terms of what could be improved, the SD-WAN is quite difficult, because if you install the new box, 15 is okay, but if you change from an old configuration, if there is already configuration and a policy when you change to SD-WAN, you must change the whole policy that you see in the interface."

    What is most valuable?

    The features that I have found most valuable are the SD-WAN and their IP4 policy.

    What needs improvement?

    In terms of what could be improved, the SD-WAN is quite difficult, because if you install in the new box, 15 is okay, but if you change from an old configuration, if there is already a configuration and a policy when you change to SD-WAN, you must change the whole policy that you see in the interface.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for about two years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Fortinet FortiGate is stable so far. We had a difficulty, but after we opened the support, we found out that it was only from having the wrong config. But so far, it is stable.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    So far our biggest client is only FortiGate 400, a small-medium business.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    Their technical support is very helpful, although they only have it for their in-the-box and sometimes we have difficulty with the out of box, with the ISP or other things. So we must find a solution for the customer. But if it is the wrong product or if there is a configuration issue in the product, yes, they're very helpful.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    I have also worked with the Hillstone network, with Palo Alto and with Barracuda.

    In terms of support, so far FortiGate is helpful whereas with Barracuda I didn't get the support like FortiGate.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup and new configuration are very easy. It is very user-friendly. It's only three clicks from the menu, two or three sub-menus and we already have it configured. It's not difficult because we have experience with the SonicWall, Palo Alto, etc.., but Fortinet is user-friendly.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    In terms of price, FortiGate's price is reasonable. Most of the customers stand by it, and are aware that the price is worth it for the performance.

    What other advice do I have?

    In terms of advice for anyone looking to use FortiGate, you need to learn about trouble-shooting, because sometimes you find out you have the wrong configuration, not because of a FortiGate problem or FortiGate config, so you are responsible to handle the trouble-shooting.

    On a scale of one to ten, I would give Fortinet FortiGate a nine.

    One thing they could offer is a version that already has the configuration. This would make it easier. This is something that I would request. I worked with Barracuda, I worked with Palo Alto. If you want it easy. It's very easy. But FortiGate needs to have something more like that, to do it faster.

    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
    PeerSpot user
    Head of the Satellite Infrastructure and Operation System Department at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
    Real User
    Top 20
    A user-friendly firewall solution with a valuable domains feature
    Pros and Cons
    • "What's most important is the ease of use."
    • "Backup can be improved."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use Fortinet FortiGate mainly for firewall and VPN purposes. 

    What is most valuable?

    The virtual domains feature and the ease of use.

    What needs improvement?

    The Fortinet support needs improvement and also the quality control of the firmware (there are a lot of bugs)


    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for about 10 years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Fortinet FortiGate offer a good value for money solution


    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Fortinet FortiGate is scalable. We don't have any constraints that create a problem for us except the support.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    The major problem with Fortinet is the support. We have often hardware malfunctions and software bugs and the support is slow.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    We also use another firewall vendor product

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup was easy.

    What about the implementation team?

    The implementation was through a international integrator team

    What was our ROI?

    Fair

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The price is fair compared to the other competitors.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    No

    What other advice do I have?

    They have many features

    On a scale from one to ten, I would give Fortinet FortiGate an eight.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Network Security Engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
    Real User
    A next-generation firewall solution that's easy to setup and use
    Pros and Cons
    • "Fortinet FortiGate is easy to use."
    • "The sniffing packets or packet captures, can be simplified and improved because it's a little confusing."

    What is our primary use case?

    I use Fortinet FortiGate mostly for security purposes.

    What is most valuable?

    Fortinet FortiGate is easy to use. 

    What needs improvement?

    The sniffing packets or packet captures can be simplified and improved because it's a little confusing. The automation feature has some limitations and could be better. 

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've been using Fortinet FortiGate for over four years. 

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Fortinet FortiGate is a stable solution.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Fortinet FortiGate is a scalable solution.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    The technical support was quite good.

    What about the implementation team?

    I think it's very easy to implement this solution because one person can do it. There aren't too many fancy things to do. I think you can implement FortiGate in less than an hour. We implement it by ourselves. Three administrators can do it because our clients aren't big enterprises, just SMEs. 

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    Setup costs and pricing depends on many variables, but it's mostly affordable.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would recommend Fortinet FortiGate to potential users.

    On a scale from one to ten, I would give Fortinet FortiGate an eight. 

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Public Cloud
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    IT Operations Director at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
    Reseller
    Stable with an easy initial setup and good documentation
    Pros and Cons
    • "The solution can scale well."
    • "The support costs and licensing are sometimes so expensive."

    What is our primary use case?

    We primarily use the solution for edge protection as well as the VPN and SD-WAN.

    What is most valuable?

    The solution has many valuable features. We tend to use all of them.

    The initials setup is pretty easy.

    The solution offers very good documentation.

    The solution can scale well.

    We've been happy with the technical support we receive.

    The product is reliable and stable.

    What needs improvement?

    The support costs and licensing are sometimes so expensive. They should work on their pricing model.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've been using the solution since 2018. It's been a few years at this point.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The stability is very good. We don't deal with bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The scalability is very good. If you need to scale it as an organization, you can do so.

    We have 100 users. They are largely network engineers, however, we have technicians and active users.

    We do plan to increase usage in the near future. We have more projects coming up.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    We've used technical support in the past and we've had pretty good experiences. We're satisfied with the level of support we've received.

    Their documentation is always good too. We've accessed cloud documentation via the portal and have found it to be helpful. The articles are very complete.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    We previously used Juniper. We switched due to the host and the usability of Fortinet.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup isn't complex at all. We found it to be quite easy. It's straightforward.

    The deployment took us about three to four weeks or so.

    We use two people for deployment and maintenance.

    What about the implementation team?

    I handled the implementation myself. I didn't need the help of a reseller, integrator, or consultant.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The solution is pretty expensive. That said, we see the value of the solution as it provides great value to our organization.

    We pay to license the product on a yearly basis.

    I'm not sure of the exact amount we pay, however, as it is not an aspect of the solution I handle directly.

    What other advice do I have?

    We are customers and resellers of Fortinet products.

    We work with both on-premises and cloud deployment models.

    I definitely recommend this solution to other organizations. We've had a positive experience.

    In general, I would rate the solution at a nine out of ten. If the pricing were better, I would rate it higher.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Public Cloud

    If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

    Other
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller
    PeerSpot user
    IT Specialist at Divante
    Real User
    Intuitive and simple administrative panel and useful for filtering everything on our network and protecting our devices
    Pros and Cons
    • "Its administrative panel is very intuitive and simple. It is simpler than the other solutions that we had. As an administrator, we are always looking for the easiest solution to manage network policies. We are able to filter everything on our network and also use the VPN feature, which is important these days when people are working remotely during COVID."
    • "They can do more tests before they release new versions because I would like to be more assured. We had some experiences where they release something new and great, but some of the old features are disabled or they don't work well, which impacts the product satisfaction. The manufacturer should be able to prove that everything works or not only that it might work. This is applicable to most of the other services, software, and hardware companies. They all should work on this. We cannot trust every new release, such as a beta release, on the first day. We wait for some comments on the forums and from other companies that we know. We always wait a few weeks before we use the updated version. They should also extend the VPN client application, especially for Linux versions. Currently, it has an application for Linux devices, but it doesn't work the way we want to connect to the VPN. They use only the old connection, not the new one. They have VPN client applications for Windows and Mac, but they can add more useful features to better manage the devices and monitor the current health of each device. Such features would be helpful for our company."

    What is our primary use case?

    IPS is the main use case because we want to protect our devices, users, and data from external dangers. 

    We most probably are using the model of the last year. If the services connected to the hardware are possible on the cloud, we always prefer the cloud. The hardware must be placed on-premises. 

    What is most valuable?

    Its administrative panel is very intuitive and simple. It is simpler than the other solutions that we had. As an administrator, we are always looking for the easiest solution to manage network policies.

    We are able to filter everything on our network and also use the VPN feature, which is important these days when people are working remotely during COVID. 

    What needs improvement?

    They can do more tests before they release new versions because I would like to be more assured. We had some experiences where they release something new and great, but some of the old features are disabled or they don't work well, which impacts the product satisfaction. The manufacturer should be able to prove that everything works or not only that it might work. This is applicable to most of the other services, software, and hardware companies. They all should work on this. We cannot trust every new release, such as a beta release, on the first day. We wait for some comments on the forums and from other companies that we know. We always wait a few weeks before we use the updated version. 

    They should also extend the VPN client application, especially for Linux versions. Currently, it has an application for Linux devices, but it doesn't work the way we want to connect to the VPN. They use only the old connection, not the new one. They have VPN client applications for Windows and Mac, but they can add more useful features to better manage the devices and monitor the current health of each device. Such features would be helpful for our company. 

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using this solution for the last two years. 

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    It is stable, and I don't see any cons of this. 

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Currently, everyone who is connected with the company is using this solution. We have up to 240 people.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    I have interacted with them but only through emails. There were separate tickets and stories, and I don't remember right now how it was.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    It was just a product for home-usage. It was a Cisco device from the small business series. It was less advanced than the similar devices available in the market currently. It was a huge step forward for us to switch to FortiGate.

    How was the initial setup?

    It was a huge jump for us on the administrative side to implement this kind of hardware because we previously used just a simple product for home-usage. 

    What about the implementation team?

    We hired a consultant to do this for us and to explain how the system works. After a few weeks, we did new certifications and training for this, and now, it works well for us.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would recommend this solution. We plan to keep using this solution.

    I would rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Junior Network Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
    Real User
    Stable and straightforward to deploy, but technical support needs improvement
    Pros and Cons
    • "This is an easy solution to deploy."
    • "Technical support needs to be improved."

    What is our primary use case?

    We are a solution provider and FortiGate is one of the security products that we implement for our customers.

    What is most valuable?

    This is an easy solution to deploy.

    What needs improvement?

    Technical support needs to be improved.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for almost two years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Stability-wise, FortiGate is good. We plan to continue working with it in the future.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    FortiGate is a scalable product and our customer has approximately 2,000 users.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    The customer support is expensive.

    We have had difficulties with technical support from Fortinet.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    I also have experience with Cisco, and FortiGate is the cheaper solution.

    How was the initial setup?

    The installation is straightforward and it took about two months for us to deploy for our last customer.

    Some customers have this deployed on-premises, whereas others have a cloud-based deployment. The choice depends on the environment.

    What about the implementation team?

    We have an in-house team to deploy this product for our customers. We also give them technical support. Relationships with our customers are very important.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The price of FortiGate support is too expensive.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    We try to help our customers evaluate and choose the best solution for them. Sometimes, they implement Cisco products.

    What other advice do I have?

    Fortinet FortiGate is a firewall product that I recommend.

    I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    User at Aeon Mall Indonesia
    Real User
    Easy to install, stable but security features could improve
    Pros and Cons
    • "The solution is stable."
    • "We would like to see an upgrade to the VPN feature, we are using the VPN from outside of our office and there is a limitation to 10 connections, more connections would be suitable."

    How has it helped my organization?

    We use the solution for security but we are planning on upgrading to another product.

    What is most valuable?

    We currently are using the basic features of the product but one of the features we use is for blocking traffic.

    What needs improvement?

    We would like to see an upgrade to the VPN feature, we are using the VPN from outside of our office and there is a limitation to 10 connections, more connections would be suitable. Also, the security could improve on some features that are available.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using the product for approximately five years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The solution is stable.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    The support is they provide is good.

    How was the initial setup?

    The setup was easy.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The pricing for the product is alright. Our organization has not yet provided an end budget for this area.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    We are not yet certain if we need a different solution in the future. We are evaluating our options. We have looked at Cisco and Barracuda solutions but I believe Cisco is very expensive and Barracuda might be the one we choose. It is too early to tell, we are still evaluating these options and others.

    What other advice do I have?

    I rate Fortinet Fortigate a six out of ten.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Data Center Operations and Customer Support Manager at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
    Real User
    Reliably protects our users, but could be more user-friendly
    Pros and Cons
    • "We have found it to be very reliable and that's why our teams and various users in our company use it as our main firewall every day."
    • "The feedback that I have received is that the performance could be better, and the user experience is not as good compared to a previous solution we used. It could be more user-friendly. Of course, it still works fine for our operations."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use FortiGate as our primary firewall that acts as the perimeter between the internet and our on-premises network. It is used as a security measure for about 2000 users that go out to the internet from here.

    Along with FortiGate we also use other products like F5 for our network and app security. And for network equipment, we use Cisco products.

    What is most valuable?

    We have found it to be very reliable and that's why our teams and various users in our company use it as our main firewall every day. 

    What needs improvement?

    The feedback that I have received is that the performance could be better, and the user experience is not as good compared to a previous solution we used. It could be more user-friendly. Of course, it still works fine for our operations.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We have been using Fortinet FortiGate for one year now. 

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Since we have been using FortiGate there haven't been any major problems so far. Especially nothing too serious like a major bug or anything like that.

    The only issues that we have come across have had to do with simple configuration errors like missing configuration values from a previous implementation.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    We have not tried to expand the product much, but it is currently used as the main security perimeter for about 2000 people which is already quite a large number. We don't predict that we will be increasing usage much more than that.

    We plan to keep using FortiGate as much as we can for our security solution as we casually move more of our systems to the cloud.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    Usually, we have our maintenance plan once a year, like a power-down test and things like that. But I'm not sure whether we have a contract with a partner company to do that or not. I believe our network engineer department may have used Fortinet technical support, though I have not received feedback on it.

    How was the initial setup?

    It's straightforward.

    What about the implementation team?

    Fortinet offers help with implementation and we have in the past used their assistance.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    As far as I'm aware, in our case, it's just a yearly pricing arrangement with no additional licensing costs.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    We made a comparison to two or three other products in this space, but I cannot recall the others.

    What other advice do I have?

    I wish that I could give more details on our technical use of FortiGate, but that isn't my main responsibility. I don't know much about this area and whether they are good or bad compared to other products. However, the feedback from our technical team has been generally good. That's why our teams use it every day.

    I would rate Fortinet FortiGate a seven out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Telecommunications Engineer at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
    Real User
    Good network protection and configuration that is easy to set up and quick to deploy
    Pros and Cons
    • "The most valuable features are the policies, filtering, and configuration."
    • "Technical support is good but the response time could be faster."

    What is our primary use case?

    We are using this solution to protect our network on every site. We are using it as a Network Firewall.

    What is most valuable?

    The most valuable features are the policies, filtering, and configuration.

    What needs improvement?

    Technical support is good but the response time could be faster.

    When it's overloaded, it works slower and overheats.

    The data analysis could be improved.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for 15 years.

    We are using the 100 models.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    This solution is pretty stable.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    It's a scalable solution. I would rate it a seven out of ten.

    We have 2,500 users in our organization.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    Technical support is good. I would rate them an eight out of ten.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    We have also used Huawei.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is straightforward. It's pretty easy.

    At the very most, it takes a day to deploy.

    What other advice do I have?

    Before deciding to install this solution, be sure to conduct an analysis of your environment. You may need a larger one or this may be too big for their needs.

    I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Consultant at Resolve Technology Limited
    Consultant
    Good next-generation firewall features with good pricing and stability
    Pros and Cons
    • "We've found the solution to be pretty stable."
    • "The product does need better support in the cloud environment. It's not exactly cloud-native right now."

    What is our primary use case?

    We mostly use the solution for our internet-facing firewall.

    What is most valuable?

    The next-generation firewall features are the solution's most valuable aspect.

    The implementation and deployment are pretty simple.

    The pricing is very good.

    We've found the solution to be pretty stable.

    What needs improvement?

    The solution isn't really lacking features per se.

    The product does need better support in the cloud environment. It's not exactly cloud-native right now.

    The solution needs to do more on the deployment in the multi-cloud. For example, clients have GCP and AWS. How do we deploy FortiGate in a cloud environment? Right now, there's no solution for that.

    We're worried that the scalability isn't as good as it could be.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We've been using the solution for about two years or so. It hasn't been an extremely long time, however, it's been a while.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Stability, in our experience, is quite good. It doesn't run a lot of unexpected downtimes or anything of that nature. We haven't encountered any serious problems. There have been a few minor items here and there, however, by and large, it's quite good.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The solution isn't exactly scalable, especially when it comes to the public cloud environment. We'll need to scale up, so we will have to figure out how to do it effectively.

    We primarily work with medium and large enterprises.

    How was the initial setup?

    We find the solution to be pretty straightforward to set up and deploy. We didn't have any difficulties with implementation. 

    The deployment takes less than a week. It's a pretty quick process.

    We provide maintenance services for our clients.

    What about the implementation team?

    We actually provide deployment services to our customers that need it. We can handle this aspect for customers.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The solution is on the cheaper side. There are other products that are competitors that are much more expensive.

    That said, the pricing isn't just based on licensing costs. There are add-on costs as well a company will need to consider.

    What other advice do I have?

    We are more of a solution integrator. We are not a straight reseller. We are partners, however. We recommend people to use products. That said, we don't actually resell the actual boxes.

    We use different versions and deployments of the solution. It really is dependant on the client and their needs.

    We mostly work with Fortinet. It's the main solution we recommend and use.

    I'd recommend the solution to other organizations. We've had a pretty good experience.

    I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Public Cloud

    If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Integrator
    PeerSpot user
    IT Manager at Hadef & Partners
    Real User
    Simple, intuitive interface, with good support
    Pros and Cons
    • "What I like the most is the configuration and that it's simple, and straightforward to maintain."
    • "The pricing could be reduced or include the first year warranty."

    What is our primary use case?

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

    What is most valuable?

    What I like the most is the configuration and that it's simple, and straightforward to maintain.

    The UTM configuration on-premises is straightforward and simple to use.

    Support is good and the interface is simple and intuitive.

    What needs improvement?

    It's good, and I feel that there is nothing more that can be added.

    The pricing could be reduced or include the first year warranty.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate for more than five years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    It's a stable solution. I have not had any issues with it during the time that I have been using it.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    Technical support is quite good. They have helped me with all of my requests.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is straightforward.

    It took approximately one day to deploy.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    They are very competitive, but we like to have the factory warranty taken care of.

    We had to pay a large amount for the first year contract and support.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would recommend this solution to others who are interested in using it.

    I would rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Deputy Manager Of Information Technology at Nitco Limited
    Real User
    High-performing SSL VPN functionality keeps our users secure while they work from home
    Pros and Cons
    • "The most valuable feature is the SSL VPN, as it allows us to connect and it separates this product from other firewalls."
    • "Some of the web policy reports could be improved."

    How has it helped my organization?

    We use the FortiGate firewall for our centralized management services. We have SAP and there are multiple work-from-home users that connect using the VPN to access it. Also, we have some applications that are hosted on the server and we have assigned a public IP through the firewall for them.

    For our server, we have specific some UTM policies, and we have designed access so that it is sectioned by zone.

    What is most valuable?

    The most valuable feature is the SSL VPN, as it allows us to connect and it separates this product from other firewalls.

    The VPN performance with multiple users is very good.

    We are able to generate a report where we can see details on exactly what the users are accessing. We can set limits as well as easily analyze what they are uploading and downloading.

    What needs improvement?

    The only challenge that we are facing is that a good internet connection is required for VPN stability.

    Some of the web policy reports could be improved. There are reports generated that show exactly which user is using how much bandwidth, and which sites they have been browsing. We should have a way to show that on a single screen. As it is now, when I click on a user, the information shows on another tab.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We have been using FortiGate for more than seven years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    There is no downtime with this solution. The last time the users could not connect to the VPN was an issue with the internet.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    We have not tried to scale FortiGate.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    We have been in contact with Fortinet several times and the technical support that we have received is absolutely fine.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    In addition to FortiGate, we are using a Sophos firewall.

    How was the initial setup?

    The deployment took approximately four months.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The licensing costs are very low.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    Previously, we were using Turbo VPN to connect using mobile devices. The problem was that the users would be disconnected when the mobile was in a roaming area, and the connectivity is not as stable.

    We moved to a cloud service and assigned a public IP address for that application, and we have cut out the VPN for it. That was a rare issue that we were facing with FortiGate.

    What other advice do I have?

    This is a good firewall and I have recommended it to some of my colleagues in other organizations, and they have implemented it.

    I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Mohamed Abdel Hassanein - PeerSpot reviewer
    Managing Director at FORESEC
    Reseller
    Top 5
    Very user friendly solution with cumbersome licensing structure
    Pros and Cons
    • "The features that I have found most valuable are that it is good to use, and most importantly, the pricing. The customer especially likes the discount when they trade up or something like that."
    • "There are some license issues. Not every feature must have a separate license. There must be some of kind synergy between the license so we don't have to pay for every individual license that we would like to have."

    What is our primary use case?

    Our primary use case for Fortinet FortiGate is for the center firewalls. We use the VMware server. That seems good and acceptable to the customers.

    What is most valuable?

    The features that I have found most valuable are that it is good to use, and most importantly, the pricing. The customer especially likes the discount when they trade up or something like that.

    What needs improvement?

    In terms of the product, we don't have anything to improve. But I have a concern about the FortiGate team here in Egypt, because there is an opportunity that we are working on and when we opened it and did the deal installation, it was rejected. When I talked to the FortiGate team here in Egypt, they told me they know about the deal, but they rejected it.

    Additionally, they could make some modifications in the license. There are some license issues. Not every feature must have a separate license. There must be some kind of synergy between the license so we don't have to pay for every individual license that we would like to have.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for around one year now.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    In m company there are around seven technical engineers required for deployment and maintenance.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    In terms of scalability, our biggest customer using it has 500 people.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    I haven't worked with the technical support. I did face some admin problem with the team here in Egypt.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    We are a partner with Sophos, with Palo Alto, and with WatchGuard. So we have a lot of competitors for FortiGate.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup of Fortinet FortiGate was easy. The most important thing is the management software with the license for accounts that need an additional license. But it is also acceptable.

    The initial setup takes a while. It seems to take some time longer than usual due to the customer's onsite preparation of the required information. Overall it takes around five to seven working days.

    What about the implementation team?

    We are a partner, and a technical team qualified for implementing.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    There is also an issue here. Maybe we get a massive discount on the product, but the renew cost is higher. In addition there are some admin issues. When I receive a request for a renew for a customer, the local team here only deals with the company that makes the primary deal, and refuses to give us a quotation. So we may lose the opportunity, or we may go with the vendor with their native product.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would recommend the product. I think it's good and they're doing well on the roadmap. But again, for the team they have to take better care of the local partner.

    On a scale of one to ten, I would give Fortinet FortiGate a seven.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
    PeerSpot user
    PeerSpot user
    Solutions Engineer/Consultant at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
    Real User
    A reliable and consistent solution that allows us to manage the entire network from one interface and supports on-premises and cloud deployments
    Pros and Cons
    • "One of the nice things about FortiGate is that it can be deployed on the cloud or on-premises. You can actually do both. That's the biggest reason why I stick with this solution as opposed to something like Cisco Meraki. Another nice thing is that I can log directly into a FortiGate or get to it through their FortiCloud access products. They're pretty reliable and consistent. One of the reasons why I started using the product was their single pane of management. I can deploy their line of firewalls in conjunction with their switching and access points, and I can manage the entire network from one interface. I don't have to log into one interface for the firewall, another one for the access points, and another one for the switches. These firewalls have access point controller functionality built right into the system, so I don't even have to purchase additional devices to manage them."
    • "FortiLink is the interface on the firewall that allows you to extend switch management across all of your switches in the network. The problem with it is that you can't use multiple interfaces unless you set them up in a lag. Only then you can run them. So, it forces you to use a core type of switch to propagate that management out to the rest of the switches, and then it is running the case at 200. It leaves you with 18 ports on the firewall because it is also a layer-three router that could also be used as a switch, but as soon as you do that, you can't really use them. They could do a little bit more clean up in the way the stacking interface works. Some use cases and the documentation on the FortiLink checking interface are a little outdated. I can find stuff on version 5 or more, but it is hard to find information on some of the newer firmware. The biggest thing I would like to see is some improvement in the switch management feature. I would like to be able to relegate some of the ports, which are on the firewall itself, to act as a switch to take advantage of those ports. Some of these firewalls have clarity ports on them. If I can use those, it would mean that I need to buy two less switches, which saves time. I get why they don't, but I would still like to see it because it would save a little bit of space in the server rack."

    What is our primary use case?

    We are a managed services company, and we are also a partner with Fortinet and Cisco Meraki. The firmware that I just started using is 6.4.4. Most of the FortiGates that I sell are 60E and 60F. For some of our larger customers, I have got a handful of FortiGate 80, 100, and 200.

    Fundamentally, its primary purpose is security at the edge of the network. I have got some clients who are starting to use the SD-WAN feature for a multi-location setup. I have got other clients who are using a lot of IPSec tunnels. I also have some clients who, with the increase in remote workers, are taking advantage of the FortiClient product that ties in. They are using that for remote VPN connections. 

    How has it helped my organization?

    We are a managed services provider, and I would say that it has improved the way our client's organization functions. I would also hope that it is seamless for them. They don't even know it. The biggest improvement for us is that it allows us to do more with a smaller staff.

    What is most valuable?

    One of the nice things about FortiGate is that it can be deployed on the cloud or on-premises. You can actually do both. That's the biggest reason why I stick with this solution as opposed to something like Cisco Meraki. Another nice thing is that I can log directly into a FortiGate or get to it through their FortiCloud access products. They're pretty reliable and consistent.

    One of the reasons why I started using the product was their single pane of management. I can deploy their line of firewalls in conjunction with their switching and access points, and I can manage the entire network from one interface. I don't have to log into one interface for the firewall, another one for the access points, and another one for the switches. These firewalls have access point controller functionality built right into the system, so I don't even have to purchase additional devices to manage them.

    What needs improvement?

    FortiLink is the interface on the firewall that allows you to extend switch management across all of your switches in the network. The problem with it is that you can't use multiple interfaces unless you set them up in a lag. Only then you can run them. So, it forces you to use a core type of switch to propagate that management out to the rest of the switches, and then it is running the case at 200. It leaves you with 18 ports on the firewall because it is also a layer-three router that could also be used as a switch, but as soon as you do that, you can't really use them. They could do a little bit more clean up in the way the stacking interface works.

    Some use cases and the documentation on the FortiLink checking interface are a little outdated. I can find stuff on version 5 or more, but it is hard to find information on some of the newer firmware.

    The biggest thing I would like to see is some improvement in the switch management feature. I would like to be able to relegate some of the ports, which are on the firewall itself, to act as a switch to take advantage of those ports. Some of these firewalls have clarity ports on them. If I can use those, it would mean that I need to buy two less switches, which saves time. I get why they don't, but I would still like to see it because it would save a little bit of space in the server rack.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using this solution since 2007.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    If you have the firmware version 6.4.3 and are using FortiLink in VLAN, it has trouble with tunneling networks for a wireless network. It won't give it a route to the internet. I found it just last week. There was a version back in 6.2 where it required 12 characters for the password of a wireless network on Web 2.0 as opposed to the traditional eight characters. The problem came when you wanted to edit it. If you upgraded to that firmware from a previous version, it wouldn't let you save any changes without changing the password, making it a requirement. That was kind of problematic for a while, but for the most part, it has been pretty stable and responsive.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    It is easy to scale as long as you start with the right firewall. Our clients are of different sizes. We have clients with the home office with two or three employees. One of the clients has about 26 locations in all four time zones and about 400 employees.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    I haven't used their official tech support, which is actually a good thing. The reason I haven't used their official tech support is that they have a support mechanism in place. I have direct access to a local sales engineer, and when I have problems, I call him up on the cell phone. Based on that, they definitely support their partners 100%. They are definitely channel driven, and it shows.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    I have deployed SonicWall, WatchGuard, Cisco ASA, Rockies, and Palo Alto. The biggest reason I went with Fortinet is that it felt like it has got Palo Alto type of functionality at a much more reasonable price point.

    I spent seven years working at the state level education, and budgets were tough. We had SonicWall subscription services. I could replace them with the brand new FortiGate with a three-year subscription for the same cost. That really changed things. The single pane of management that they have was just the frosting on the cake.

    How was the initial setup?

    It is pretty simple. For example, I just set up a new network with a 100E, and I have got four stackable switches. It will run a network with 23 access points. I set up all the VLANs, routing, rules, and other things. It won't take more than four hours of work. I am getting ready to box up and ship it out. It will be plug and play once it gets to the site.

    What other advice do I have?

    Take the training. They've got free training that is available online, and there are different levels for technical training. It is crucial. If you sign up as a partner, which doesn't cost you anything, the training is free. If you want to go for the test and get certified, you got to pay for the test, but the actual training materials are available to every partner for free. I would say that definitely take advantage of those. When you have new employees as network engineers, make this training a part of the routine.

    I would rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten. I have been using it for years, and I do try to evaluate it on a regular basis and continue to stick with them. I just don't have a lot of bad things to say about them. Aside from their product, I'm a also fan of their company and how they do business, which makes it easier to do business with them. I don't necessarily appreciate the business practices of some of their competitors. It is nice not to have to worry about that.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Private Cloud
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
    PeerSpot user
    Chief Information Officer at teamddt
    Real User
    A continuously updated firewall solution with a good antispam filter
    Pros and Cons
    • "I like Fortinet FortiGate's antispam filter, SPN, and clustering features."
    • "Application management can be improved."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use Fortinet FortiGate to implement firewalls for our customers.

    What is most valuable?

    I like Fortinet FortiGate's antispam filter, SPN, and clustering features.

    What needs improvement?

    There is room for improvement. When it comes to email spam detection, Baracuda is the highest or the best, Cisco is the lowest, and Fortinet FortiGate is in the middle. Application management can be improved. Analysis and sandbox can also be improved in the next release. 

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for around three years.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Scalability can be improved. Compared to Cisco, Fortinet FortiGate's scalability is in a good position.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    Fortinet FortiGate offers good technical support services.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is straightforward. For example, the SMB solution is straightforward. We have to follow the instructions and customize it as per the customer's request for the enterprise solution.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    Fortinet FortiGate's price can be reduced. 

    What other advice do I have?

    Fortinet FortiGate is highly recommended because they update everything every second. 

    On a scale from one to ten, I would give Fortinet FortiGate a nine. 

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    it_user998895 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Project Manager at renaissance group
    Real User
    User-friendly with good integrations on offer and a variety of great features
    Pros and Cons
    • "The solution is very user friendly. The user interface in particular is quite nice."
    • "The customization could be improved. Cisco, for example, is much better at this. They need to work to be at least as good as they are."

    What is our primary use case?

    We primarily use the solution for security - for the firewall.

    What is most valuable?

    The solution has a variety of excellent features.

    The cloud base that they have on offer is great.

    Overall, the solution is very good and we've been very happy with it.

    The solution is very user friendly. The user interface in particular is quite nice.

    The integration is great.

    What needs improvement?

    The customization could be improved. Cisco, for example, is much better at this. They need to work to be at least as good as they are.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've been using the solution for one year so far.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    So far, the stability has been very good. We haven't had any issues at all. I haven't had issues with bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's great.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    I haven't run into any issues when it comes to scaling. If a company needs to scale it should be able to do so without much of a problem.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    I haven't really dealt directly with technical support. Once, when I ran into an issue, I spoke with my local partner. Other than that, you can find the answers you need via the help navigation.

    Therefore, I can't speak to the helpfulness of technical support. I can't speak to whether or not they are responsive or knowledgable.

    I have been satisfied with the help I've received from my local partner, however. They've been quite good.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    We do use other solutions as well, such as Cisco. We find this solution to be better in general, and more user-friendly. That said, Cisco does do customization better.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is not complex. It's pretty straightforward. We found it to be quite simple.

    When I bought it, I found that the user interface made everything pretty easy from the start. They also have very good help features that can assist you if you get stuck. It was pretty easy to configure the items I needed to.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The price is pretty much standard with the competition. It's not overly expensive.

    That said, if you want to have a good security VPN or firewall, then you should invest more than money and pay interest in local devices. If you want a better network structure and better security, then you need more local devices.

    What other advice do I have?

    I use FortiGate quite a bit. I'm just a customer and end-user. I don't have a business relationship with the company.

    On a scale from one to ten, I'd rate the solution at an eight. I've been pretty happy with it so far.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    CEO at Acme Technologies
    Reseller
    Good application control, web filtering, and anti-spam features, affordable price, and good support
    Pros and Cons
    • "Customers are more inclined towards FortiGate because of application control, web filtering, and anti-spam features. The support from the FortiGate team is good, and price-wise, it is affordable."
    • "They are doing good, but they can improve the distributor assignment. The availability of the product and the timeline of delivery are the main things. The distribution should be swift, and the distributor should not reach out to end customers directly. They should work as a distributor. There should also be one more local distributor. Currently, there is only one distributor in Pakistan, and the rest of them are in UAE. It is difficult to work with only one distributor. Sometimes, you don't get along with the same distributor, and that's why they should have one more distributor. Their licensing should also be improved. The activation or renewal of the product should be done from the date of renewal, not from the date on which the license expired."

    What is our primary use case?

    We are selling FortiGate 60E and 200E. I mostly look after imports and finance, and my sales team and my corporate manager look after the business. Currently, we are buying renewals for our customers from a local distributor.

    What is most valuable?

    Customers are more inclined towards FortiGate because of application control, web filtering, and anti-spam features. The support from the FortiGate team is good, and price-wise, it is affordable.

    What needs improvement?

    They are doing good, but they can improve the distributor assignment. The availability of the product and the timeline of delivery are the main things. The distribution should be swift, and the distributor should not reach out to end customers directly. They should work as a distributor. There should also be one more local distributor. Currently, there is only one distributor in Pakistan, and the rest of them are in UAE. It is difficult to work with only one distributor. Sometimes, you don't get along with the same distributor, and that's why they should have one more distributor. 

    Their licensing should also be improved. The activation or renewal of the product should be done from the date of renewal, not from the date on which the license expired.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using this solution for almost two years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    It is 100% stable.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    It is scalable. We have more than a thousand users. 

    How are customer service and technical support?

    The support from the FortiGate team is good. My engineers never complained that they are facing any problem with Fortinet in terms of support.

    How was the initial setup?

    It is very easy to install. It is way easier than Cisco.

    The deployment duration varies from customer to customer. It depends on what features they want to utilize, what is their scenario for IP addressing, and what security level they want to implement. It also depends on the policy and the planning of the technical teams. My engineers and the customer's engineers sit together, and they plan the activity and take care of everything. After that, they decide what to implement and how long it will take. Sometimes there are physical, logical, or IP addressing problems, so it all depends on the customer and our implementation planning. I have three guys for deployment. 

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    Its price is affordable and lesser than Cisco. Cisco is expensive.

    In terms of licensing, there is only one issue. If a customer's license has expired a month ago and they do the renewal after one month, Fortinet renews the license from the start of the previous month. The activation of the product is done from the previous month, not from the date of renewal. The customers usually shout and complain that because they are paying today, the renewal should start from today. The support contract renewals or licensing should be renewed from the date of renewal, but Fortinet starts from the day it had expired. It is a loss for customers. They might have had some problems because of which they did not take the license one month before. Fortinet should work on this. Cisco doesn't do this. Cisco always starts from the day they apply for the license.

    What other advice do I have?

    We plan to keep selling this solution. Fortinet has launched new partnership levels. They have removed the silver partnership. We were a silver partner previously, and we have now become a premier partner or something like that. So, we have to improve our partnership on new levels.

    I would definitely recommend this solution. We always support customers and recommend buying Fortinet. It is a better, more stable, and relatively cheaper product than Cisco. We supply Cisco only when a customer forces us to go for Cisco.

    I would rate Fortinet FortiGate a nine out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller
    PeerSpot user
    Deputy Manager at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
    Real User
    Good stability and fair pricing with an easy initial setup
    Pros and Cons
    • "The customization potential is quite impressive."
    • "The ease of use could be improved."

    What is our primary use case?

    We primarily use the solution for the firewall for the most part. It's to help us with security on our network.

    What is most valuable?

    The solution has a very good set of rules.

    The customization potential is quite impressive. It can be customized based on our licensing contracts.

    The initial setup was pretty simple. We didn't find it to be overly difficult to execute on.

    Technical support is rather helpful.

    We find the stability to be pretty good.

    We didn't have any trouble setting up the solution.

    We find the pricing to be fairly good.

    What needs improvement?

    The ease of use could be improved. 

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We've been using the solution for about five years. We have been continuously working with FortiGate itself throughout that time. It's been a while.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    So far, the stability has been pretty good for us. There aren't bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. I'd describe the stability as reliable.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    I can't really speak to the scalability of the solution, as it isn't as aspect I handle. I've never tried to do it, so I'm not sure how it works.

    We have about 50 users on the solution. About one third have access to it.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    We only really had one issue in the past where we had to deal with technical support. We needed some restoration of some data. It wasn't a bad experience. We were satisfied with their level of service. They seem to be knowledgeable and responsive.

    How was the initial setup?

    In terms of the initial setup, the process was not complex at all. We found it to be very straightforward and easy. We didn't run into any issues setting everything up.

    We have one engineer that handles ongoing maintenance for us when we need it.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The pricing is fair. I don't feel that it is too expensive.

    What other advice do I have?

    I've been good with using Fortinet. It's a fine tool. 

    Overall, I would recommend the solution to other organizations.

    I would rate it a nine on a scale from one to ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    IT Manager at KSB MIL Controls Limited
    Real User
    Easy to use with good customization and an easy initial setup
    Pros and Cons
    • "The solution is very, very easy to use."
    • "The integration with third-party tools may be something that they should work on."

    What is our primary use case?

    We primarily use the solution for a firewall plus as an overall UTM. We do not, however, use it as an SD-WAN.

    What is most valuable?

    The solution is very, very easy to use.

    The user interface is very nice.

    The product seems to offer pretty good customization.

    The configuration of the product has been very straightforward and simple.

    The reporting on offer is quite good.

    The initial setup is straightforward as well.

    We've found the pricing to be pretty good.

    Technical support from the partner has been very helpful.

    What needs improvement?

    The integration with third-party tools may be something that they should work on. We haven't actually tried to implement that, however.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've been working with the solution for close to ten years. It's been at least a decade at this point. It's been a while.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    We haven't had any issues with the solution's stability. It's very reliable. It doesn't crash or freeze. I can't recall experiencing bugs or glitches at all over the time I've used it. 

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The scalability of the solution seems to be pretty good. We haven't had any issues in that respect.

    Currently, our organization has about 125 users on the product.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    While I don't have a direct line to Fortigate, I have used our partner support. They have been excellent and we are quite satisfied with the level of service we receive from them. They are knowledgeable and responsive.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is not complex at all. I found it to be very straightforward. This was due to the fact that we had this solution procured along back in 2007 or 2008, as a smaller firewall, a FortiGate 60C.

    We don't have anyone that handles maintenance full-time. It's an on-call situation. If we have issues or need maintenance, we raise a ticket and it is dealt with.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The pricing of the solution is fair. We don't find it to be overly expensive.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    I've never looked at other products and therefore would not be able to really compare this solution to anything.

    What other advice do I have?

    We are just customers and end-users of the product. We don't have a business relationship with Fortinet.

    I'd recommend the solution. It's very simple and easy to use. On top of that, it offers peace of mind.

    Overall, I'd rate the solution nine out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    IT Infrastructure managerInformation an Communication Services Manager at a agriculture with 5,001-10,000 employees
    Real User
    Great load balancing feature, secure and stable
    Pros and Cons
    • "Good load balancing feature."
    • "We have an issue with hotel guest vouchers."

    What is our primary use case?

    We've used this solution for the guest portal for our client and we also use it to secure the network of our firm. I am the IT infrastructure manager and we are customers of Fortinet. 

    What is most valuable?

    I like the fact that we don't have to use our IP address and that it roams. I also like the load balancing feature which allows you to attach several internet connections and load balance.

    What needs improvement?

    We have an issue with the license when it expires because we're unable to use the computers. We are in the hotel industry and there's an issue with vouchers when guests come in wanting to use them. 

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've been using this solution for five years. 

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    It's a stable solution. We had some issues after we upgraded but on the whole it's stable. 

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    We don't have scalability requirements so I can't comment. 

    How are customer service and technical support?

    We had some issues with the local support, particularly with regard to purchasing the subscription. It took a very long time and at one point the license had expired and it took a while to sort out. 

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is simple and doesn't take much time.  

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    This is an affordable solution. 

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    FortiGate is the most effective solution for us and it's a cheaper option to Check Point or Palo Alto which we looked at. They are both very expensive. 

    What other advice do I have?

    I would rate this solution an eight out of 10. 

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    IT Infrastructure Specialist at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees
    Real User
    A resilient, secure, and scalable solution that provides a secure connection for remote work.
    Pros and Cons
    • "The web filtering feature and the intrusion protection system are the most valuable. It is a resilient appliance. I never had an issue with it in terms of any security breaches."
    • "Its reporting capabilities can be improved. It should have some out-of-the-box reporting capabilities and some degree of customization. The basic reporting that it currently has is not sufficient to create more usable reports. It needs some sort of out-of-the-box reporting. They try to make customers purchase FortiAnalyzer for this kind of reporting, which is an additional cost. Other firewall vendors, such as SonicWall and Sophos, provide this sort of reporting without any additional cost."

    What is our primary use case?

    We utilize the services to ensure the stability of our network and clients protection from external treats. With the recent pandemic mobile working have increased in demand and Fortinet have easily bridge that gap to continue to support employee needs.

    How has it helped my organization?

    It has provided us the ability to work remotely during the pandemic. It opens a secure connection to the office for an employee working remotely from home.

    What is most valuable?

    The web filtering feature and the intrusion protection system are the most valuable.

    It is a resilient appliance.

    What needs improvement?

    Its reporting capabilities can be improved. Some out-of-the-box reports needs to be able to provide usable data for example for web monitoring and reporting or browsing patterns and details.  Some customers does not require any forensic type reporting and may not want to invest in all the features offered by the FortiAnalyzer.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using this solution for the past seven years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    It is stable. 

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    It is scalable. There are no issues. In terms of the number of users who use FortiGate, we have only about ten users for remote working. Only selected users utilize this remote capability.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    Technical support is good. If I have an inquiry or request, it is usually addressed within the same business day or within the 24 hours period as per the vendor's support agreement.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    I was on a Check Point platform, and then I migrated to FortiGate. Migrating from the Check Point environment to the FortiGate environment was new for me. We rely on a vendor for support. The vendor was kind of phasing out the support of the Check Point product. That's why we switched. 

    How was the initial setup?

    We are currently on 80D, and it was a direct upgrade. The deployment didn't take that long because it was a direct replacement or upgrade from an older appliance 60D to 80D. It was easy for the vendor to deploy because they saved the policies and other things that were in use for the older appliance and had to be migrated over to the new appliance. It was done within maybe a day or two.

    What about the implementation team?

    We outsourced it to a local vendor, and it was deployed by the vendor. We do our own internal monitoring, and the vendor does the actual set up. So far, our experience with the vendor has been excellent in terms of response. Their technical staff is also very knowledgeable.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    We just pay an affordable flat monthly fee to the vendor for the monitoring and support.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    I learned about different options and their benefits and listened to vendors' proposals for migration. We evaluated pfSense, which is open source. We were trying to determine whether to go for open source as opposed to an industry-standard and proprietary product. I also engaged other vendors who offered Sophos technology and SonicWall. I trusted the vendor-supported product and considered the cost associated with the migration. The current vendor could upgrade it with no implementation cost, and we just had to pay a monthly service fee or rental. 

    Based on the research, FortiGate seemed like a reasonable firewall, and it is also more or less recognized and trusted all over, so I trusted FortiGate. Overall, I was happy with the performance of the FortiGate, so I kind of stuck with that one.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would definitely recommend this product, but there are other products in the market, such as Sophos and SonicWall, that are just as effective. 

    We will be using this solution for at least the next three years. We renewed the license for three years in August of this year. We are thinking of upgrading to a newer appliance before that.

    I would rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten. I am pleased with this solution and the features it offers right now. It just needs minor adjustments in terms of reporting and staying up to date with industry standards.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Network Manager at a transportation company with 5,001-10,000 employees
    Real User
    Installation is super easy, stable operations, and has prompt and responsive customer service
    Pros and Cons
    • "The product is easy to use and is stable. The SV1 functionality is a benefit."
    • "Some of the software stability could improve."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use it as a firewall for securing our HQ and branch.

    What is most valuable?

    The product is easy to use and is stable. The SV1 functionality is a benefit. 

    What needs improvement?

    A feature for bandwidth monitoring and the ability to have more bandwidth testing would be useful to include in future releases.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using the solution for just about a year.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    We have approximately 40,000 employees and the product is very scalable. The different hardware units are quite good and are an appropriate size for enterprise-sized businesses.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    They're very prompt and responsive, and very helpful. In our experience, they responded on the same day and the next day for fixes.

    How was the initial setup?

    The installation was super easy, we were up and running in less than 50 minutes.

    What about the implementation team?

    We did it the implementation ourselves. We used an in house team of four to do the deployment. 

    What was our ROI?

    Some of the software stability could improve.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would recommend FortiGate to others.

    I rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Group Leader – FM Operations Team at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
    Real User
    Straightforward and quick to deploy, user-friendly, and the UTM features well protect our infrastructure
    Pros and Cons
    • "I think that the UTM features are the most value, as it truly protects my infrastructure."
    • "The support structure needs to be improved because every time we contact them, there is a delay in the response."

    What is our primary use case?

    We're using both firewall and UTM features, as well as the inbound and outbound traffic load-balancing functionality. We are also using the VPN.

    What is most valuable?

    I think that the UTM features are the most value, as it truly protects my infrastructure.

    The interface is user-friendly.

    What needs improvement?

    The support structure needs to be improved because every time we contact them, there is a delay in the response.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We have been using Fortinet FortiGate for almost eight years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    This is a stable and reliable product.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    We have had no trouble scaling the solutions.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    Technical Team response time is slow comparatively other competition , However once the Engineer is allocated then incidents are managed properly

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is straightforward and it is very quick to deploy.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    We purchased a five-year bundle package, which worked out cheaper than competing solutions.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    We evaluated other products including those from Palo Alto and Cisco. However, compare the features and price for all of them, Fortinet was the best choice.

    What other advice do I have?

    This is a good product and I can recommend it to others.

    I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
    PeerSpot user
    IT Infrastructure Engineer at Communication Progress
    Real User
    Scalable, Easy to implement, security fabric integration, wireless controller, low cost, stable
    Pros and Cons
    • "Web filtering and two-factor authentication are great features."
    • "Vulnerability scanning could be improved."

    What is our primary use case?

    Our primary use case of this solution for our clients is for protecting internal networks with data center firewalls, internal segmentation and next generation firewalls. 

    We are a gold partner of Fortinet.

    What is most valuable?

    SD-WAN, Security fabric integration, two-factor authentication, ADVPN, Dynamic routing, single pane of glas managements are great features. FortiGate is very easy to use, and to configure.

    What needs improvement?

    I think some improvements could be made in vulnerability scanning. I'd also like to see additional features in the authentication. They support RADIUS, LDAP  but the solution doesn't have API integration with other solutions. They have API in FortiAuthenticator, but not in the firewall and not all customers want to buy another solution. 

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've been providing this solution to clients for seven years. 

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    This is a very stable solution. 

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    This solution is scalable. They have now built hyperscale firewalls and it's very easy. Also VMs, for example, is very easy to scale, you just need to adjust the licensing. 

    How are customer service and technical support?

    Technical support is very, very good. They respond quickly and provide the solution to the problem. 

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    I have previously used Check Point and Cisco ASA. In terms of cost and security features, Fortinet has the advantage and it's also easy to implement. Cisco and Check Point are a little bit more difficult in that aspect. 

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is simple, as with all Fortinet technologies. Deployment time depends on the situation. For small customers it takes about one to two hours. For larger companies with different kinds of firewalls in their infrastructure, it may take a day or two, it depends on the complexity of the network, the infrastructure and the size of the business. The solution is suitable for any size company. Maintenance depends on the contract with our customers, but Fortinet includes support with every license. If a customer wants support from us, we provide it. 

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    Fortinet offers four types of licensing - Advanced Threat Protection, Unified Threat Protection and Enterprise Protection and 360 degree Protection.  Licensing costs are dependent on the VM  or Hardware model, not per features. For example if vm or Hardware model supports 200 IPsec tunnels you can setup 200 IPsec tunnels, it doesn't matter what kind of license you have. 

    What other advice do I have?

    I would definitely recommend this solution. 

    I would rate this solution a 10 out of 10. 

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
    PeerSpot user
    Senior Network Architect at Combat Networks
    Real User
    Highly affordable and comprehensive
    Pros and Cons
    • "It's inexpensive compared to some of the other technology out there."
    • "They sometimes hide some features and if you want to enable them, you have to go in the CLI, enable the feature and configure it through the CLI. Customers, typically, like everything to be done by the GUI."

    What is our primary use case?

    Our clients' main use case for Fortinet FortiGate is for the firewall on the outside perimeter to the internet. Some of them have started using it for SD-WAN.

    What is most valuable?

    We are software integrators. 

    Our clients like the packaging because it's an appliance. It has specific chip sets to accelerate different features in the product.

    Additionally, it's inexpensive compared to some of the other technology out there.

    What needs improvement?

    In terms of what can be improved, they do have certain features that you can only configure through a CLI and there's no GUI interface for it. That's a pain. But it's nice that the user can do everything one way or the other.

    They sometimes hide some features and if you want to enable them, you have to go in the CLI, enable the feature and configure it through the CLI. Customers, typically, like everything to be done by the GUI.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for at least the last 12 months.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Fortinet FortiGate is pretty stable.

    It is hard to judge this year because of everybody working from home. Everybody is using up a lot of bandwidth so I'm not sure if that is a cause for some of the instability with the Forti client. The only place we've seen instability would be updating Forti client with their software called EMS.

    So pushing out the client with EMS, like a client update to remote users, has proven a pain in the butt. But that could be because the end users' VPNs are maybe a little bit unstable just because of the high bandwidth demands. It is hard to determine. Maybe it is because some of these users are in remote areas, or non-urban or smaller towns, as opposed to being in an urban area where bandwidth is a little better.

    We never jump ahead and say, "Oh, yes. 6.5 just came up. Let's jump on that." We'll probably just wait six months and see what goes on first. And I guess that's probably what a lot of people do because it's protecting your intellectual property and everything which that company owns.

    I'm not saying that there's no instability. People will generally just wait and not jump out unless they're testing in the lab. They're not going to jump out and put the first revision that comes out on their firewalls.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    In terms of scalability, it scales very well.

    They have different models for different sizes. Obviously, if you buy too small and you have to upgrade, then it's a box swap. Some other vendors can just add another unit and you cluster them together. In their case it's more of just switching the box out for more performance boxes if you go too low.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    Their technical support is very good.

    Every time we've had to open up a case or get their help, if we surpass that person's ability, it gets escalated right away. So it's very good. It usually gets resolved within a day or two.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is fairly straightforward.

    What was our ROI?

    In terms of ROI, they're inexpensive. Because they're inexpensive, they're just everywhere, in the Federal Government, schools, everywhere where budgets are fairly tight. And it is a very good product. It's a product that's built that if you need to you can add a different box and remove that feature from your main FortiGate and just run it on a different box.

    So if you need to expand, you can always do it that way too.

    They have good integration if you have multiple firewalls and it allows you to be able to push out policies to all of them at the same time.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    Fortinet FortiGate's pricing is pretty hard to beat.

    What other advice do I have?

    On a scale of one to ten, I would give Fortinet FortiGate a 10 out of 10.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Integrator
    PeerSpot user
    Presales Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
    Real User
    Top 20
    Scales well, but the technical support needs to be improved
    Pros and Cons
    • "This product is definitely scalable."
    • "The support is the main thing that needs to be improved."

    What is our primary use case?

    We are a solution integrator and FortiGate is one of the security products that we implement for our clients.

    What needs improvement?

    The support is the main thing that needs to be improved.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We have been using Fortinet FortiGate for five years.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    This product is definitely scalable. Our clients range from small to medium-sized businesses.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    The technical support needs to be improved, and I would rate them a six out of ten.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is straightforward.

    What other advice do I have?

    This is a product that I would recommend.

    I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.

    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Integrator
    PeerSpot user
    Director/Owner at Miodesk
    Real User
    Easy to use, well-priced, and scales to our requirements
    Pros and Cons
    • "The most valuable feature is the ease of use."
    • "In the future, I would like to see improvements made to cloud-based management."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use this firewall as part of our security solution.

    What is most valuable?

    The most valuable feature is the ease of use. It's very simple and this is one of its advantages.

    What needs improvement?

    I would like to see the product updated more frequently.

    In the future, I would like to see improvements made to cloud-based management. They already have some features for this, but it's very basic.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for 15 years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Stability-wise, this is a good solution.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Scalability is good, we have about 5,000 users.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    I have never used technical support from the vendor.

    What about the implementation team?

    We have an internal team for deployment, maintenance, and support.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The price of FortiGate is good.

    What other advice do I have?

    My advice for anybody who is implementing FortiGate that it is a great product and easy to use, but be careful which firmware you use.

    I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Hybrid Cloud
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
    PeerSpot user
    Michael-Sugg - PeerSpot reviewer
    President at Sovereign Managed Services
    Real User
    Very complete with good capabilities and very good stability
    Pros and Cons
    • "The main reason why I purchased the particular unit was that it had good reviews and what other people were saying as far as its completeness and its leading capabilities in terms of endpoint security was very good."
    • "To some degree, it's almost a question as to why some of this stuff isn't simpler. For example, for an AP deployment, while it's integrated, the number of steps that you have to go through in order to get the AP up, seems like a lot."

    What is our primary use case?

    The purpose of this solution is to provide intrusion protection and more robust endpoint security for small offices. We are providing an enterprise solution for a small business by adding endpoint protection coupled with Intrusion Detection and Protection.  For small offices needing HIPAA compliance, we need to make sure we are providing robust protection instead of the default modem gateway provided by the ISP.

    How has it helped my organization?

    The Fortinet product provides enterprise capabilities in a small footprint at a price point that is more attainable for a small business. The product meets the IPS/IDS/Endpoint protection that small organizations need for their HIPAA and PCI compliance.  While the end user may not understand the true capabilities, the managed service provider can more easily deploy and maintain this small footprint product.

    What is most valuable?

    The main reason why I purchased the particular unit was based on other reviews and leadership in this space. Being able to have a VPN solution as well as integrated access points is a plus. For me, it's all about simplicity. When you look at my particular model for a managed service provider, it's basically to help simplify, protect, and remain compliant. When you're trying to implement something, it's about making sure it is simplified. This seems to fit the bill.

    What needs improvement?

    The product has enterprise capabilities, which means there are a ton of configurations possible.  What I'd like to see in the product is more of a branch in the box wizard deployment for those that are not as well versed in firewall and routing.  For a small business, the firewall should be able to self-configure for a Unified Threat Management configuration with 2 SSIDs for protected wireless network for internal gear and a guest wireless network for employee cell phones and guests.  I'd like to open the box, plug in the router behind the cable modem, and check a few boxes, and the rest is done automatically.  I don't want to have to build a configure VLANs, SSIDs, security protocols for each port, and try to figure out and understand all the layers in an effort to deploy a solution.  It's great to have those capabilities in case you need them, but for most of the offices I am trying to deploy these into--it should be a branch in a box.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've only been using the solution for a few weeks. It's very new for us.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Stability has been fine. I've had no questions about the stability of it. It seems so far it is staying up. I haven't had any issues to speak of.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    I haven't really pushed this product from a scalability perspective. Certainly, if you look at the performance metrics, the F series appears to have really expanded the capacity and capabilities beyond past models. If you look at 40E versus 40F, there's a fairly substantial difference. For a small office, it's going to be just fine.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    I haven't reached out to technical support and therefore can't speak to their level of responsiveness.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    N/A

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is complex for me due to my lack of experience with the Fortinet FortiGate product. The complexity can be a good thing, however, as there's a lot of really good features associated with it. Where it could be simplified is in having that easy deployment option, and then you can start going down and trying to get into the nitty-gritty and figure out when do you need the extra features.

    Right now, I'm just in a test environment getting all the firmware up and tested. Then, once I have it tested, I'll take it to the client location and yank out their WiFi mechanism, their WiFi router, and put this in.

    What about the implementation team?

    I'm currently handling the implementation for a client.

    What was our ROI?

    ROI is somewhat difficult to measure when you are mostly talking about deploying a product for endpoint security.  If your environment stays protected, then it was a good return on investment.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    When you look at these endpoint security systems and firewalls, these products a few years were way too expensive for a small business. Now we have enterprise level security in a footprint that is less than $1,000.  For offices that have 10-25 computers needing protection, this is a better solution.

    What other advice do I have?

    The good news is that Fortinet does have a good support network as well as their education academy to help someone get up to speed on their product.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Head Of IT Infrastructure at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
    Real User
    Has a good payment function for applications but configuring and management is not easy
    Pros and Cons
    • "The payment function for applications is good."
    • "Difficult to add or define, and not that easy to configure and manage."

    What is our primary use case?

    Our primary use case is for a data center firewall. I've been using Fortigate but I'm also currently evaluating Cisco and Check Point. We are customers of Fortinet and I'm in IT infrastructure. 

    What is most valuable?

    I like the payment function for applications.

    What needs improvement?

    It's difficult to add or define, and it's not that easy to configure and manage. We're looking for something more flexible for the long term. I also find that the performance is limited in comparison to other solutions. 

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've been using this solution for three years. 

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The product is stable. 

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The solution is scalable but when you do scale, it limits the performance. We have over 1,000 users in our company and four people who deal with the maintenance of all our solutions. 

    How are customer service and technical support?

    Technical support is acceptable, and they're good in terms of local support and global support. If they cannot resolve the issue they will pass us to another level of support. 

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    I previously had experience with CheckPoint, Cisco, and Palo Alto. I would rate Palo Alto as the best firewall in the world. 

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is relatively straightforward. 

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    This product could be a little cheaper although compared to other similar solutions, it's more reasonably priced. 

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Documentation Manager at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
    MSP
    User-friendly, stable, and the functionality is logically designed
    Pros and Cons
    • "The interface is very user-friendly and I like it very much."
    • "The price of FortiGate should be reduced because there are some other leading products that are cheaper."

    What is our primary use case?

    I used FortiGate only for the firewall.

    What is most valuable?

    The interface is very user-friendly and I like it very much.

    The functions are designed very logically.

    What needs improvement?

    The price of FortiGate should be reduced because there are some other leading products that are cheaper.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for about one month.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    I have not experienced any bugs or glitches.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Scalability-wise, I haven't had any problems. Because of the price, I would say that this product is better for large enterprises.

    What about the implementation team?

    My colleague set up FortiGate.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    Fortinet bundles FortiGate with other products and because of this, the price is a little expensive to some SMB enterprises. 

    What other advice do I have?

    FortiGate is the number one solution, both in the global market and the Chinese market. Most of the Chinese market follows FortiGate's news and its roadmap is very popular. I would recommend people buy it.

    I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Sales Engineer - Sênior at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
    Real User
    Good web filtering, nice GUI, and an easy initial setup
    Pros and Cons
    • "The initial setup is straightforward."
    • "Technical support could be better. You don't always get the level of help you need right away."

    What is our primary use case?

    We primarily use the solution just for internal segmentation and connection of some ranges using IPSec.

    How has it helped my organization?

    Currently, the solution is saving costs for us and blocks applications effectively using layer seven.

    What is most valuable?

    The solution's most valuable aspect is the IPS for potential mitigation from the cloud inside our network. 

    The VPN SSL is important for us. 

    The web filter is very good. 

    The GUI is okay.

    The initial setup is straightforward.

    The documentation provided is okay, I find that sometimes, with other startups, it's hard to find a good amount of documentation in order to assist you with the product. In this case, the solution offers a good amount of detail.

    The solution offers good analyzing capabilities.

    What needs improvement?

    I'm not sure if the solution is really lacking anything major. For us, it works okay.

    They seem to have made a lot of improvements since the last release.

    Technical support could be better. You don't always get the level of help you need right away.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We've been using the solution for about ten years at this point. As it's been about a decade, I'd say we have quite a bit of experience with it.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    For the most part, the memory and the CPU are good. It's generally stable. We don't face any issues with this aspect of the solution.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The scalability is fine. If a company needs to expand it, they should be able to do so without any issues.

    We only have about 40 users on the product currently. It's not a big company.

    For now, the product is good as it is and we don't have plans to increase usage in the future.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    By and large, technical support is good. It's okay. It's not bad. It could be better, however, they do answer our questions when we have them. We're mostly satisfied with the level of service they provide. Of course, it could always be a bit better.

    Sometimes the first contact is useful, and sometimes you don't get the kind of help you need right away. It would be nice if it was more consistent.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    We also use Sophos. We use both solutions at the same time.

    How was the initial setup?

    We didn't face any complexity when handling the initial implementation. The process is quite straightforward.

    The implementation itself can sometimes take less than a week. On average, you should expect it to be about a week in total.

    What about the implementation team?

    I didn't need the assistance of a reseller or integrator. I handled the implementation myself.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    We're charged a licensing fee on a yearly basis. I'm unsure of the exact cost to the company, however. I'm not sure if there are other costs over and above the standard licensing fee.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    We also looked at Juniper when we evaluated FortiGate. FortiGate is much easier to use in comparison which is why we chose it. The documentation was also better. That, and there was no integration for SSL in Juniper.

    What other advice do I have?

    We're just a customer. We don't have a business relationship with the company.

    Overall, I would recommend the product. It comes with a very good set of features.

    I would rate the solution ten out of ten. We've been quite happy with it.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    IT Director at Guangdong Technion Institute of Technology
    Real User
    Leaderboard
    Includes an antivirus, IPS, and even SD-WAN
    Pros and Cons
    • "The notable features that I have found most valuable are that it includes the antivirus, and also IPS, and even SD-WAN."
    • "FortiGate support could do some improvements on their IPv6 configuration. Right now it's still in the very early stage for utilizing in an enterprise level network environment."

    What is our primary use case?

    This Fortinet product is a firewall system, acting as our perimeter firewall. Generally speaking we use this system as a security product to defend from any attacks and to protect our internal network. We are very happy with the security features afforded by this product.

    What is most valuable?

    The notable features that I have found most valuable are that it includes the antivirus, IPS, and even SD-WAN.

    What needs improvement?

    In terms of what could be improved, the FortiGate support could do some improvements on their IPv6 configuration. Right now it's still in the very early stage for utilizing in an enterprise level network environment

    In terms of the FortiGate IPS, we haven't gotten additional tools because they are not free, and we have to purchase them to maximize this IPS feature. As long as they can perform some basic functions to meet our business needs, that is okay. I'm okay with this feature right now, so far.

    In the next release of FortiGate the price could be better.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Fortinet FortiGate since May of 2018.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    This product is very stable.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Fortinet FortiGate is a very scalable product.

    It is managed by the IT department, so only they use it.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    Their support is quite good.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is quite simple.

    Not including the preparation, setup took about three days to just unpack them, connect it to the power, power it on, and do some initial configuration. That's just the three days, but we took about two weeks for the preparation and planning.

    What about the implementation team?

    We had an external partner to help us and to work together with us to do the initial setup.

    What other advice do I have?

    On a scale of one to ten I would give Fortinet FortiGate an eight.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Product Manager at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
    Reseller
    Flexible and easy to use, with good support, but they should introduce security at the packet level
    Pros and Cons
    • "FortiGate is flexible and easy to use."
    • "Fortinet currently has many products bundled with FortiGate including the basic firewall and load balancer, and I think that that they need to have separate product portfolios for each of these specialized services."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use this product as a perimeter firewall and also in the role of a firewall as a service for our cloud.

    What is most valuable?

    FortiGate is flexible and easy to use.

    What needs improvement?

    Fortinet currently has many products bundled with FortiGate including the basic firewall and load balancer, and I think that that they need to have separate product portfolios for each of these specialized services. When it comes to large deployments, I don't think it's a good plan to have all of these services in a single box.

    I think that they should introduce in-line security at the packet level, where they can do filtering and other firewall functions. It should not comes down to the infrastructure level but rather, offer services at the ISP level.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We have been using FortiGate for the past four to five years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    This is a stable product.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    This product is scalable and as a service provider, we extend our usage to external customers. There are many users on the platform.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    We have premium support from Fortinet and it is quite good.

    What about the implementation team?

    We used their Professional Services for the initial installation.

    We have a large in-house team for maintenance, although I am not sure how many are dedicated to this particular product.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The price of FortiGate is average and I would say that based on the top five products available on the market, it is in the affordable range.

    What other advice do I have?

    This is a product that I can recommend to others.

    I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Public Cloud
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
    PeerSpot user
    Security Systems Analyst at a retailer with 5,001-10,000 employees
    Real User
    It works and does its job and has good stability and scalability
    Pros and Cons
    • "I only deal with it from a security analyst's point of view. I don't really get into the features of the actual FortiGate. From the security point of view, it works, and it does its job."
    • "If I had any criticism that I would give FortiGate, it would be that they need to stop changing their logging format. Every time we do a firmware upgrade, it is a massive issue on the SIM. Parsers have to be rebuilt. Even the FortiGate guys came in and said that they don't play well in the sandbox."

    What is our primary use case?

    We have some that are doing IPS, and we have some that are for AV. That's basically their main role. We are using one version below the current release.

    What is most valuable?

    I only deal with it from a security analyst's point of view. I don't really get into the features of the actual FortiGate. From the security point of view, it works, and it does its job. 

    What needs improvement?

    If I had any criticism that I would give FortiGate, it would be that they need to stop changing their logging format. Every time we do a firmware upgrade, it is a massive issue on the SIM. Parsers have to be rebuilt. Even the FortiGate guys came in and said that they don't play well in the sandbox.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using this solution for probably 20 years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    They are pretty stable. We never had any real issues with them.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Their scalability is pretty good. We have upgraded and changed them, and we have been running them for 20 years. They run for a long time. We are not replacing them every couple of years, and we have scaled up a lot. We have over 10,000 users behind it. We have three people for maintenance and deployment. 

    How are customer service and technical support?

    I never had to deal with technical support directly, but I've never heard the guys complain about it.

    How was the initial setup?

    I never set them up.

    What other advice do I have?

    We are using FortiGate, but we are switching to Palo Alto. We are just moving over to the new next-gen and do an extra layer or higher layer filtering. Being a government organization, it was RFP, and basically, Palo Alto won the RFP. I wasn't part of the RFP review, so I can't tell which features pushed Palo Alto over the edge or not. For all I know, it could just be price.

    I would rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten. I would also rate Palo Alto the same.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Technical Account Manager at DSM Technology Consultants, LLC
    MSP
    Full-featured and priced well, with good bandwidth traffic reporting
    Pros and Cons
    • "The next-gen features, the unified threat management capabilities are something that just about everybody is interested in at this point."
    • "I don't like that anything more than very basic reporting is not included."

    What is our primary use case?

    We are an IT service provider. We provide solutions to our customers based on what their needs are.

    How has it helped my organization?

    I don't know that it changes the way the organization functions. I think it gives customers more peace of mind knowing that they have this in place, that they have it set up properly, that they can run reports to get the information they need of who is using it, and who the top five users are.

    Different areas in reporting that they can get information that they need to know. That it's blocking what needs to be blocked, it's allowing what needs to be allowed, it's doing what it needs to do based on the specific requirements and I don't have to worry about it.

    What is most valuable?

    There is an enormous amount but it also depends on the customer. Some have to do with the tracking of bandwidth to ensure that the students are not using too much or too little bandwidth. 

    There is also reporting. The reporting is valuable.

    The next-gen features, the unified threat management capabilities are something that just about everybody is interested in at this point.

    What needs improvement?

    I don't like that anything more than very basic reporting is not included. You have to buy their cloud module that's an add-on for getting more customized reporting.

    It has just about everything that we are looking for and the customer is needing. It's just the reporting part that is lacking in the base application.

    Technical support could be improved.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using this solution for approximately four years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    I am sure there are bugs or glitches from time to time, but it's not anything that's been problematic or had multiples where it's been an issue.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Our clients are small to medium-sized businesses. 

    How are customer service and technical support?

    Technical support is okay. They are not exceptional or awful, they're in the middle.

    It's hit or miss on their technical capabilities and who you get and who you talk to.

    I would rate them a six or a seven out of ten.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    We didn't deploy a variety of solutions. Cisco is one we have deployed as well. It's just not as easy to setup. It's all command line, there is not a user interface, it's more expensive, and It doesn't have as much capability.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is straightforward.

    There's a lot to it, but it's very easy. It's a web interface and very easy to walk through it.

    What other advice do I have?

    We deploy both on cloud and on-premises, depending on what the customer's requirements are.

    Fortinet solution has received great feedback. It compares well to Palo Alto. It's a lot more expensive.

    It's very full-featured solution and it's priced well.

    I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Hybrid Cloud
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
    PeerSpot user
    Firewall Engineer at a marketing services firm with 1-10 employees
    MSP
    Top 5Leaderboard
    Good security, easy to install, and offers good performance
    Pros and Cons
    • "The product offers very good security."
    • "The solution lacks multi-language support."

    What is our primary use case?

    We primarily use the solution for its security features and performance. We enable features that assist with web filtering, application consoles, and IPS.

    What is most valuable?

    The performance of the solution is very good.

    The product offers very good security.

    It's pretty easy to install the solution.

    What needs improvement?

    The cloud management should improve. There are other manufacturers that have better management cloud solutions. Aruba, for example, is very good at this aspect. Fortinet could look to them as a model of how to do something interesting with management solutions.

    Fortinet across the board needs to improve the LAN aspect of their products.

    The solution lacks multi-language support.

    They could offer access points to small companies and firewalls at those access points. Aruba, in that sense, is much better for smaller organizations as they provide this possibility.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We've been using the solution for a few years at this point.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The solution is quite stable. You don't have to deal with bugs or glitches. You don't have it freezing on you. It's reliable.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The solution is pretty scalable. It's flexible. It works with the organization and allows you to expand it as necessary.

    In my company, we use FortiGate across several locations. The location with the most number of users has maybe 400 to 500 employees. That said, there is another FortiGate that manages the traffic that goes to the internet for all of the users across locations. We must have around 900 users.

    We do plan to continue to use it going forward.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    The solution does have different levels of support. If the problem is critical, you can escalate it quite well and even get telephone support.

    That said, in terms of telephone support, they need to have support provided in the Spanish language. Right now, this is not the case.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    While we concurrently use both Sophos and Fortinet, we're working towards just using Fortinet. I find that the performance of Fortinet is much better than Sophos.

    How was the initial setup?

    The solution's initial setup is not complex. It's pretty straightforward. In my case, I have many years of expertise working with FortiGate and therefore it was not difficult. It's quite good and easy to manage.

    How long it takes to deploy the solution, depends on what the customers ask you to do. More or less, however, it might take maybe one day to make the initial setup of the unit and the configuration that the customer requests. It may take another day or two to put it on service and check that everything is working properly, once again, based on the requirements of the customer.

    What other advice do I have?

    I work mostly with firewalls and network equipment including firewalls, switches, and routers. I don't just work with Fortinet. I also work with Sophos, Cisco, and Aruba.

    We're using the latest version of the product currently.

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

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Public Cloud
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Network Systems Engineer at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
    Real User
    Very stable, easily customizable, and simple to install
    Pros and Cons
    • "The stability of the solution is excellent, as it is with other Fortinet products."
    • "There are just some services that aren't available. For example, the Ethernet or point-to-point protocols. They could add these services to their product offering - especially services for ISPs."

    What is our primary use case?

    I primarily use the solution for network security - especially for the VPN connection, the remote site connection. 

    What is most valuable?

    The solution is very easy to install.

    The services from Fortinet products are very, very good. The WIFI that Fortinet provides for us, for example, is fantastic. 

    The VPN tunnel is very stable and there is more than one option for the tunnel, which is helpful. 

    We can customize the product well.

    There's a very intelligent solution that they gave us in order to make the VPN connection easy. It is a very, very, very useful tool. 

    The stability of the solution is excellent, as it is with other Fortinet products.

    What needs improvement?

    Fortinet is a very big product. It has FortiGate, FortiWiFi, FortiSwitch, email security, etc. Due to this, they have some weaknesses in the ISPs, the services. They could improve these aspects. Hotspot services especially could be a lot better. 

    There are just some services that aren't available. For example, the Ethernet or point-to-point protocols. They could add these services to their product offering - especially services for ISPs.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've been using the solution for about three years at this point.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The solution is very stable. That's not a problem at all. There aren't bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's quite reliable.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The solution can scale well. If a company needs to expand it, they can.

    I have various clients that use the solution and they have a user base that can range anywhere from five users to over 10,000.

    I do plan to continue to use the solution in the future, however, I can't speak as to if my clients will expand their services or not.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    Technical support, by and large, is very good. Fortinet has a very fast response time for their support tickets. It doesn't matter if the help is coming from the local distributor, or from web support. I don't face any problems with their level of attentiveness. I'm quite satisfied.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    I use a wide variety of products in my shop. For example, I also work with Sophos UTM, Cisco, HPE, and Aruba products. 

    There's a lot of problems in, maybe, let's say, Sophos products. Especially in their support. They have very weak support. Cisco has good support, on the other hand, and a very good product, however, it is too expensive. HPE is a very nice product and has good support, however, it's not a UTM. Therefore, often we end up recommending Fortinet options.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup was not complex. It was pretty straightforward.

    How long it takes to deploy the solution depends on the company and the configurations required. Sometimes I am able to do it in one day, whereas other times it takes more than one month to complete.

    What other advice do I have?

    I'm just a customer. I'm using the latest version of the solution. I'm using the F-series. Previously, I used the E-series.

    We use the on-premises version of the solution as Fortinet does not yet support the cloud.

    I am not an organization, I am in IT support. I have my own agency for installing such devices. I use it for some universities which is more than 10,000 students in some cases. I also use it in some factories which have four to five users. It works just as well for small and medium-sized companies as it does for enterprise-level organizations.  

    I would recommend the solution to others for sure.

    Overall, I would rate Fortinet's solution at a nine out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Integrator
    PeerSpot user
    Specialist of IT Solutions at INTERNEXA
    Real User
    Great anti-malware and web filtering features
    Pros and Cons
    • "Good anti-malware and web filtering features."
    • "The solution could be more evenly structured."

    What is our primary use case?

    We primarily use this solution as a security perimeter and for VPN. We are partners of Fortinet. 

    What is most valuable?

    I like the anti-malware and web filtering features. 

    What needs improvement?

    The solution could be more evenly structured and I'd like to see orchestration in the calls included. The solution currently lacks that feature. 

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've been using this solution for 12 months. 

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The stability is great. 

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The solution is scalable.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    The technical support is good. We rely a lot on the documentation which is a good standard. 

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    I previously used Meraki but I prefer Fortinet for its value and software capabilities. It's better than any of the other products in this field. 

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is very easy. Deployment time depends on the complexity of the situation. 

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    We pay an annual license fee - I get a good price on this product.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would rate this solution an eight out of 10. 

    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
    PeerSpot user
    Network Engineer at a manufacturing company with 5,001-10,000 employees
    Real User
    A highly-effective firewall but some evolution is required
    Pros and Cons
    • "It's great for capturing the traffic and troubleshooting it."
    • "We were not able to build a full-mesh VPN; however, I am not sure if this was the fault of Fortinet FortiGate."

    What is our primary use case?

    Foremost, we mainly used it as a firewall. we also use it for low sharing between circuits.

    What is most valuable?

    It's great for capturing the traffic and troubleshooting it.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We used Fortinet FortiGate for one year.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Fortinet FortiGate is both scalable and stable.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    We used a different party for support — they were pretty good.

    How was the initial setup?

    Deployment was very easy.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    I think the price of Fortinet FortiGate is very reasonable.

    What other advice do I have?

    We were not able to build a full-mesh VPN; however, I am not sure if this was the fault of Fortinet FortiGate.

    On a scale from one to ten, I would give Fortinet FortiGate a rating of seven. 

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    GM: Information Systems at a logistics company with 501-1,000 employees
    Real User
    Its stability is the most valuable, and it is also scalable
    Pros and Cons
    • "Its stability is the most valuable."
    • "It should provide better visibility over the network and more information in the form of reports for the end users. Its installation should also be easier."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use it to create a WAN. We also use it for the UTM firewall.

    We don't have the latest versions. We've got the 60Ds and 30E products.

    What is most valuable?

    Its stability is the most valuable.

    What needs improvement?

    It should provide better visibility over the network and more information in the form of reports for the end users. Its installation should also be easier.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using this solution for about three years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    It is stable.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    It is scalable. We use it at five sites, and all in all, we have around 300 users.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    We don't deal with Fortinet.

    How was the initial setup?

    It was complex for me, but it was quick.

    What about the implementation team?

    We had to use an outside resource to set it up.

    What other advice do I have?

    We are going to move over to Meraki, so we won't be using this solution. I would recommend this solution to others, but it is a matter of preference.

    I would rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Officer / General Manager Software R&D Laboratory at a manufacturing company with 501-1,000 employees
    Real User
    Easy to use with good GUI and an easy initial setup
    Pros and Cons
    • "The usage in general is pretty good."
    • "The performance could be a bit better. Right now, I find it to be lacking. Having good performance is very important for our work."

    What is our primary use case?

    We primarily use the solution for the VPN.

    What is most valuable?

    The initial setup is pretty easy, at least if you are looking to take advantage of basic functionality.

    The usage in general is pretty good.

    The GUI is pretty good.

    What needs improvement?

    The support could be improved upon somewhat.

    The performance could be a bit better. Right now, I find it to be lacking. Having good performance is very important for our work.

    The command line operation is a bit out of our depth.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We've been dealing with the solution for about two years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The solution is quite stable. We don't have issues with bugs or glitches. For us, we haven't had problems with crashing or freezing. It's been working well for the most part.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    I can't speak to the scalability. I've never attempted to scale and therefore don't have a sense of how well the solution would take to it.

    We have about 30 engineers that work with the solution currently. I'm not sure, however, if there are any plans to increase usage in the future.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    The support wasn't the best. We weren't too satisfied with the level of service we were given.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup was very easy and straightforward. It was not complex. We do, however, use the basic functionality and therefore we don't really get into much complexity during the implementation.

    The deployment itself is rather quick and we were able to get everything sorted in about one day.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The pricing isn't too bad. Right now, we find the cost to be manageable.

    What other advice do I have?

    We're just a customer. We don't have a special business relationship with Fortinet.

    We're a development company. We sometimes use the cloud, however, we're open to other deployment models as well.

    I've found the solution to be very good. Overall, I would rate it nine out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Public Cloud

    If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

    Amazon Web Services (AWS)
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    IT & PPN Coordinator at a manufacturing company
    Real User
    Highly rated, easy to manage, and pretty easy to set up
    Pros and Cons
    • "The solution is very easy to understand. It's not overly complex."
    • "The solution needs to improve its integration with cybersecurity."

    What is our primary use case?

    Our organization has 45 branches. We use the Fortigate 200 models at our data centers and have centralized connectivity between our different branches and our data centers.

    What is most valuable?

    The solution is very easy to understand. It's not overly complex.

    The product is user-friendly and easy to manage.

    Fortigate overall has a very high security rating in Gartner. We feel safe under their security features. It has extended options as well, if you would like even more security for your organization.

    What needs improvement?

    The solution needs to improve its integration with cybersecurity. While in general, it's pretty good, this is always a concern as the landscape shifts constantly. They need to ensure they stay on top of things so that their security and integrations stay constantly up to date in order to protect our company. 

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We've been using the solution for seven to eight years. It's been quite a while. We have lots of experience with it.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The solution is quite stable. We don't have issues with the product freezing or crashing. We don't deal with glitches or bugs or anything of that nature. 

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The solution can scale if you need it to. That's not a problem at all.

    We do plan on continuing to use the service going forward.

    How was the initial setup?

    The solution overall is very easy to understand. Therefore, the initial setup is not complex. It's straightforward. Even the configurations are good. An organization shouldn't have too much trouble with it.

    How long it takes to deploy depends on  what you want to configure on a firewall. It depends on the policies being implemented. That definitely takes time depending on the company and what is being done. If you are familiar with all features and all the steps regarding how to create a policy and how to implement a policy, it is pretty easy and won't take too long. 

    What about the implementation team?

    I've handled the initial implementation myself many times. I don't necessarily need any outside assistance.

    What other advice do I have?

    Overall, I would recommend this solution. I'd rate it ten out of ten. We've enjoyed using the product and we appreciate its security features.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Owner at a consultancy with 1-10 employees
    Real User
    Top 10
    Stable, easy to set up, and offers good ROI
    Pros and Cons
    • "The ease of setting the solution up is a valuable aspect for us."
    • "The biggest "gotcha" is that if the client purchases what they call the UTM shared bundle, which has unified threat management on both, it's not as easy to manage if you have more than one firewall."

    What is our primary use case?

    I specify, configure and deploy firewalls  in organizations with 500 or fewer employees and 15 or fewer sites.  Primarily I choose between Cisco, Sonicwall and Fortigate small and medium sized appliances.  Occasionally I deploy virtual appliances in AWS.   I prefer to use Fortigate firewalls for several reasons- remote access is simple and the included client works with MacOS Windows and IOS devices.  The level of security works well for most clients and the authentication with AD/LDAP makes the solution easier to deploy.  I also find that the clients  appreciate the lower price point than other vendors.

    How has it helped my organization?

    We have a standard build. We give the client the laptop, and, especially with the pandemic, we send them home with the laptop or FedEx the laptop already configured, and the user is ready to go. 

    I don't even need to know the client's password. I can just install the software and create a profile. The client fills the profile in with simple instructions, types in their password instructions, and connects it and they're good. It's really simple. 

    That's why we have standardized recommending Fortinet. That doesn't mean that I don't support other solutions as well, however, the device that I like the best is the one that's easy to use for me and it's easy to use for the clients. The price point is not bad as well.

    What is most valuable?

    The ease of setting the solution up is a valuable aspect for us.

    The most valuable aspect that differentiates it from other solutions is that the client (the SSL VPN client or the IP sec VPN client, the same clients) is included in the solution. We don't have to pay extra for the software and the clients. 

    I have had some issues, but no more than others and I don't have to buy an expensive add-on license to do it and it's managed and it's updated automatically. That's the key thing, that the client is included and it updates itself so I don't have to do too much to manage it and it's very transparent to the end-user.

    What needs improvement?

    The biggest "gotcha" is that if the client purchases what they call the UTM shared bundle, which has unified threat management on both, it's not as easy to manage if you have more than one firewall. 

    If I wanted a unified console, I have to pay extra. And that's the downfall. That's the only needed improvement that I would say for the Fortinet solution, is that they should have it web-based from the get-go. You should not have to buy an extra bundle or an extra device.

    If I have to make an update to a web filter, and I have 12 devices, I've got to do it in 12 places. If I don't want to do that the client can pay for a pretty expensive device or virtual appliance that does that for them. It's like an expensive centralized management tool. That's the big downfall of Fortinet. It doesn't come included, you have to pay for it. Their web-based one, that's sort of just like an inventory manager. It's not really good for distributing roles. With Cisco, you don't have to do anything. The one from Aruba HD has one too. Fortinet should try to be similar to those options.

    In the next release, it would be amazing if they could give a better tool for upgrading, so that if I upgrade from an older version to the other, it can read the configuration and processes it for me so that I don't have to rewrite it from scratch. In FortiConverter, they have a tool like this, however, it doesn't work well. It's really more for bringing items in from other vendors, not from one version to the other.

    That was my last experience where they operated from version five to six. However, that's really the only big thing. The main thing is to include the FortiManager cloud software like Cisco does. To have one solution. If you paid $150 a year for the support, you might as well get that too so I could manage all the devices at one spot. They do have FortiCloud, however, it's not the same as the way Cisco does it. They are selling another product called FortiManager. FortiManager should be included with the support, and that would make it more of a business solution, rather than a feature request.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I would say that I have been using the solution for over 10 years. It's likely been between 10 and 15 years at this point.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Fortigate firewalls are very reliable- in the past 15 years I believe only 2 devices in a 100 have failed.  The failures were due to harsh environments (dust and water will ruin any electronic device).  The input I can give to any technology person or client looking to choose a firewall / threat management device I would highly recommend the stability / reliability of fortigate.  Once installed it will do it's job efficiently and effectively for several years.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    I will tell a client not to go with Fortinet if they have no firewall or they have a very, very old firewall. If this is from scratch, I'd say let's not go with Fortinet, let's go with Meraki if you have the money. I always say create the budget for it if you have a lot of sites, as Cisco does a better job if you have a lot of sites. If you have two sites, then it's fine to go with Fortinet. It'll scale to that scale. However, if you want to go over a couple of sites, it's not the best option.

    How was the initial setup?

    The solution's initial setup is straightforward. It's actually gotten better. I got good at doing it from scratch from the command line, or even from the GUI with all the 50 steps to set up stuff. However, now they're wizards and it's much better. It was the thing that probably a lot of people commented on initially, and they just worked hard to fix it. They updated the software from version four to five to six. They did a good job at making it easier.

    What was our ROI?

    If the client had a lot of downtime or a lot of issues with older equipment, or they did not like the fact that they had to pay every year just to be able to use the device, then the return on investment of spending $900 for a Fortinet 60E per site for a three-year contract will hands-down beat pretty much anybody. 

    It is definitely set it and forget it. There's very little input. You'll save money on consulting. If you were to call me and you're doing Juniper or you're doing Palo Alto, there's a lot more configuring and it's a lot harder to add stuff and therefore, as a consultant, I make more money, and I'm being serious. Once I set up a Fortinet I really don't have to touch it for years.

    Maybe I have to log in to check that I need to do an update, however, in that case, they usually send me an email saying hey, your license key is up and maybe you want to buy a new one. I take the old one out and put a new one in, that's when I get paid again. It's boiled down to that. 

    What other advice do I have?

    I'm not only an authorized reseller. I am a consultant that uses their equipment and recommends them on a routine basis. I am not a Fortinet partner, however.

    I use a series of FortiGate products, including the 60, the 90, and the 100. Some of them are E's, some of them are S's; it all depends. However, they have pretty much the same user interface.

    If a company is considering the solution, I'd advise that they consider purchasing the FortiManager if they really like the feature set and the way that Fortinet works. For example, a company we work with has these large scale solutions, and they use FortiManager. If you're a very large implementation, definitely look into Fortinet. If you're small, for example, under 20 devices, consider joining Cisco Meraki as it's so much easier. That's what I would tell any client. 

    FortiManager and FortiGate are really good. If you like the way the GUI works it's more flexible than Cisco. There are more bells and whistles, however, Cisco is going to be the way to do it if you're going to do 50 sites. If you were to do a lot of sites, consider Cisco. If not, you can do Fortinet.

    At the end of the day, the solution is very flexible, and if the client has special business partners that want a special type of nailed up VPN or special configuration for the clients, it offers that. The lesson I learned using the solution was to go with the solution that's most flexible for the client and at the same time is as low touch as possible. That's why I've standardized on FortiGate, as it's low touch for me and I'd rather spend time fixing other stuff or troubleshooting the other problems for clients than this particular solution.

    You want to spend less time fighting with your remote access solution or your firewall solution and work on other problems. It should not be a difficult thing, and yet, a lot of people struggle with that. Especially today with the pandemic, they have to be able to have access to their stuff and that's crucial. That's the biggest takeaway. Is it easy to manage it, is it easy to connect? If so, it's worth the investment.

    I would rate the solution nine out of ten. If they included FortiManager in their offering, I'd give the product a perfect ten.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Junior Support Analyst at a pharma/biotech company with 201-500 employees
    Real User
    A superior solution for endpoint security
    Pros and Cons
    • "The next-generation firewall is great."
    • "The captive portal could be improved."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use this solution for marketing and manipulation purposes.

    Within our organization, there are roughly 500 people using this solution.

    At the moment, we don't have any plans to extend our usage of this solution — currently, we are happy with the way things are.

    What is most valuable?

    The next-generation firewall is great.

    What needs improvement?

    The captive portal could be improved.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using this solution for four years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    This solution is very stable.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    I have never had to contact customer support. We have a team that handles all of the troubleshooting; however, they do provide excellent documentation.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup was very easy.

    What about the implementation team?

    At the moment, we don't have a deployment strategy.

    We have a team of three people who handle all maintenance-related issues.

    What other advice do I have?

    Overall, on a scale from one to ten, I would give Fortinet FortiGate a rating of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Owner at Gabutto MArket
    Real User
    Stable and useful for intrusion prevention, VPN, and anti-malware purposes
    Pros and Cons
    • "We are using the FortiGate 100D series. VPN, firewall, anti-malware, OTM, and intrusion prevention are useful features."
    • "It should have a better pricing plan. It is too expensive. It should also have a more granular view of the attack. I don't have FortiAnalyzer, and it is difficult for me to have a complete view when there is an attack on my server."

    What is most valuable?

    We are using the FortiGate 100D series. VPN, firewall, anti-malware, OTM, and intrusion prevention are useful features.

    What needs improvement?

    It should have a better pricing plan. It is too expensive. 

    It should also have a more granular view of the attack. I don't have FortiAnalyzer, and it is difficult for me to have a complete view when there is an attack on my server.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using this solution for six years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    It is stable.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    I don't have any experience with their technical support. My partner contacts them for me.

    How was the initial setup?

    Its installation is not easy for me because I handle some other work, but I have two partners. One of them is very skilled at using FortiGate, and it took him a day to deploy it. After that, it took us a week to set all parameters and check all parameters and firewall functions.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    It is too expensive for us. My organization is very small, and we have a total of ten users. We have three internal users and seven external users. The FortiGate 100D series is too expensive for renewing the licenses.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would recommend this solution if you can afford it. I would rate Fortinet FortiGate a nine out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Sales engineer/Technical support engineer at Vietnet
    Real User
    Top 10
    Offers SD-WAN functionality with security features in one device
    Pros and Cons
    • "The SD-WAN function is very developed. It has SD-WAN functionality with security features in one device. We can manage from one single console SD-WAN and the security policy."
    • "The central management for the FortiGate Fortinet Firewall needs improvement. They have the manager to do the essential management for both SD-WAN and for the security policy. They should also improve the SD-WAN function."

    What is our primary use case?

    I deploy SD-WAN and we use it for a next-gen firewall.

    What is most valuable?

    The SD-WAN function is very developed. It has SD-WAN functionality with security features in one device. We can manage from one single console SD-WAN and the security policy. You don't need to buy two separate devices for two functionalities. 

    You don't need to spend your time on both devices for an SD-WAN and a security firewall device. You only need to manage in one console

    What needs improvement?

    The central management for the FortiGate Fortinet Firewall needs improvement. They have the manager to do the essential management for both SD-WAN and the security policy. They should also improve the SD-WAN function.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using FortiGate for five years. 

    How are customer service and technical support?

    Their support is good. They are experts. 

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    I think the pricing is fair. 

    What other advice do I have?

    I would rate FortiGate an eight out of ten. They should improve the SD-WAN and central data management center.

    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Distributor
    PeerSpot user
    Senior Information Technology Auditor at a financial services firm with 1,001-5,000 employees
    Real User
    User-friendly, easy to operate, reliable, and easy to set up
    Pros and Cons
    • "It's user-friendly and easy to operate."
    • "The command line is complicated, and the interface could be better."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use it as an end-server and to block traffic.

    What is most valuable?

    It's user-friendly and easy to operate.

    What needs improvement?

    The command line is complicated, and the interface could be better.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been working with this solution for three years.

    We are using the latest version.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    It's a stable project. We plan to keep using it.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    This solution is scalable.

    We have 300 users in our organization.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    Technical support is a local vendor. We are satisfied with the support that we have received.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    Previously, we used a MikroTik firewall.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is not complex, it's easy. It took 30 minutes to deploy.

    It only requires one person to deploy and maintain.

    What about the implementation team?

    We have a vendor to support us.

    What other advice do I have?

    There is really nothing to complain about with this product. It's a very good product to use, and it has just started to get the top ratings for firewalls.

    This is a good product and I would recommend it.

    I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    CIO at a manufacturing company with 201-500 employees
    Real User
    Scalable and stable, fair pricing, and the VPN helps us with global site connectivity
    Pros and Cons
    • "I like that they have given me a solution at a fair price."
    • "The user interface could be improved."

    What is our primary use case?

    We are using this solution to filter communication to and from the website or our site. 

    We also use it to create a VPN connection for all of our sites in the world.

    What is most valuable?

    I like that they have given me a solution at a fair price.

    What needs improvement?

    The user interface could be improved.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been working with FortiGate for more than ten years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    It's a stable solution, we have not had any issues. It works.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    It's a scalable product. We have 600 users in our organization.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    We have not contacted technical support. We have been fortunate in that we did not have any issues that needed it.

    How was the initial setup?

    I am working as a manager, and I am not doing any of the configurations.

    We only require one person for the maintenance of this solution.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The pricing is fair.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would recommend this solution to others who are interested in using it. That said, nothing is perfect and there is always room for improvement.

    I would rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Firewall Engineer at a marketing services firm with 1-10 employees
    MSP
    Top 5Leaderboard
    Scalable solution with a straightforward setup
    Pros and Cons
    • "The solution is scalable."
    • "There are some problems that support cannot give you a logical reason as to why it happened. For example, I had a case where I was dealing with a WhatsApp application that was giving issues. Technical support gave more than one reason it could be giving issues, but none of them solved the problem. Eventually I solved the problem, but it was far from the solutions that support had given."

    What is our primary use case?

    I use the solution primarily for the VPN connections in local area. In some cases, I use it at universities in order to secure the local network in the university, such as servers and backup devices.

    I have also used the solution as a load balancer and the EMS functionality, which I use as a controller for wireless devices.

    What needs improvement?

    The PPPoE server protocol with a connection to a Radius server is used a lot by ISPs and not so much by the end user. I think it would be great to see this solution with the protocol developed for ISPs.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using the solution for more than two or three years.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The solution is scalable.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    There are some problems that support cannot give you a logical reason as to why it happened. For example, I had a case where I was dealing with a WhatsApp application that was giving issues. Technical support gave more than one reason it could be giving issues, but none of them solved the problem. Eventually I solved the problem, but it was far from the solutions that support had given.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    Before choosing Fortigate, I was using Cisco and pfSense.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup was very easy and straightforward.

    The time it takes to setup the solution depends on the case. It may take less than a day or more than two months, it depends on the technology that is being used. For example, a hospital I am working with has 20 switches with two firewalls, but there are issues in the physical place and not in Fortinet. In this case, the environment limits the speed of setup.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would rate FortiGate a nine out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
    PeerSpot user
    Jeff-S - PeerSpot reviewer
    Jeff-SUser at SRPS, LLC
    User

    How are these are unbiased reviews?  It's Fortinet Fortinet Fortinet.  There is very little concrete details.  I distrust user reviews in general because they can easily be coaxed / paid.  Most of these supposed reviewers demonstrate they aren't actively involved in using / managing the device.  In the "Sonicwall vs Fortinet" under the guy who chose Sonicwall after looking at Fortinet talks more about what is good about Fortinet than he does about Sonicwall!  It will be interesting to see if my comments here stick.

    Ariel Lindenfeld - PeerSpot reviewer
    Ariel LindenfeldDirector of Community at PeerSpot
    Vendor

    @Jeff-S Thanks for commenting. Reviews on IT Central Station are written by users with a varying range of experience, ranging from those who have daily hands-on experience to those that interact with the solution on a less regular basis. We have a strict policy whereby we do not offer gift cards or incentives in return for providing reviews.
    Ensuring reviews are only written by real users is a core value of ours. We only publish reviews from users who have used the solution in the past 12 months. We prefer to err on the side of caution and not publish reviews that are suspected of being bogus unless we can confirm that the reviewer has experience with the solution.
    You can learn more about our guidelines here: 
    www.itcentralstation.com/guidelines

    PeerSpot user
    Technical Lead at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
    Real User
    Stable with good technical support and very good UI
    Pros and Cons
    • "The user interface (UI) is very, very good."
    • "The search tool needs improvement. It's very difficult to search for policies right now."

    What is our primary use case?

    We primarily use the solution for the firewall. We use it for a perimeter firewall or access firewall inside the network to allow some zones to be disabled from one zone to another zone. 

    What is most valuable?

    The stability of the solution is excellent.

    The user interface (UI) is very, very good.

    What needs improvement?

    The search tool needs improvement. It's very difficult to search for policies right now.

    When we need to engage with the endpoint or our customer during an investigation, there should be a way to investigate the issues without the need for the customer to be present. It would make it much easier.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We've been using the product for the last few years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    We find the solution to be quite stable. It's very reliable. We don't have to worry about bugs or glitches on the system. It doesn't crash or freeze.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    We have more than 7.000 users on the solution right now.

    We do plan to continue to use the solution going forward.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    The technical support is very good. We're quite satisfied with the level of support we receive. We find them to be knowledgeable and responsive when we have issues. 

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    Before using FortiGate, we used Cisco. However, we found the Cisco solutions to be unstable and we needed to move away from them. We do still have some legacy Cisco solutions, however. We find they work better now, with FortiGate.

    How was the initial setup?

    We didn't have a problem with the installation. It wasn't complex in any way. We found it to be quite straightforward.

    The deployment process was very fast. It took less than a day for us to do everything we needed to do.

    In terms of maintenance, we have eight people taking care of the troubleshooting of tickets.

    What about the implementation team?

    An integrator helped us with the implementation process they were very helpful and extremely knowledgable. We had them in case something we wrong, however, nothing has gone wrong so far.

    What other advice do I have?

    We're a service provider. We work with clients that use the solution.

    We utilize both the 1500 and 3000 series of the product.

    I would definitely recommend this solution to other companies to use. We've had a good experience overall.

    In general, I would rate the solution a nine out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
    PeerSpot user
    Senior solution architect at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
    Real User
    Flexible to use and easy to set up
    Pros and Cons
    • "It is very flexible to use."
    • "It is stable, but its stability can be improved."

    What is our primary use case?

    The typical next-generation firewall use case is to restrict access to the users by using a firewall.

    What is most valuable?

    It is very flexible to use.

    What needs improvement?

    It is stable, but its stability can be improved. 

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using this solution for maybe four or five years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Its stability is just okay. It should be better.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The scalability of the device is limited.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    Technical support is okay. They could be more knowledgeable and faster.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    I was using Sophos. We switched because it was very unstable in terms of both software and hardware. I found a lot of vulnerabilities. Even though they provide a lot of features for a minimum cost, these features don't do what they are supposed to do.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup was easy. The deployment duration depends on the situation. I have done the installation in one to three days.

    What about the implementation team?

    I installed it myself. You just need one technical guy to maintain and manage the firewall. It is a small product for 200 to 500 users.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    It has a competitive price. 

    What other advice do I have?

    I would recommend this solution. We plan to continue using it. Even though it has a few stability issues, its price is competitive. 

    I would rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
    PeerSpot user
    Chief Information Officer at a analyst firm with 10,001+ employees
    Real User
    A stable and scalable solution but the setup is pretty complex and not easy to implement
    Pros and Cons
    • "Fortinet FortiGate appears to be scalable."
    • "The setup is pretty complex and not easy to implement."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use it for our paralegal security, our internet operations, and network zone segmentation.

    What needs improvement?

    It could be more stable and secure. They can improve the ability to make changes, change requests, and provide more rounded monitoring in terms of security and potential threats.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    My team has been using Fortinet FortiGate for a few years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Fortinet FortiGate appears to be stable. 

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Fortinet FortiGate appears to be scalable. 

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    We previously used Palo Alto.

    How was the initial setup?

    The setup is pretty complex and not easy to implement. 

    What about the implementation team?

    Implemented by our in-house team. 

    What other advice do I have?

    I would give Fortinet FortiGate a seven out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    it_user1383504 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Information Security at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees
    Real User
    Great web tutor and automated rules by schedule features
    Pros and Cons
    • "The web tutor and automatic rules by schedule are good features."
    • "They've become quite expensive."

    What is our primary use case?

    Our primary use case of this solution is for the UTM it offers and the access to VPN. We have branches in Rio, Singapore and the UK. I'm an information security manager and we are customers of Fortinet. 

    What is most valuable?

    The most valuable features for me are the web tutor and the automated rules by schedule - the VPN itself. 

    What needs improvement?

    Fortinet is huge in today's market and they've become quite expensive. I think there are products at the same level as Fortinet, but with better prices. They've changed their subscription plan and are now forcing companies to subscribe 24/7. 

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've been using the solution for around five years. 

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    We never had any issues or problems related to stability. 

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    There are other products on the market that are a little better than FortiGate in terms of scalability, but in general it's a good solution. We have about 200 users in the company. 

    How are customer service and technical support?

    We didn't need to contact technical support very much. We had a local partner and if there were problems we contacted them directly.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup was straightforward. We were implementing on a large project and it took a weekend to completely deploy with all the features, connections and everything. 

    What other advice do I have?

    They have very good documentation and if you've had experience with other products I'm pretty sure that you'd be able to deploy just by reading the documentation.

    I would rate this solution an eight out of 10. 

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Technical Services Manager at ProComm technologies
    Real User
    Helpful SD-WAN feature for uptime and privatizing applications, but needs better stability and integration
    Pros and Cons
    • "The SD-WAN feature is the most valuable. This feature evolved from link load balancing. It has helped us in terms of our uptime and privatizing applications whenever we experience an outage. The SD-WAN feature has been a plus for us. Two-factor authentication has allowed us to add more users in terms of remote working. We have two-factor authentication for remote workers to authenticate them before they get on the network."
    • "It should be more stable. There should be full integration within Fortinet products themselves as well as with other third-party products. Especially when you're not dealing with SIEM and the correlation of the security box, we want Fortinet to be able to share that information with as many other products as it can."

    What is our primary use case?

    We're using it as an edge or a perimeter firewall. We have also used it to segment our LAN in terms of the endpoints and the servers, and we're also using it for remote access using SSL VPN. We have two other sites that we connect through FortiGate by using an IPSec, and we have integrated it with FortiAuthenticator for two-factor authentication and FortiAnalyzer to analyze logs and things like that. We are currently using the FortiGate 1200D series and running the latest software.

    What is most valuable?

    The SD-WAN feature is the most valuable. This feature evolved from link load balancing. It has helped us in terms of our uptime and privatizing applications whenever we experience an outage. The SD-WAN feature has been a plus for us. 

    Two-factor authentication has allowed us to add more users in terms of remote working. We have two-factor authentication for remote workers to authenticate them before they get on the network.

    What needs improvement?

    It should be more stable. There should be full integration within Fortinet products themselves as well as with other third-party products. Especially when you're not dealing with SIEM and the correlation of the security box, we want Fortinet to be able to share that information with as many other products as it can.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for four years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    In terms of stability, I would rate it a seven out of ten. It should be more stable. Sometimes when you do firmware upgrades, a feature that was previously working is broken. There are things like that, but I guess that can be taken care of by reading the release notes and seeing what changed in the firmware upgrades.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    It is highly scalable. A customer had about 500 users.

    How was the initial setup?

    The installation was straightforward.

    What about the implementation team?

    We deployed it ourselves. You just need one engineer for its deployment and maintenance.

    What other advice do I have?

    We are skilled in Fortinet and Check Point. For customers who specifically want Fortinet, we will continue to provide this solution. Our first preference is Check Point, but if a customer insists on Fortinet, then we can do a lot of integration there and incorporate other products like FortiNAC, FortiWifi, and so on.

    I would recommend this solution to others. I would rate Fortinet FortiGate a seven out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Integrator
    PeerSpot user
    Deputy General Manager Information Technology at a media company with 201-500 employees
    Real User
    Good filtering, ROI, and technical support
    Pros and Cons
    • "We use the filtering feature the most. It has filtering and inbuilt securities. We can create customized rules to define which users can access a particular type of site. We can create policies inside the firewall."
    • "The visibility of the network can be better. The GUI can be improved for better visibility of the network flow. Other solutions have better GUI in terms of network visibility."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use it for routing and restricting user access.

    What is most valuable?

    We use the filtering feature the most. It has filtering and inbuilt securities. We can create customized rules to define which users can access a particular type of site. We can create policies inside the firewall.

    What needs improvement?

    The visibility of the network can be better. The GUI can be improved for better visibility of the network flow. Other solutions have better GUI in terms of network visibility.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using this solution for maybe five or six years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    It is stable.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    You can have the availability features. All the traffic goes through this firewall for access to the outside world.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    Their technical support is good.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    We were using some open-source solutions, and then we directly moved to firewalls.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup was straightforward. It was completed in a month or so.

    What about the implementation team?

    We implemented it on our own. We are a small team, so a person with a few other duties also manages this solution.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    It is not a very costly product if you compare it with other products. The return on investment is also good. If you compare the return of investment and money that you are spending on this product with Palo Alto, Cisco, Check Point, and other solutions, the investment is very less. We are happy with this solution.

    The optional licenses are there, and you can choose which one you want and which one to avoid.

    What other advice do I have?

    It is a fine solution. We have been using this solution for some years, and we are happy with it. We will continue using it unless the FortiGate solution is running itself in some other ways with new features.

    I would recommend this solution. It is working fine for us. 

    I would rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    CEO e confundador at Infinity Learning
    Reseller
    Good application control features and very stable and reliable
    Pros and Cons
    • "The application control features, such as Facebook blocking and Spotify blocking, are the most valuable."
    • "The license renewal process, annual renewal price, and the web application firewall features should be improved."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use it to protect our or our customers' full environment by using features such as IPS signatures, VPN, endpoint protection, and antivirus.

    What is most valuable?

    The application control features, such as Facebook blocking and Spotify blocking, are the most valuable.

    What needs improvement?

    The license renewal process, annual renewal price, and the web application firewall features should be improved.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using this solution for two years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    It has been very stable and reliable. We are comfortable with its stability.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    It is good enough for us. We have about 15 employees who use this solution.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    I would rate them a nine out of ten.

    How was the initial setup?

    The set up was a little complex, but the interface and the process are user friendly.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The license is too expensive to renew. The license renewal process is also complex. 

    What other advice do I have?

    I would advise others to use the documentation. The official documentation is very comprehensive and complete. I use the Cookbook Reference Guide.

    I would rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten. 

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Public Cloud
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller
    PeerSpot user
    Solution Architect at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
    Reseller
    Easy to configure and manage, supports link load balancing, and it has superior throughput
    Pros and Cons
    • "The most important feature, normally for small business customers, is link load balancing."
    • "If they had better integration with security products, such as Cisco ISE or Rapid Threat Containment, then it would be an improvement."

    What is our primary use case?

    We are a system integrator and Fortigate is one of the firewalls that we implement for our clients. I am a solution architect.

    Our primary use for this firewall is the IPS.

    What is most valuable?

    One of the things I like best is the ease of configuration.

    Management-wise, it is very good.

    The most important feature, normally for small business customers, is link load balancing.

    The firewall throughput is very good. Most of the customers in this region use FortiGate for their data center firewalls, and the main reason is because of its high throughput.

    What needs improvement?

    Fortinet is good in terms of security and threat prevention, but they are not leading. For example, the signature database can be improved.

    If they had better integration with security products, such as Cisco ISE or Rapid Threat Containment, then it would be an improvement. Customers that have ISE implemented are able to provide inputs based on malicious traffic, and then ISE will automatically block it.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We have been working with Fortinet FortiGate for the past two years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Stability-wise, they are good at the job of a data center firewall. For a perimeter firewall, it is for smaller customers, preferably.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The scalability depends on the design and how it was done. You have to think about the next five years. We get lots of new updates on the older versions and if the product is still in support then the new features will be included.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    The responsiveness of the support depends on the level of support that you have. If you have premium support then you will get immediate access to them. Otherwise, you have to wait for some time, perhaps an hour, before they get back to you.

    On the technical details, there are different levels of access. Once you have engineer access then most of the cases are going to get resolved, or otherwise, they will go to their development team.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    In addition to FortiGate, we are using Cisco SFR.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is straightforward. We have field configuration guides that we follow and you don't need to have much in-depth knowledge to set it up initially. However, performing the fine-tuning requires that you have proper training on the device.

    Deploying the firewall for a new customer will be completed within two to three days, or perhaps a week at the most.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    Compared to vendors like Cisco and Palo Alto, FortiGate is the cheapest. However, they only have a small segment of the market. Fortinet is trying to appeal to small and medium-sized customers, and I think that their prices should be a little lower for this segment.

    On the high-end devices, it is fine. However, the problem is that their subscription price is very high. If you purchase a one-year subscription with the hardware and then you want to renew for the second year, it is very costly. Your whole price ends up being very high.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    As a system integrator, we sell a lot of similar solutions from a variety of vendors. We have found that the Fortinet firewall has a much better throughput than that of the other vendors.

    If a large customer is looking for a perimeter firewall then we suggest another vendor, such as Check Point or Palo Alto.

    What other advice do I have?

    FortiGate is a product that we recommend and we have migrated many customers from other vendors. FortiGate is a better option, although small customers don't care much about security. They only care about basic security. There are only a very few who are really concerned about it and most of them don't have a proper IT group in their company. 

    I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
    PeerSpot user
    System Administrator at a computer software company with 501-1,000 employees
    Real User
    Easy to configure and the technical support is good, but the newer versions have issues with stability
    Pros and Cons
    • "The most valuable feature is the ease of configuration."
    • "One of the problems I was having was with user mapping, and it is an issue for which I have escalated tickets with Fortinet support."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use this firewall as part of our security solution.

    What is most valuable?

    The most valuable feature is the ease of configuration.

    What needs improvement?

    There are a lot of known issues in some newer versions of the FortiGate operating system, so there is room for improvement with that. One of the problems I was having was with user mapping, and it is an issue for which I have escalated tickets with Fortinet support.

    Having the newer features work in the older, more stable versions of the product would be great. Some of the new features might really help a lot, but there are problems with stability.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been working with FortiGate for approximately two years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    There are a lot of new features built into newer releases, but there are not very stable. 

    How are customer service and technical support?

    The Fortinet technical support is awesome. They're handling my problem quickly and doing it well.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The price is okay.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    I have compared solutions from other vendors including Palo Alto.

    What other advice do I have?

    This is a good product, however, there is always room for improvement.

    I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.

    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
    PeerSpot user
    Director at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
    Reseller
    Good pricing with very good threat and content filtering switches
    Pros and Cons
    • "The solution has very good threat and content filtering switches."
    • "It's my understanding that more of the current generation features could be brought in. There could be more integration with EDRs, for example."

    What is our primary use case?

    We have used the solution as a perimeter firewall. We are using it as an anti-ATP solution also.

    What is most valuable?

    The firewall features are pretty good. 

    The solution has very good threat and content filtering switches.

    The initial installation is fairly easy.

    What needs improvement?

    I'm from the sales side and therefore I wouldn't really know if there are features that are lacking.

    It's my understanding that more of the current generation features could be brought in. There could be more integration with EDRs, for example.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've been using the solution for two or three years. It hasn't been too long.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The solution is stable. It doesn't have any issues with bugs and glitches. It doesn't crash and freeze. It's very reliable.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Since we are integrators, this product gets sold to people who have a minimum 25 and up to 600 users.

    At the moment, we don't plan to increase usage.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    The technical support is very good. We're satisfied with their level of support. They are quite responsive and knowledgeable.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    We were previously using Sophos and Watchguard.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is not complex. It's pretty much a straightforward implementation. There aren't really any surprises.

    The length of deployment differs based on the kind of policies a client would like to implement. If they are very simple policies, then there isn't a lot of work to worry about. However, if there are complex policies or multiple policies, it does take some time to get things up and running.

    I didn't handle the installation personally, as I am in sales.

    We have three or four people in our organization who handle maintenance.

    What about the implementation team?

    We have a systems integrator in-house that handles the deployment.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The solution isn't too expensive.

    What other advice do I have?

    We're integrators. We help our clients with this solution.

    We're using the latest version of the solution.

    I'd recommend this solution to other users. 

    Overall, I would rate the solution nine out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Integrator.
    PeerSpot user
    Network Security Engineer at Social Security Commission
    Real User
    Top 5Leaderboard
    Good interface with good reporting and useful templates
    Pros and Cons
    • "There are great templates, so you don't have to customize them if you don't want to. You do have the option to custom create some folders and some reports, however, with what is there, you don't really need to go through extra effort, as they already give you a lot of predefined views of reports and so forth."
    • "There are SD-WAN network monitoring, SD-WAN features, Industrial Databases, Internet of Things, Detection, etc., however, we do have not licenses for those features. We thought that if you bought a product, you should have all of the features it offers. Why should you need to make so many extra purchases to enable features? They should have one price for the entire offering."

    What is our primary use case?

    We primarily use the solution as a firewall.

    What is most valuable?

    We use the firewall to enforce our company ideologies and principles and policies. The solution has built-in features for web filtering that are great. It categorizes it nicely for you. 

    The interface itself is nice to work with. It's a lot better than the initial interface that they used to have around version four. I used to work for FortiGate some time back, and the earlier interfaces were not as good as these latest ones. 

    I like that once you open it up, you have a dashboard that can give you a holistic overview of what is happening. You can see, for example, how your resources are doing on your firewall or if you still have disc space for logs and so forth.

    The solution gives you an immediate view of what's happening on the hardware itself. What we have done with FortiGate is we have put up a FortiAnalyzer, a FortiGate reporting hardware. We are using it in conjunction with FortiGate. 

    The solution offers good reporting. We get our reports from there. We have the opportunity to get real-time reports. 

    There are great templates, so you don't have to customize them if you don't want to. You do have the option to custom create some folders and some reports, however, with what is there, you don't really need to go through extra effort, as they already give you a lot of predefined views of reports and so forth.

    We have access to quite a few features. The web filter and application control are primarily what we are using. Then we also have a VPN feature, which allows for our remote users to connect and get through the firewall. 

    What needs improvement?

    The commercial side of things can be improved a bit. They have such a good product, and when you disable some features, it has to be commercialized for you to enjoy those features. Therefore, you are actually buying half a product. You have hardware there, and yet, your features are not enabled. The primary things, such as the antivirus, web filter, DNS filter, application intrusion, file filter, and email filter come with the general license. There are other things that you want to also enjoy in this system and you can't. 

    There are SD-WAN network monitoring, SD-WAN features, Industrial Databases, Internet of Things, Detection, etc., however, we do have not licenses for those features. We thought that if you bought a product, you should have all of the features it offers. Why should you need to make so many extra purchases to enable features? They should have one price for the entire offering. That's one of the drawbacks they could look at. 

    Sometimes the firmware automatically updates itself. Then it corrupts the configuration and you have to roll back or you have to do amendments to the configurations. That, however, has happened only once with us. We have put in controls for automatic updates to stop them and now we do manual allowance or we allow the manual update.

    Most of the features are good. They give you pricing and you get a VPN for about 10 users where you can test it. For us, we feel that we need to buy extra licenses due to COVID, as people are working from home. Under the current conditions, we are not getting the best out of the firewall. 

    They could just maybe put better graphics or better reporting into the solution. I want to know who is the user and what is the exact website they're visiting. Something like that would help. They should do more like what the GFI is doing.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We've been using the solution for a bit over a year now.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    6.4.2 is our current version. The latest is 6.4.3. It's available like I say, however, we have not installed it. We'll wait until around December, then we will then install that one. We like to wait to witness its stability. Once we know it is bug-free, then we allow it to run as the latest platform.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    We have a cluster and we have configured it with high availability. What we have done is we have put one primary and one secondary in case it breaks or it gets damaged. We have a third one at our DR site as well, which works in conjunction with Plateau. We have employed the same rules and some stricter rules on the DR site, just to allow traffic between these machines.

    We allow certain times for updates on the infrastructure we have at the DR. We are planning some more, however, we don't enjoy all the features yet. We want to bring in an SD-WAN. Maybe that can also help us with scaling our network at different angles and from the cloud or being from an LD device or so forth. We're still working on that.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    We have a partner that we work with. We have support at another level and I'm the primary person that looks after the firewall. If I have an issue that is urgent and I don't have the time to do the knowledge base to actually turn it around, we usually engage our partner, which has engineers that have the knowledge necessary to deal with it and who are certified in FortiGate. 

    We have what is called FortiCare. We have FortiCare support as well for firmware and general updates and all those other things. I normally do updates and so forth myself. It's very little intervention from outside technical support.

    How was the initial setup?

    Having background knowledge, the initial implementation was not really complex for me. You just need to know your environment and what is needed as well as what is allowed. 

    The business input was the only item outstanding as there were issues such as who needs to have social media access at what time and who needs to have full access. Those were business decisions, however, but from the technical side, it was fairly easy.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    They have almost all the features embedded in the solution. It's just that some features are not available because you have to pay for it. There are lots of add-ons available, and you need to pay extra for them, so pricing can add up.

    What other advice do I have?

    We are strictly a government entity. We are a customer.

    The model that we are using is the 500E, which is for small and medium enterprises. We are not a big institution. We do not have the latest version. We like to wait about three months before we apply anything new to make sure the early releases aren't flawed. After three months, after we've got a good review, then we will say, "Okay, let's upgrade to that version."

    Even though we feel that sometimes they create a new version to take care of a vulnerability or threat, we like to be safe and avoid bugs. The version that we are fitting currently is 6.4.2, which is fairly stable.

    Apart from the fact that they should just include everything in their offering, everything else works fine for me. There's a whole lot of Fortinet products that work together, FortiSwitches, FortiAP's, etc. Overall, I would give it eight of ten. 

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Network Engineer at a comms service provider with 51-200 employees
    Real User
    Good performance and web filter capability
    Pros and Cons
    • "The most valuable feature is the web filter."
    • "Some of the features in the graphical user interface do not work, which requires that we used the command-line-interface."

    What is our primary use case?

    This firewall is an antivirus, protects against spam, and is an IPS.

    What is most valuable?

    The most valuable feature is the web filter.

    The performance is fine.

    What needs improvement?

    Some of the features in the graphical user interface do not work, which requires that we used the command-line-interface. We have problems with that.

    Log retention should be greater than 24 hours.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using FortiGate for about eight years.

    How was the initial setup?

    The complexity of the initial setup depends on the implementation. There are some that are very simple, whereas others are complex.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would rate this solution a ten out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
    PeerSpot user
    CEO at SAYCOM
    Reseller
    Intuitive, easy to install, with good reporting and support
    Pros and Cons
    • "It's quite comfortable to handle the FortiGate firewall."
    • "Sometimes you do need to know some CLI commands, so it's a bit harder for technicians or new people that don't know it."

    What is our primary use case?

    We are resellers. We provide products and services to our customers.

    It's not just one product. We have been using and installing different kinds of solutions for more than ten years.

    What is most valuable?

    I do remember that, of course, the interface was good. It's intuitive, and when we installed it together with access points, we could manage them from one place or from the cloud or from FortiGate itself. 

    It's quite comfortable to handle the FortiGate firewall. The fact that we received reports by email, also good. All in all, it's quite a good product, of course, a very good product.

    What needs improvement?

    If it would integrate everything in one place then it would be an improvement.

    I wanted to buy some switches and integrate them into the system, but we couldn't find anyone here in Israel to provide them or to provide support. Also, we could not get a replacement if something needed to be replaced. 

    We wanted to use one vendor to do everything from one managed central management point. It may be something they offer now, but I am not sure.  

    It would be helpful if we can have one easy place to manage, or from the cloud to all the devices that are at the client's location. This is the backbone, the switches, the access points, FortiGate, everything. 

    Sometimes you do need to know some CLI commands, so it's a bit harder for technicians or new people that don't know it. 

    So, if you could do everything without that, it would be much easier when you do V-LANs.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We have been using this solution for a few years.

    We are working with several versions because we install them for our customers.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    It's a stable product.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    It fits for small and medium-sized companies. Regarding the very big ones, I don't know, I'm not in the enterprise market. But for our clients that are offices or companies that are sized between 20 users and 300 users, it's okay. It's good for them.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    When I contacted technical support a few times, they were good.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    Previously, we worked with Check Point.

    They are both good products that are easy to use and have good support.

    They're both good. I use them both, it depends on the customer, and what their requirements are. It also depends on which would give you the best value for the money at the time. I don't know how to say which one is better as a firewall. 

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is easy.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    It's an expensive solution. The price should be lower.

    What other advice do I have?

    In the beginning, I would be the one who would install them, but later it will be our technicians.

    I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    Public Cloud
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: reseller
    PeerSpot user
    Branch Manager at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
    Reseller
    Top 20
    User-friendly with an easy setup and a good user interface
    Pros and Cons
    • "The initial installation is very straightforward."
    • "There are some cloud-based features that could be much more flexible than they currently are."

    What is our primary use case?

    We primarily use the solution for network security and security next-generation firewalls.

    What is most valuable?

    The solution is quite user-friendly. 

    We find that the system interface is simple to navigate.

    The initial installation is very straightforward.

    What needs improvement?

    There are some cloud-based features that could be much more flexible than they currently are.

    It's my understanding that they are currently working on improving the cloud solution quite substantially.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've been using the solution for five years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The solution is very stable. It doesn't have bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze. It's reliable.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    We find the solution to be quite scalable. If your organization needs to expand this solution out, you shouldn't have any problems doing so.

    We have two or three different locations and have between 50 to 200 users amongst those locations.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    The technical support is very good.

    Most of the time, whenever a ticket is opened and we reach out to support on behalf of our customers, they offer good advice and are very responsive. We're satisfied with the level of service we're provided. 

    How was the initial setup?

    The implementation is not complex. It's very straightforward to set up and does not take a lot of time to deploy everything.

    That said, I did not handle the implementation myself, so I can't speak to more technical aspects of the job.

    We had four or five resources that assist in network security and they all helped with the deployment.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    I don't handle the pricing side of the product and therefore can't speak to anything in regards to the licensing or costs.

    What other advice do I have?

    Although we largely handle on-premises deployment models, we have suggested cloud versions to our clients recently.

    We are a solution-providing company, and we are offering products to our customers.

    Although we really enjoy the solution, there's a lot of very interesting competition in the market. The competition is huge. As a partner of the product, we get a lot of questions we have to answer, and, to be honest, this solution isn't as strong in some areas as others.

    That said, we would recommend the solution to others. 

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

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
    PeerSpot user
    Project Manager at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
    Real User
    Good pricing, good technical support, and fairly user-friendly
    Pros and Cons
    • "The pricing is excellent. It's much less expensive than Cisco."
    • "The initial setup is complex."

    What is our primary use case?

    I'm primarily using the solution for security purposes, and also for managing the network for various companies. I am deploying it for uniting management statuses, in order to be able to manage everything inside and to control security policies. It can fight against attacks to the system or for email searches. It is basically a central management security appliance.

    What is most valuable?

    We find it's good for managing the network and offers good defense against attacks.

    Technical support is great. It's really fast.

    Overall the solution is pretty user-friendly. It has a good dashboard and is pretty easy to navigate.

    The pricing is excellent. It's much less expensive than Cisco.

    What needs improvement?

    The only thing is sometimes you have to learn with CLI. For those not familiar with CLI it can be an issue. It would be ideal if we could avoid using CLI. If you make a mistake in the command line, it's harder to detect. It would be much better if they had a user-friendly GUI.

    The initial setup is complex.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I've been using the solution for five years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The solution is very stable. You don't have to worry about bugs or glitches. I tend to wait and not upgrade to the latest version right away to ensure this is the case.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The solution is scalable. If you need to expand it, you can. We have it at a variety of networks and sites with no problem.

    We have 120 users that are connected to a minimum of 80 computers and a minimum of 15 servers, which is great. The solution is working and it is still stable even across all of these devices and servers. We have multiple networks inside as well, so we are not only on one network. We set them separately, which is why the initial setup for us was quite complex. We're through with that though.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    The technical support is pretty good. they're pretty knowledgeable and responsive, especially when you get to the Level 3 techs.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    We previously used CheckPoint. Unfortunately, they didn't have a very good service, especially in technical support, and therefore we decided to switch.

    How was the initial setup?

    For our organization, the initial setup was not straightforward. It was pretty complex. That's due to the fact that we had many networks to set up and many sites to take into account.

    What about the implementation team?

    We set up the solution ourselves, although we did work closely with Fortinet as part of their bundle package.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The licensing is paid on a yearly basis.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    I evaluated Palo Alto. They didn't have the complete solution we wanted. Neither did Juniper, which we also looked at. We looked into possible having Cisco, however, Cisco is too expensive. 

    When we looked at Cisco, we also evaluated Meraki, which is a part of Cisco. It did not have what we needed either. 

    What other advice do I have?

    We are using the 200E in our environment. We had 200D before.

    We're not using the latest version of the solution, which is 6.4. I like to wait on new versions to see if it is stable before deploying it. I like to take my time and avoid headaches where possible.

    I would recommend the product to other organizations. It's got great bundle options which make it a very good choice - and it's much cheaper than Cisco.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Enterprise Service Manager at Technology Associates Limited
    Real User
    Easy to configure and very user-friendly, with a great graphical interface
    Pros and Cons
    • "It's very fast and easy to configure."
    • "The performance and speed are aspects of the solution that could always be improved upon."

    How has it helped my organization?

    Unlike Cisco, which is expensive, or Sophos, which has performance issues, Fortinet offers a good product with no bottlenecks.

    What is most valuable?

    The UTM and security features are the solution's most valuable aspects.

    It's very fast and easy to configure.

    The solution is extremely user-friendly.

    The graphical interface is great.

    Now, we are able to optimize the bandwidth. We have the level of control to be able to block specific sites - like YouTube, Facebook etc.

    What needs improvement?

    The performance and speed are aspects of the solution that could always be improved upon.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We've been using the solution for the last two years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The solution is very stable. We haven't experienced any issues in the last two years. It's reliable. There aren't bugs or glitches. It works well.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    We have 400 users covered under the firewall and 50 employees. We've never had issues with scaling. It shouldn't be a problem. However, it's not something we actively measure.

    We plan to increase usage and to continue to use the product for another three years. After that we may upgrade to a new Fortinet product or seek out a new solution, depending on the landscape at that time.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    We haven't really faced any technical challenges. We just install it and it runs perfectly. Therefore we don't really have any experience with technical support.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    Previously, maybe five to seven years ago, I had Cisco. We moved firewalls due to the fact that the renewal cost on Cisco was so high. At the time, we moved to Sophos. It was very good on the UTM side. However, there were performance challenges. That's why we switched to Fortinet. The internet speed is okay and there are no bottlenecks or major challenges.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is not complex. It's pretty straightforward. 

    It's pretty simple for us as we're very familiar with the product. Every year we do a minimum one or two million dollars of business with Fortinet. At this point, my team is very experienced. 

    It's very easy to migrate from other solutions and we can migrate within one day.

    It's pretty plug-and-play. You can handle everything in an hour or two and then you can do the testing. It's very easy.

    What about the implementation team?

    We handle the implementation for our clients as we're Fortinet partners and well versed in the product.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    We received this solution for free because we are one of the leading and exclusive partners for Fortinet in Uganda.

    What other advice do I have?

    We're partners with Fortinet.

    I'm not sure of the exact version of the solution.

    Overall, I'd rate the solution nine out of ten. It's offered us a very stable VPN and we can access it from anywhere in the world. We're not facing any challenges whatsoever.

    I'd happily recommend Fortinet to other organizations. It's one of the best products out there.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
    PeerSpot user
    President at simnet
    Real User
    Detailed analytics that integrates with SIEM products and has good support
    Pros and Cons
    • "The most valuable feature of this solution is the analytics."
    • "Quality control on their firmware versions needs improvement. When they introduce new firmware, there tend to be bugs."

    What is our primary use case?

    Typically, we use Fortinet FortiGate with edge devices for businesses. 

    We also use them to integrate with a SIEM product and we use it for detailed analytics.

    What is most valuable?

    The most valuable feature of this solution is the analytics.

    What needs improvement?

    Quality control on their firmware versions needs improvement. When they introduce new firmware, there tend to be bugs.

    I would like the licensing price to be better. It would be nice if it were less than 25 percent of the hardware costs.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using this solution for fifteen years. We are an MSSP.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The stability is good.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    With respect to scalability, it's good.

    We have 15 people using this solution in our organization.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    We contact technical support almost daily. They have good support.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup was not straightforward but not too complex. It's a bit of both.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    For our organization, the licensing costs are approximately $7,000 per year.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    Before choosing the Fortinet FortiGate, I evaluated other solutions.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would rate Fortinet FortiGate a nine out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
    PeerSpot user
    Director of IT with 51-200 employees
    Real User
    Good reliability and robust solution
    Pros and Cons
    • "It's super reliable. I don't think I've ever had a reliability issue with it."
    • "Monitoring and reporting could be better."

    What is our primary use case?

    We primarily use this solution as a firewall.

    It's our main firewall, but we're planning to replace it with a pfSense for reasons I will discuss.

    How has it helped my organization?


    What is most valuable?

    It's super reliable. I don't think I've ever had a reliability issue with it. Within the four years that I've been using it, maybe two or three times, resetting the firewall was what solved the problem. It's been super, super solid. I never have to think twice. If I ever experience a problem, the firewall is the last thing I think about. I never need to check it because it's never the problem. It's just super solid. It's also pretty robust. I know that there are more robust solutions out there, but not by a lot.

    What needs improvement?

    In the enterprise proprietary world, Fortinet, in my experience, considering its cost and reliability (maybe they could bring the price down or maybe they could make more plans), I honestly don't think that there is much room for improvement. I think it's a pretty good solution for anyone who is looking for a proprietary solution. I wouldn't look anywhere else.

    Cisco, for example, is probably way overpriced. Fortinet on the other hand, one of their strong sides is that they have an all-encompassing solution with a very reasonable price point. Cisco and other brands are a little bit more modular — to get everything you'd have to buy a lot of different packages.

    An automated guide feature or templates that you could pick and choose would be a nice addition.

    It's definitely not as easy to look at traffic as I would like. Sometimes when I'm trying to see what traffic has been blocked or what traffic has been passed, it's not as easy as I would like to filter it out or to monitor bandwidth.

    The monitoring is not as good as it could be. It could be a lot easier to understand. For example, I was trying to figure out, in a given timeframe, how much was downloaded off of a certain interface and I didn't really understand how I could get that information or if it was even available. I was searching the documentation online and I couldn't even figure it out. Monitoring and reporting could be better; It's very good, but there's definitely a lot of ways to improve it.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for four years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Fortinet FortiGate is super stable, one hundred percent. Just works 24/7 without any issues like you would expect from an enterprise product.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    I know that it's scalable, but I don't actually have any experience regarding scalability. It's probably not as scalable as pfSense because pfSense is based on open hardware platforms. I definitely know that proprietary platforms usually tend to be less scalable because they're more constrained with licensing. The scalability in my opinion would be decent, satisfactory, but I believe pfSense is probably more scalable. I know that there are a lot of big corporations like Google and others that use pfSense. I don't know the details. I'm just giving my educated guess.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    I personally prefer pfSense as it's open-source and you only have to pay a minimal fee for support. But for people who want that platform, I think it's a great solution. If I wasn't using pfSense, I would definitely go with FortiGate.

    The two products are completely different. If you're using pfSense, you're basically using the entire open-source world — so you're based on FreeBSD, you're using Snorts, everything is open-source. It's very easy to make modifications and to figure out what's going on. You're not dependent on your single company's documentation, there's a huge user base. It's very easy to modify and extend. You can see what's going on — it's very transparent in that sense. It's probably a little bit more manual. With pfSense, You have to put in a little bit more effort to get things done, but, in the end (aside from the huge cost savings), you get all the features that are available in an enterprise firewall for just the price of support, which is also very minimal.

    If you need to make any tweaks, you can do it all yourself. If you need to tweak ciphers for SSL for compliance (for PCI, for security compliance) it's not a difficult thing to do; it's a fairly trivial task.

    How was the initial setup?

    I didn't set it up initially, but I did set up a lot of things from scratch. I think it could be more simple. When you're looking at a proprietary solution, usually it's aimed for end-users and they just want to do point and click. I believe in certain aspects, pfSense was simpler. I think there's maybe just a bit of a learning curve, but I guess you would experience that with any platform.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    I think that the pricing is fair.

    What other advice do I have?

    On a scale from one to ten, I would give Fortinet FortiGate a rating of nine.

    Other than the price and the lack of extensibility and transparency (which is inherent in any proprietary platform); if you're going to compare it to pfSense, then I would not give it a nine. I would give it an eight, and I would give pfSense a 10. pfSense has its drawbacks, but not that many, in my opinion. 

    Take the time to learn the platform and you won't run into trouble later. That's my advice.

    Other than that, it's super solid, super reliable. It does the job.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Head of Customer Success at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
    Real User
    Straightforward to setup, good support, and offers good visability
    Pros and Cons
    • "The most valuable features are the possibility of having one fabric for switching on security."
    • "I would like to see a more intuitive dashboard."

    What is our primary use case?

    We are system integrators, and this is one of the products that we implement for our clients.

    The primary use case of this solution is as a firewall, with advanced capability features for sandboxing, for preventing ransomware and other related threats. 

    What is most valuable?

    The most valuable features are the possibility of having one fabric for switching on security.

    They have the feature where the fabric and the security fabric can be extended. That gives us visibility as a single pane of logs for many of the activities.

    What needs improvement?

    I would like to see a more intuitive dashboard.

    Technical support can improve in knowledge sharing and they can implement better.

    The dashboard appearance needs to be more refined. It has to be smoother and more customer-friendly.

    As the cloud is more prominent and more are moving towards the cloud, people are used to certain ease of doing things, and less complicated.

    I understand that a firewall is a technical product, but we can try to make it a better customer experience which will increase usability with good results.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been working with this solution for three years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Fortinet FortiGate is a stable solution. We have not experienced any issues.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    It's a scalable product.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    Technical support is fairly good. We are able to get our message through, they look into our issues and provide us with a solution without any hassle.

    I would rate technical support a seven out of ten.

    To be better, they would need responsive pre-set activities to be more refined. They need to be in a position to give more modular solutions or more pre-defined solutions that are present.

    How was the initial setup?

    We did not have any problems with the implementation. 

    The initial setup was straightforward.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The Indian market is different than the European and American markets. When you compare, they need to be a bit more aggressive on pricing.

    What other advice do I have?

    We would recommend this firewall at any given point in time.

    I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
    PeerSpot user
    Director at a integrator with 11-50 employees
    User
    Don't underestimate FortiAnalyzer. It can give you a better understanding of what is going on in your network.
    Pros and Cons
    • "Advanced routing (RIP, OSPF, BGP, PBR). It gives you a seamless and simple integration into a large network."
    • "I think there could be more QoS features"

    What is our primary use case?

    We used FG-90D as UTM device to protect some users and servers, and also to enable inter-vlan routing with advanced security policies inside our lab zone. Also used FG-500D in transparent mode in front of Cisco ASA for advanced and high performance protection by applying IPS, AV, AntiSpam, App.Control and DoS-protection profiles.

    How has it helped my organization?

    We have better manageability: opening and closing ports/services, adding addresses is done very quickly (can be done in single page of the web GUI).

    It offers outstanding reporting tools when coupled with FortiAnalyzer (Fortinet's log collector and reporting tool) help meet compliance (there are PCIDSS, HIPAA and many more report types).

    Better security posture: safe web surfing, less spam and viruses in incoming email messages, very granular AppControl, blocking vulnerability exploitation attempts and traffic anomalies by IPS, preventing DoS attacks by DoS policies.

    What is most valuable?

    Good VPN, both IPSEC and SSL (web-mode, tunnel-mode). An engineer/network administrator has tools to debug VPN issues that can occur during tunnel setup with other vendors' equipment.

    SD-WAN feature at no cost. This is really great feature for remote locations (branch offices) and HQ, application steering between many ISP links becomes a simple task. Steering can be done dynamically by measuring link quality (latency, jitter, packet loss, available bandwidth).

    Wi-Fi and Switch controller at no cost. FortiSwitch and FortiAP can become a kind of port extender of the firewall, all its ports can be referenced in firewall policies. When you have such management plane consolidation it gives you a simpler way to operate.

    Security Fabric Framework is helping in analyzing sudden and rapid changes in whole infrastructure, and gives the ability to simplify daily operations (e.g. address objects synchronization between all firewalls in Fabric, estimating overall security rating, single-sign-on for admin access and many more)

    Single Sign On support with deep LDAP integration (several variants for environments with different scales), RADIUS authentication.

    Can work as transparent and explicit web-proxy, the last option supports Kerberos authentication which requires no agents installed on any windows server.

    Human readable firewall policies with editable security policies and
    addresses in single page. This is very useful and time saving feature.

    Firmware upgrade process is very simple, even for cluster configurations it is fully automated by default.

    Straightforward SNAT and DNAT; you may work in two ways: with Central NAT rules configuration and by applying translation directly inside firewall policies.

    Bulk CLI commands are uploaded via gui in script file (portions of config file).

    VDOMs are very useful when you need to grant admin role to clients separately. VDOMs in FortiGate can be represented in FortiAnalyzer's ADOMs (administrative domain), which can have different log storage policies, event handling and alerting configurations. You can create one VDOM working in NAT/Route mode, and another VDOM working in Transparent mode.

    If you don't want to create and use second VDOM you can still transparently inspect traffic at layer 2 level while having only one VDOM in NAT/Route mode. This is achived by configuring Virtual Wire Pair ports that work like a separate bridge.

    Ability to capture packets going through any interface of device (and VM too). You can set number of packets, filter out packets by IP and port number for particular troubleshooting purposes, then download a .pcap file from web gui and analyze it in your favorite programm.

    Advanced routing (RIP, OSPF, BGP, PBR). It gives you a seamless and simple integration into a large network.

    IPS, AV, Web Filter, AppControl profiles are working very well.

    SSL Inspection and CASI (Cloud Access Security Inspection) profiles.

    Rich logging options allow you troubleshoot most problems.

    Straightforward HA with different redundancy schemas.

    IPv6 support.

    What needs improvement?

    I think there could be more QoS features in GUI. FortiGate has Traffic Shaping feature that is enough in most cases when shaping egressing packets, but sometimes I just need 802.1p prioritizing (Class of Service) of incoming packets and manual ingress queue assignment. This is what would be nice to have, but I realize that such a job is more efficiently done by L4 switch standing before firewall. Fortinet has a FortiSwitch that can do it, and it also can be controlled by FortiGate via FortiLink protocol.

    [Firmware version FortiOS 6.2 update]: There are a lot of improved and newly added things, so it is very hard to imagine any additional features.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    Four years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Small models (up to FG-90) are build on SoC (System on a Chip), so they need to be mounted in places with enough airflow and right temperature, otherwise they could hang, slow down traffic processing, but more often you just can't log in to the device's web-interface (reboot won't help you until it cools down). Actually, that's not an issue. It is a technical requirement for operating environment to be 5-40 degrees (but at 35 degrees with poor airflow there may be issues mentioned above).

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    For large scale deployment I would suggest to look at FortiManager, a central management point for large amount of FortiGates. I have tested the solution and found it quite useful. I could download configuration from any device and install edited list of policies to several devices simultaneously through a couple of clicks. Also I liked functionality of clearing out Address objects list from unused entries. It can be configured to be a central repository of firmware and updates, and a local rating server (url and antispam rating services) which can improve rating lookup latency value.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    Technical support is good (in average).

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    We used an old IPS from Cisco. We switched because of End-of-Support on that device.

    How was the initial setup?

    Initial setup in plain networks is very straightforward. For large environment you should prepare beforehand, because FortiGate is a highly-tunable and feature rich product, so you must have a plan with many considered details.

    What about the implementation team?

    We did not engage a vendor team. Documentation is good enough to implement with an in-house team.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    Setup cost may be not so low, as you expect, because it depends on different factors, but TCO for 5 years may pleasantly surprise you.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    Palo Alto, Cisco ASA, CheckPoint

    What other advice do I have?

    Many interesting things are hidden in CLI, they can help you in different situations. Web-interface (GUI) is primarily intended for day-to-day routine.

    Don't underestimate FortiAnalyzer. It can give you a better understanding of what is going on in your network. When FortiGate sends logs to FortiAnalyzer, FortiAnalyzer inserts received log data into database. Predefined and customizable data queries, charts and reports can significantly help you by visualizing problem points, so you can thoroughly investigate security events and traffic behavior anomalies.

    FortiGate is a constantly evolving product, so pay attention to FortiOS version it runs.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    PeerSpot user
    Lead Program Manager at a computer software company with 10,001+ employees
    Real User
    A stable and easy-to-use virtual firewall solution
    Pros and Cons
    • "The virtual firewall feature is the most valuable. We have around 1,500 firewalls. We did not buy individual hardware, and the virtual firewalls made sense because we don't have to keep on buying the hardware. FortiGate is easier to use as compared to Checkpoint devices. It is user friendly and has a good UI. You don't need much expertise to work on this firewall. You don't need to worry much about DCLA, commands, and things like that."
    • "FortiGate is really good. We have been using it for quite some time. Initially, when we started off, we had around 70 plus devices of FortiGate, but then Check Point and Palo Alto took over the place. From the product perspective, there are no issues, but from the account perspective, we have had issues. Fortinet's presence in our company is very less. I don't see any Fortinet account managers talking to us, and that presence has diluted in the last two and a half or three years. We have close to 1,500 firewalls. Out of these, 60% of firewalls are from Palo Alto, and a few firewalls are from Check Point. FortiGate firewalls are very less now. It is not because of the product; it is because of the relationship. I don't think they had a good relationship with us, and there was some kind of disconnect for a very long time. The relationship between their accounts team and my leadership team seems to be the reason for phasing out FortiGate."

    What is our primary use case?

    We have both on-premises as well as virtual firewall servers. We have quite a few FortiGate firewalls as part of our infrastructure. We are using Check Point more from the perimeter perspective. It is only there on the perimeter.

    What is most valuable?

    The virtual firewall feature is the most valuable. We have around 1,500 firewalls. We did not buy individual hardware, and the virtual firewalls made sense because we don't have to keep on buying the hardware. 

    FortiGate is easier to use as compared to Checkpoint devices. It is user friendly and has a good UI. You don't need much expertise to work on this firewall. You don't need to worry much about DCLA, commands, and things like that.

    What needs improvement?

    FortiGate is really good. We have been using it for quite some time. Initially, when we started off, we had around 70 plus devices of FortiGate, but then Check Point and Palo Alto took over the place. From the product perspective, there are no issues, but from the account perspective, we have had issues. 

    Fortinet's presence in our company is very less. I don't see any Fortinet account managers talking to us, and their presence has diluted in the last two and a half or three years. We have close to 1,500 firewalls. Out of these, 60% of firewalls are from Palo Alto, and a few firewalls are from Check Point. FortiGate firewalls are very less now. It is not because of the product; it is because of the relationship. I don't think they had a good relationship with us, and there was some kind of disconnect for a very long time. The relationship between their accounts team and my leadership team seems to be the reason for phasing out FortiGate.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using FortiGate for the last four to five years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    It is stable.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    I currently have about 36 to 40 devices that are being used. We use a certain number of devices from business to business.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    We were not getting proper support from Fortinet. That's the reason we had to phase out FortiGate.

    What about the implementation team?

    We implemented it on our own. It took around one hour. We have one or two engineers for its deployment and maintenance. 

    What other advice do I have?

    We installed FortiGate four or five years ago. We are just phasing out FortiGate and not doing new installations of FortiGate. Whichever model is getting end of life, we're just replacing it with a Palo Alto device. We can use it in the future, but I don't see any presence of Fortinet in my company at this time. I see a lot of push from Palo Alto, Check Point, and other vendors, but I don't see Fortinet around at all.

    With the current COVID situation, I don't know how FortiGate behaves when working from home, which is an entirely different concept. In other firewalls, we create HIP profiles and similar stuff, but I am not sure how FortiGate works in such an environment.

    I would definitely recommend this solution, but I think Fortinet has to first create a presence. That is more important. Nobody says anything bad about the product. The product is still widely being used.

    I would rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    System Administrator at a financial services firm with 5,001-10,000 employees
    Real User
    Affordable, simple, effective, and has good support
    Pros and Cons
    • "The most valuable features are that it is very simple to configure and to manage."
    • "In the next release, maybe the documentation on how to use this solution could be improved."

    What is our primary use case?

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

    How has it helped my organization?

    The way the rules are created and set up on our firewall is very quick, very simple, and does not take a lot of time. It allows us to spend more time in other areas.

    What is most valuable?

    The most valuable features are that it is very simple to configure and to manage.

    What needs improvement?

    For me, this solution has nothing to improve and it meets the needs that I have. I don't see any way to improve, at least from my point of view on regular use.

    In the next release, maybe the documentation on how to use this solution could be improved.

    What I have noticed is that when we have done some configurations directly from the command line, there is not a lot of information regarding splitting.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using this solution for six years.

    We are using the latest version.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    This is a stable product.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Fortinet FortiGate is very scalable.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    We are satisfied with technical support. We have not had any issues.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is very straightforward.

    What about the implementation team?

    We used a reseller to help us with the implementation.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    Pricing is very competitive. It's cheap for what it offers and for what it does.

    It's very affordable.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would recommend this solution to others who are interested in using it.

    Fortinet FortiGate is simple and effective.

    I would rate Fortinet Fortigate a nine out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Manager - IT at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
    Real User
    Top 20
    Provides zero-day protection against undiscovered malware and vulnerabilities
    Pros and Cons
    • "We use the FortiGate Sandbox to detect zero-day vulnerabilities, such as anomalies or malware, that are unknown and have not yet been discovered."
    • "We would like to see a better training platform implemented."

    What is our primary use case?

    We are dealing in the payment business where we provide services to end-users, and FortiGate is part of our security solution.

    The customers swipe their cards into our product, which transmits the data through another server to the acquirer or bank. The server is hosted behind the FortiGate firewall, so all of the traffic that comes in and out goes through the firewall policies, intrusion detection, and instruction prevention systems.

    What is most valuable?

    We use the FortiGate Sandbox to detect zero-day vulnerabilities, such as anomalies or malware, that are unknown and have not yet been discovered.

    What needs improvement?

    We would like to see a better training platform implemented.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We have been using Fortinet FortiGate for the past five years.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    This is a scalable solution. We are able to integrate new products and different payment options. As new projects come in, we are looking for a hybrid setup that will incorporate the cloud.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    We have been in contact with technical support and I find them to be good. We've had no issues with them.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    We are continuing to use FortiGate but we are in the process of upgrading to the 200E and 300E enterprise firewall.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup was complex. We had to connect it and set up the PCI DSS compliance. To maintain this, there are a lot of things that have to be done on a regular basis. This includes scanning and hardening the servers, then rescanning. Initially, it is very complex.

    We have the FortiGate firewall in our environment, and we are using network segmentation. Based on the segmentation, there are policies. Based on the policies, the traffic to the critical components is monitored and goes through the IDS/IPS antivirus profile. We also have hosted applications, so a basic DDoS and WAP are configured.

    What other advice do I have?

    I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

    Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

    On-premises
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    PeerSpot user
    System Administrator at a media company with 11-50 employees
    Real User
    Provides a high standard of security for our clients
    Pros and Cons
    • "We are a visual effects company, and there have been a number of high profile security issues in our industry. This has brought us to a higher standard of security, which our clients are very keen on these days."
    • "We had a minor problem where there was a major system upgrade on the hardware platfrom and the Mac client was not available as soon as it might have been. The PC client was available immediately, but we had to wait a month or so, before there was a mac client. I was slightly irritated that it was not ready on time, but it was eventually resolved."

    What is our primary use case?

    I primarily use this solution for external security of our network.

    How has it helped my organization?

    We are a visual effects company, and there have been a number of high profile security issues in our industry. This has brought us to a higher standard of security, which our clients are very keen on these days. 

    What needs improvement?

    We had a minor problem where there was a major system upgrade on the hardware platform and the Apple Mac client was not available as soon as it might have been. The PC client was available immediately, but we had to wait a month or so, before there was a Apple Mac client. I was slightly irritated that it was not ready on time, but it was eventually resolved.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    Almost two years.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    Fortigate has more than adequate capability to cope with everything we require for the foreseeable future. 

    How are customer service and technical support?

    The support is very good, and we have had no issues. 

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    Previously had a SonicWall. Even allowing for an upgrade discount on the SonicWall, the FortiGate was a more compelling purchase.

    How was the initial setup?

    It was fairly straightforward. 

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Security Solutions Architect at Verizon Communications
    Real User
    Good VPN and DDoS capabilities with a low total cost of ownership
    Pros and Cons
    • "Virtual Domains (VDOMs) are a feature that we found valuable."
    • "To the best of my knowledge, Fortinet does not have a CASB solution and Fortinet does not have a Zero trust solution."

    What is our primary use case?

    We are currently using manual router failover that can be configured on the Fortinet security appliance’s second network interface to provide network edge redundancy if the primary managed router fails. If the edge router fails, traffic can be moved to the security appliance with a simple cable swap.

    We are looking for a fully redundant solution with automatic failover between both Fortinet Security appliances. I am currently looking at battle card information between Fortinet and Zscaler. I have to do a competitive analysis.

    How has it helped my organization?

    The low cost of ownership was a benefit with all of the features we wanted.    

    Preconfigured images have been developed for quick deployment. However, if we need a custom policy or have to include an existing policy then that can be accommodated as well. 

    What is most valuable?

    Virtual Domains (VDOMs) are a feature that we found valuable.

    We found the Firewall, VPN, Application Control, IPS, Fortiguard Web filtering, anti-botnet, FortiGuard, Anti Spam Wireless LAN controller, WAN optimization, vulnerability assessment, and endpoint control all to be valuable.

    Fortinet certifications include NSS Labs for NGFW, firewall, IPS, SSL, antivirus, and antispam.

    Fortinet provides a consolidated security platform for the market place and certifications with NSS labs prove their security assurance.

    What needs improvement?

    To the best of my knowledge, Fortinet does not have a CASB solution and Fortinet does not have a Zero trust solution. Fortinet claims to do everything Zscaler is capable of and I'm looking for a comparison between the supported features.

    Fortinet VPN and DDoS capabilities are great, yet we need to provide a solution that enables CASB and integration to the cloud.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We have been using FortiGate for three years.

    How was the initial setup?

    Fortinet is very easy to service and set up.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    Fortinet is the least expensive solution.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    We are comparing the features of Zscaler vs. Fortinet. We are trying to determine what features Zscaler has over Fortinet and vice versa.

    What other advice do I have?

    Fortinet was initially scoped as 25 rules for small, 50 for medium, and 100 for large. We need to incorporate more rules but there would be additional professional services or staging services. We are looking to incorporate the cloud access with the Fortinet UTM solution.

    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Verizon is a reseller of both Zscaler and Fortinet.
    PeerSpot user
    it_user1296954 - PeerSpot reviewer
    Senior Scientist at Ats, iNC.
    Real User
    Good SSL-VPN, anti-virus, and anti-malware protection
    Pros and Cons
    • "SSL-VPN is very useful for us and has been very reliable."
    • "The user interface could be improved to make it less confusing and easier to set up."

    What is our primary use case?

    FortiGate is used as the primary firewall and malware detection device for the company.

    How has it helped my organization?

    This solution allows solid VPN service for access from the field, and the anti-virus/anti-malware detection works well.

    What is most valuable?

    SSL-VPN is very useful for us and has been very reliable.

    What needs improvement?

    The user interface could be improved to make it less confusing and easier to set up. There are too many pull-down menus.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using FortiGate for five years.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    PeerSpot user
    Solution Architect at Brillbean Ventures Pvt ltd
    Real User
    Good security, performance, and traffic inspection
    Pros and Cons
    • "The most valuable feature is the VDOM, which allows the customer to have multiple firewalls in a single campus."
    • "Improvement is needed in the Web Filter quotas to restrict users with allocated quotas."

    What is our primary use case?

    I have deployed FortiGate with multiple organizations such as universities, government institutions, healthcare, and ISP providers. I have worked with FortiGate models 30-500 series and I have deployed the 3200D model for one of the broadband service providers located in India, Namely Sikka Broadband. 

    How has it helped my organization?

    I have installed the FortiGate 500 and 400D to replace a Sophos firewall in a main corporate office. This implementation provided improved network performance.

    This solution made it easier to connect all of the branches together via an IPsec VPN and remote users with SSL VPN.

    What is most valuable?

    The most valuable feature is the VDOM, which allows the customer to have multiple firewalls in a single campus.

    Using the FortiGate security solution provides comprehensive visibility and advanced layer 7 security, including threat protection, intrusion prevention, web filtering, and application control. They face a major complexity hurdle managing these point products with no integration and lack of visibility.

    Thie solution provides a high-performance inspection of clear-text and encrypted traffic.

    The FortiOS Operating system is robust, and the WAN load-balancing very much transparent.

    What needs improvement?

    Improvement is needed in the Web Filter quotas to restrict users with allocated quotas.

    It would be an improvement to add a feature for active users to change/reset their own passwords.

    Fortinet renewal prices for all models are too high, so they should offer discounts for customers on renewal. 

    For how long have I used the solution?

    I have been using this solution for almost seven years.
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Consultant at WorldNet ICT Solutions Limited
    Consultant
    Provides good security features, and generating FortiCloud reports is helpful to us
    Pros and Cons
    • "The security features are about the best that I've seen anywhere."
    • "Technical support for this solution can be improved."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use this solution for our company firewall.

    What is most valuable?

    This solution has many good features. The security features are about the best that I've seen anywhere.

    I really like the fact that I am able to generate FortiCloud reports.

    What needs improvement?

    FortiWAN was supposed to help in doing intersite linking, but we've realized that most of the ISPs use BGP. FortiWAN supports OSPF but does not support the BGP protocol. This is a problem for us because without BGP they are not doing anything, and we've had to pack them up. I would like to see the BGP protocol supported on FortiWAN.

    Technical support for this solution can be improved.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We have been using this solution since 2017.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    The stability is very good.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    The scalability of this solution is fantastic.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    I've been in contact with technical support a few times and it is good. It might be better, but as far as I'm concerned, it's good.

    How was the initial setup?

    The challenge for the initial setup was at the ISP level. We have the Fortinet firewall running, but between the various sites, we wanted to implement FortiWAN. It didn't work because of the BGP issue.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    The pricing for this solution is good.

    What other advice do I have?

    This is a product that I recommend.

    I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    PeerSpot user
    Network & Hardware Administrator at Nile Projects & Trading Co.
    Real User
    SD-WAN allows me to better manage and load balance our traffic
    Pros and Cons
    • "It blocks the vulnerabilities that can negatively impact us."
    • "I would like to have logs, monitoring, and reporting for a month without extra fees."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use this solution for securing and controlling our company, as well as to improve VPN services.

    How has it helped my organization?

    This solution has helped us by controlling our incoming and outgoing traffic. It blocks the vulnerabilities that can negatively impact us.

    What is most valuable?

    The most valuable feature is the SD-WAN because I can manage many lines and load balance them all.

    What needs improvement?

    I would like to have logs, monitoring, and reporting for a month without extra fees.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    We have been using this solution for more than eight years.
    Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Fortigate
    PeerSpot user
    Network Engineer at Concentus
    Real User
    An intuitive user interface for our SOHO edge protection solution
    Pros and Cons
    • "This solution has solid UTM features combined with a nice GUI."
    • "The Web-filter in this solution is not very good."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use this solution for edge protection in SOHO and K-12 environments.

    How has it helped my organization?

    FortiOS has a very good, intuitive GUI.

    What is most valuable?

    This solution has solid UTM features combined with a nice GUI.

    What needs improvement?

    The Web-filter in this solution is not very good. Perhaps because Fortinet does not want to compete with its own dedicated solution.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    Three years.
    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    President at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
    Reseller
    A solution that impresses our customers and saves them money in the long run
    Pros and Cons
    • "This is a quality product with ok support, and it is better than the competition we've tried."
    • "FortiOS is not simple."

    What is our primary use case?

    Our primary use for this solution is as an SMB boundary firewall, and we now use their Security Fabric.

    How has it helped my organization?

    This is a quality product with ok support, and it is better than the competition we've tried.

    What is most valuable?

    Security Fabric makes VLANs a breeze. It impresses customers, as well as saves them money over the long run when comparing apples to apples.

    What needs improvement?

    FortiOS is not simple. Too many people think it should be simple to use, but the complexity of the product makes that impossible.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    Seventeen years.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    The support for this solution is ok.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    User at GOldair Handling
    Real User
    Has a friendly GUI and CLI to access its many features
    Pros and Cons
    • "The features that we have found most valuable are the SSL VPN and the User Portal."
    • "This product could be improved with Active directory integration and better handling in IPsec and GRE Tunnels."

    What is our primary use case?

    We primarily use this solution for our firewall, Application Control, QoS, IPSec, and SSL VPN.

    How has it helped my organization?

    This solution has a very friendly GUI and CLI as compared to other vendors.

    What is most valuable?

    The features that we have found most valuable are the SSL VPN and the user Portal.

    What needs improvement?

    This product could be improved with active directory integration and better handling in IPsec and GRE Tunnels. There are not enough recent online materials to assist in integration with Cisco for VPN, GRE, and IPSec.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    One to three years.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Our experience with this solution is that it is stable and reliable.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    We found the user interface to be better than what is found in other products.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    Network Analyst at Aloo Telecom
    Real User
    A stable product that allows us to offer several services in a single box
    Pros and Cons
    • "We have been able to offer several services to customers in a single box."
    • "I use the FortiGate 60D model and realized the 300Mbps bandwidth limitation. Because it is a product that offers many services, I think it could have greater bandwidth capacity."

    What is our primary use case?

    Our primary use case for this solution is the provision of services to our customers, the end users.

    How has it helped my organization?

    This solution has improved our organization a lot. We have been able to offer several services to customers in a single box.

    What is most valuable?

    The firewall is a valuable feature because it offers more security for end customers. The HA function is fantastic, as the link switching time is almost imperceptible. It also offers dedicated IP, all in one box.

    What needs improvement?

    I use the FortiGate 60D model and realized the 300Mbps bandwidth limitation. Because it is a product that offers many services, I think it could have greater bandwidth capacity.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    Trial/evaluations only.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    My impression of the stability is very good. It is very difficult to have to replace the equipment due to lack of resources.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    I found this product to be good for scalability. It offers several features, among them I can mention Application Control, Antispam, QoS and others.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    I found the technical support team to be careful and committed to delivering what we needed.

    Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

    Prior to using the FortiGate solution, I used the MikroTik RB1100AHx2e. I found that the FortiGate 60D offered more security.

    How was the initial setup?

    The setup was straightforward and easy, and the equipment has a good command line interface.

    What about the implementation team?

    We were given all the support that we needed for implementation. The vendors were fantastic.

    What was our ROI?

    The return is inevitable when you have equipment that offers stability and quality in services.

    What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

    Before choosing a piece of equipment you have to take into account the cost-benefit offered by each one. Sometimes it is not worth paying a very cheap price to have a minimum level of security.

    Which other solutions did I evaluate?

    Our evaluation of the MikroTik RB1100AHx2e revealed that it lacks antivirus software and has no lock for botnet control centers.

    What other advice do I have?

    There is a VOIP feature that by default is enabled on the Fortigate 60D. This greatly increases the CPU usage, which causes bad behavior in the equipment. This feature should be disabled and if necessary, the user can re-enable it.

    The FortiGate 60D is a fantastic piece of equipment.

    Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
    PeerSpot user
    it_user1000680 - PeerSpot reviewer
    it_user1000680Finance And IT at Galfar Aspire Readymix LLC
    Real User

    Good performance.

    See all 2 comments
    PeerSpot user
    IT System Administrator at emirates hospital
    Real User
    Enables us to control our internet usage with the web filter for application features
    Pros and Cons
    • "The most important features with FortiGate are the web filter and application controls. We can control our internet usage and use the web filter for application purposes."
    • "Some features of Fortinet FortiGate are actually fee enabled that are inconvenient for deploying in production. Other issues relate to isolation with Cisco products and your server."

    What is our primary use case?

    We use Fortinet FortiGate mainly for web filtering and site-to-site VPN connectivity. We establish filters based on the type of application for filtering purposes.

    How has it helped my organization?

    With Fortinet FortiGate I can do over forty enlaces. We give all of the log-based runtime support to every user and the web traffic coming in. Also, we can enlace all of the security projects from our two servers with the other forty enlaces.

    What is most valuable?

    The most important features with FortiGate are the web filter and application controls. We can control our internet usage and use the web filter for application purposes. All branch FortiGate devices are integrated with FortiAnalyzer and easy to download and monitor the logs from all other locations. It's easy to change the configurations using CMD-SSH. FSSO is also another good feature. 

    What needs improvement?

    It is mainly our own application of FortiGate that we need to improve. If you compare FortiGate to any other products, all of the other products have more signatures. I couldn't find that many signatures available in the application.

    Some features of Fortinet FortiGate are actually fee enabled that are inconvenient for deploying in production. Other issues relate to isolation with Cisco products and your server.

    Fortinet should make it so that we are not able to use analytics from Cisco at the same time that FortiGate is installed. We are not able to do real-time network monitoring.

    For the next release, FortiGate should be improved to support these issues. For the setup, you need to prepare a lot for that before engaging the deployment. 

    I learned a lot about FortiGate from books. That should be important in preparation. Fortinet should implement these changes, then we would be able to do more.

    For how long have I used the solution?

    Less than one year.

    What do I think about the stability of the solution?

    Stability is good. The only issue is that in the VPN, I have seen many times that there is no stability in the VPN configuration and VPN connectivity. That is our only issue.

    What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

    If we implement Fortinet to Fortinet connections, then the solution works fine and there are no issues. If we connect with any other vendor like Cisco, Palo Alto, or these kinds of devices, I can see sometimes that the connectivity issue is there.

    From IIS, the I/O packet works and connectivity is ideal. Connectivity is fine, but the title clock unnecessarily comes in and sometimes it doesn't reach the destination.

    We use Fortinet FortiGate in twenty to twenty-five locations at the time, although we are basically focused on healthcare industry requirements.

    For the deployment and maintenance, we have two people we are using right now. Regarding maintenance and deployment, we employ experts in network and security support. 

    We don't have any plans to increase usage of Fortinet FortiGate. We only use it in 25 locations.

    How are customer service and technical support?

    We have evaluated Fortinet FortiGate's technical support and it is good.

    How was the initial setup?

    The initial setup is straightforward. The normal VLAN interface configuration with the LAN configuration is fine. There is no problem with that. 

    Our deployment took a maximum of half an hour to forty-five minutes. It only took this much time for the entire configuration including the LAN and policy configuration.

    What about the implementation team?

    We did not use an integrator or consultant. Our security engineers completed the configuration.

    What other advice do I have?

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