What is our primary use case?
There are multiple use cases for different customers.
What is most valuable?
It has a very easy-to-use interface. It has ease of management, and all the modules are there. SKUs are also easily identifiable.
Whatever is required in the firewall is already there in it. It's very advanced, and analytics reporting is very good. They also have cloud reporting. You get all the services that are available for your device in the cloud. You just have to subscribe. It's very easy.
There's a lot of demand for this solution because it's an all-in-one solution. The throughput is very high.
What needs improvement?
The only thing that is lacking in this product is the support. Their support can be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Fortinet FortiClient for almost ten years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability of Fortinet FortiClient is very good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of Fortinet FortiClient is very good. In my organization, around 300 people are using it. We also have mobile users who are connecting over 4G technology or, basically, over wireless technology to the devices and resources on the internal network. It's pretty good and robust.
It integrates very well into any IT infrastructure. They've come up with a lot of tools or different service modules that are able to talk to other technologies. So, you have an open architecture where they get a lot of information or security feeds from different providers. That's how they make their product more robust and scalable.
How are customer service and technical support?
Their support is very bad. The product is good, but the support is very bad. Their support should be on par with the product.
They are too lazy to answer the calls, They do not take the calls immediately. Even if you have subscribed for 24/7, 365 days support, they will give you a call only after 24 to 48 hours. There is a lag in their response time.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward. It is very easy to set up. Even a person who does not know anything about firewalls will be able to set it up.
Deployment depends upon the strategy the customer requires. The setup can be complicated, but usually, it is straightforward. The implementation of a FortiGate firewall, usually, does not take more than three days. If you ensure that all the security policies are there and everything is there, it usually takes three days.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The cost per port is very less as compared to the other technologies.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I have deployed FortiGate's FortiAnalyzer, FortiMail for a lot of customers to replace their existing legacy-based firewalls such as Cisco ASA or Cisco PIX, SonicWall, FiberHome, Sophos, etc. We are replacing these technologies with FortiGate.
What other advice do I have?
If you want to know the product, or if you do not want to rely on the support, then you have to master the product. Basically, you should know in and out of the product, and you should have extensive knowledge about it. You'll get that knowledge only by working, provided you have the right tools to understand. I learned this tool by using it and going through the knowledge base. They have a knowledge base website, which has almost everything. You just need to apply a little bit of logic to understand what it is. I did not use technical support for help.
We don't require anything extra because it has everything that is needed for current infrastructures. Whether it is the cloud infrastructure or the on-premises infrastructure, they have got everything inside it.
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: Implementer
