Fortinet FortiOS Reviews

We primarily use the solution for banks, whereby they want to secure their edge network, to filter their web application and block forms, etc. We also are able to integrate AWS using secure channels. It's more robust and they have different modes including nap, flow, and proximity.

You can apply patterns to look for. That can be done for applications also. You can ask for a specific feature to become a pattern.  If you were using Office 360 and had 2 ISPs, automatically using SD-WAN will allow you to switch over to the other link based on the criteria you can set yourself. You don't need to go to the device to manually sort and link it, it does it automatically.

Users can go directly to the cloud from the branch instead of routing to the head office and then the cloud. That will reduce the cost of routing, so you just pay for internet service and you have access to the cloud.

The interface is easy to understand, so when there are threats you get alerts. It's quite intuitive, but if you are ever confused they have instructional videos. For example, if you don't understand a graph there's a link to a video that explains what the graph means. It makes it very user-friendly.

The solution is good, but they have poor marketing in Nigeria. They need to market their product better.

They need to work on their support. Cisco has the best technical support. In comparison, Fortinet's support takes too long. If you are paying for SLAs, you should also get value from your SLAs.

Right now, everybody is moving to the cloud. The solution has already worked on that aspect, and they are embedding security to the cloud. However, security can be more enhanced and as long as they continue to offer more protection I'll be happy.

The solution is very stable.

The solution is very scalable. It allows for API integrations so you can actually integrate into other security solutions.

Technical support could be more qualified and offer a quicker turnaround.

The initial setup is very straightforward, especially if that person understands security.

We integrate solutions on the client's request. Most times I push on Fortinet, as it's a robust system.

You can integrate your endpoint with Fortinet. You can integrate the cloud on-premises. Because the solution is so robust and offers excellent the features we tend to enjoy using FortiOS. Cisco is similar, however, and we do work with them too.  

We are using the on-premises deployment model.

We are an integrator, so we do integrations using Fortinet, Cisco, Sophos, and Palo Alto.

If you're an SMB or a small enterprise, I would recommend Fortinet.

I would advise users to make sure they are getting value for what they are paying for. I can say that Fortinet is not as expensive as the others, but it also gives good value. The main thing is not about the cost, but the value and Fortinet delivers on that front.

I would rate the solution nine out of ten.

The fact that is it has a UTM, a Unified Threat Management feature is the most valuable aspect for us. It's an all in one product. It's like our one-stop-shop to the internet.

The complexity of the VPNs should be improved. Certain versions of the operating system don't function with our current Fortinet unit. For instance, we've got a 60D FortiGate at our branch offices and the 60D FortiGate doesn't support the latest version of the 40 OS. Because of this, certain Wi-Fi access points that depend on those operating systems don't function so well. So that has room for improvement. I'd like to see that happen.

My impression is the solution is very stable.

I find the solution scalable. With my current employer, we have a high available cluster. You can extend it and also extend it with Wi-fi access points because the controller of the Wi-Fi access points is also in the 40GB range. We've got about 300 personnel in the offices and we've got about 1,000 or more employees in the trucks and they all use it, at different times.

Technical support has been pretty good. At one point, because we've got a lot of drivers - we're a transportation organization - those drivers have mobile phones and at one point we implemented a new mobile phone which uses the Wi-Fi network. The new phones couldn't connect with the Wi-Fi access point and Fortinet pretty much came in quickly with a patch for the Wi-Fi access points.

The initial setup was straightforward. It comes with a quick book, a manual, and without any experience from day one, I implemented successfully without any help. It was pretty straightforward.

I implemented the solution myself.

Seven years ago I was looking into Palo Alto Firewalls.

It's a good reliable product. I'd rate it as a solid eight out of 10. It has room left for improvement.

We'd chosen the solution because of the price and the support contract, but just a few years later the support contact pricing was all of a sudden pretty steep. They increased it by 20% to 30% from one year to another year, and it's hard to explain why.

The solution's most valuable feature is its ability to work efficiently with large-scale firewall deployments. Also, it provides custom segmentation for the firewall without adding any additional devices. It helps in reducing the cost of testing purposes.

The solution's firmware updates have significant bugs and issues. They affect the network and firewall. This particular area needs improvement. Also, they should include an advanced firewall feature.

I have been using the solution for two years.

I rate the solution's stability as seven.

I rate the solution's scalability a seven. The major bugs in the firmware update affect the scaling capabilities as well.

The solution's initial setup process is easy.

I rate the solution as a seven out of ten.

We use the solution as a firewall, and in conjunction with Fortinet FortiMail.

The solution is very easy to configure and has a good interface, plus it offers more configuration options than other vendors.

I would like to see fewer bugs. If you use the box with its basic features, the solution is straightforward and stable, but you can run into bugs when using newer features or in more complex use cases. They included a DNS filter as a new feature, and I had issues that required raising a ticket with customer support.

I've been using the solution for between 10 and 12 years.

The solution is very stable. There are occasional bugs, but support is very quick and helpful in resolving these issues.

The initial setup was easy.

A medium 100 or 200 Series box costs around $3000, and the software cost is around 55% of the hardware cost.

Depending on the situation, performance issues may require changing out the box. 

This is a user friendly solution and offers comprehensive integrations. 

The reporting for this solution could be improved. It could also be more stable and offer better pricing. 

I have been using this solution for five years. 

The customer support for this solution is good and user-friendly.

Positive

Installation takes two minutes.

If you are able to afford it, I would recommend Fortinet. 

Fortinet's SD-WAN connects the user to the application or app server on-prem or the cloud.

Fortinet has optimized the WAN environment for connecting users to the application.

Fortinet's central management needs to be improved. FortiManager's technical tool provider ability should manage all Fortinet security products. Right now, FortiManager only manages the configuration of FortiGate.

I've been using Fortinet for about five years.

Fortinet's performance is stable.

Fortinet is scalable. We can increase the scalability in the help center. We have 500 to 600 users now, but we plan to grow to 700 or 800 users in the next two years. 

I'm satisfied with Fortinet support.

We switched to Fortinet because it's easy to use and deploy. In recent years, Fortinet has worked to combine the SD-WAN and next-gen firewall into one device, improving the ease of use. 

Setting up Fortinet is straightforward. It takes about 10 to 15 minutes to deploy. We have a team of five engineers to deploy, maintain, and manage Fortinet.

We deployed Fortinet ourselves.

I rate FortiOS nine out of 10. 

I am using Fortinet FortiOS as my main firewall.

I have found the most valuable features to be the policies, cache, and the SD-WAN.

Fortinet FortiOS could improve by having better authentication methods with Microsoft or Google Services.

In an upcoming release, they could improve the user interface.

I have been using Fortinet FortiOS for approximately three years.

Fortinet FortiOS is highly stable.

I have found Fortinet FortiOS is scalable.

We have approximately 500 users using this solution in my organization. We might increase usage in the future.

I am only using the resellers' support, not the Fortinet support.

The implementation is simple and the full implementation took approximately three days.

We use integrators for the implementation of the solution.

We have three staff members that handle the deployment of the solution.

I am on a two-year contract and I pay annually for Fortinet FortiOS.

My advice to those wanting to implement this solution is to use a good partner that can help set up and troubleshoot the solution.

I rate Fortinet FortiOS an eight out of ten.

Most of our customers that we implemented Fortinet FortiOS for we support and manage the FortiGate. Most of them use all the UTM features, such as web features, application control, intrusion prevention, and SSL inspection. We do have some customers who do not use these features. They mostly use IPsec, VPN concentrator, but no security features, we only have two specific cases. Most of our clients prefer to use FortiGate because of all the security features.

The interface is good.

There are some features for FortiGate using FortiOS that can only be enabled via a command line. These aren't very advanced features they have been part of FortiOS for quite some time but they still aren't accessible from the graphical user interface. It makes it a little bit harder than it should be for us to manage the solution. That's my main concern with the user interface. Another concern we have is some elements for the user interface, if they're not properly configured, it could lead to hardware and performance degradation.

We have had some cases where the entire hardware is at a lockout. This means the CPU is  100% consumed and requires a reboot because of a malfunction with the graphical user interface dashboard widget. This is something that we saw a few years ago. We haven't had any new experience with this same issue. However, I'm not sure if that's because Fortinet fixed them, or because we have mow avoid using those specific regions.

I have used Fortinet FortiOS within the last 12 months.

Fortinet FortiOS is stable.

I have found Fortinet FortiOS to be scalable.

We have approximately 200 users using this solution.

We have used work with many antivirus solutions, such as Trend Micro, CrowdStrike, and Kaspersky. The antivirus engine could use some improvement when comparing Fortinet with other vendors.

I have been doing the installation of Fortinet FortiOS for five years and I am used to doing them. For someone who is new, I do see some difficulties for them to learn how to do it.

The process could be better.

For approximately 200 employees we have at least two engineers and some junior analysts for the day-to-day operation.

The Fortinet solutions can be a bit expensive.

The most advanced solution Fortinet has is intruder prevention.

My advice to those wanting to implement Fortinet FortiOS is they should do a site survey, but not exactly the site survey. They need to study and scale the environment for which they want to implement the FortiGate solution. FortiGate solutions aren't exactly cheap, but if they undersize the environment and they purchase or implement FortiGate solutions that are not good enough power-wise for the environment that's being used, it could lead to problems. Although it is a stable solution, it is prone to lockouts if it goes above the recommended use cases. Proper sizing of the environment is very important.

I rate Fortinet FortiOS an eight out of ten.