Systems Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Scalable, with extensive features and good technical support
Pros and Cons
  • "There are a lot of features that we like within the solution. The resources or performance of the firewall is very good. However, the real selling point is the fact that the solution offers so many features, it gives our clients a lot of extras that they can work with. There's a lot on offer."
  • "Right now, it's very trendy to integrate everything into the cloud. This solution would be more effective if they did more integration in that regard."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution for our firewalls. 

Basically we're providing security distribution for our client. One of the solutions we utilize are firewalls. It helps secure the environment and monitor traffic.

What is most valuable?

There are a lot of features that we like within the solution. The resources or performance of the firewall is very good. However, the real selling point is the fact that the solution offers so many features, it gives our clients a lot of extras that they can work with. There's a lot on offer.

What needs improvement?

Right now, it's very trendy to integrate everything into the cloud. This solution would be more effective if they did more integration in that regard.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution since 2016. It's been a few years now.

Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiOS
April 2024
Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiOS. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2024.
769,334 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is very stable, however, in rare instances where there happens to be a bug or glitch, the good thing about them is that they release fixes whenever there's a bug on the OS. Users will need to upgrade their OS if this is the case in order to get the fix. It's great that they deal with the bugs head-on and put out fixes efficiently.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is quite scalable. It's one of its selling features. Although, I believe that most competitors would also scale just as well.

How are customer service and support?

Support is very fast and reliable, but it absolutely depends on the ticket, or what it is comprised of or how hard the errors or problems are. Easy questions are dealt with quite quickly, but harder issues might take at least an hour or so before a user would get a reply. 

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

We mostly focus on Fortinet products for our firewalls. We don't really use a different solution and haven't used something else in the past. I'm familiar with Sophos firewalls but have not deployed any just yet.

While Sophos is more expensive than Fortinet, from what I have seen, their functionality is basically the same. The difference between the two appears to be simply in the architecture of each solution. They are quite similar, but the user interface is a bit different.

How was the initial setup?

I'm quite comfortable with the solution, so for me the process of installing the solution is quite straightforward. I would say it's very straightforward, and it's easy to learn, especially because they offer a very good GUI. It's not as easy to set up as, for example, FortiGate, which is an application on FortiOS. FortiOS is just a bit more complex.

The deployment time varies. It largely depends on the number of security policies that demand attention. It's most likely one day or so, so it's not too long. However, it can vary. You only need one person to deploy the product.

What about the implementation team?

We implement the solution for our clients. We handle the deployment for them ourselves using our in-house team. Typically I'll be the one to deploy it for the clients directly, and then I'll hand everything over to after-sales support.

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

I'm not sure of the pricing, but my understanding, after looking into Sophos, is that Fortinet is less expensive than Sophos.

What other advice do I have?

We're using version 6.2 of the solution right now, however, the latest version available is 6.4.

I'm part of the security team at our organization. We're business partners with Fortinet.

I would advise other companies to choose a firewall brand that they can they afford. Cost is an important aspect. It needs to work well within an organization's budget. It doesn't make sense to look at products that are out of an organization's price range, so make sure you are looking at options that are affordable. 

The second thing to consider is the solution's functionality. If that particular brand or particular product has the functionality required, and they are able to implement it on their network or in their infrastructure, that's a good sign. 

The third consideration should be support. It's important for a company to understand how fast and how reliable the support is. That's very important after the sale.

I'd rate the solution 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
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Fortinet FortiOS Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: April 2024
Product Categories
Firewalls
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Fortinet FortiOS Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.