Akamai Secure Internet Access Enterprise vs Fortinet FortiGate SWG comparison

Akamai and Fortinet are both solutions in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category. Akamai is ranked #22 with an average rating of 9.0, while Fortinet is ranked #4 with an average rating of 8.6. Akamai holds a 0.9% mindshare in WSG, compared to Fortinet’s 6.8% mindshare. Additionally, 100% of Akamai users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Fortinet users who would recommend it.

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Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Akamai Secure Internet Access Enterprise and Fortinet FortiGate SWG based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Zscaler, Palo Alto Networks and others in Secure Web Gateways (SWG).

To learn more, read our detailed Secure Web Gateways (SWG) Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Secure Web Gateways (SWG)

March 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

iboss

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Secure Web Gateways (SWG) category, the mindshare of iboss is 1.9%, up from 1.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Akamai Secure Internet Access Enterprise is 0.9%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiGate SWG is 6.8%, down from 7.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Secure Web Gateways (SWG)

Featured Reviews

Matt Crockford

Head of Cybersecurity at SES Water

It's easy to roll out, and their understanding of our business made it seamless

One aspect we value about iboss is its simplicity. Their customer service is brilliant, and they are super responsive and knowledgeable. It's easy to roll out, and their understanding of our business made it seamless. We were impressed by the solution's mental health function, which can detect if someone needs help. It scans what users are browsing and flags warning signs so we can check to see if they are okay. We've had to use it a couple of times. The user interface is highly intuitive. Our IT team picked it up with minimal training. It's arranged so that it's easy to find where things are. Another advantage is the single pane of glass console, which gives you visibility into what's happening. We're not fully there yet because we haven't implemented zero trust, but we're excited about the possibilities from the demos we've seen. We launched a POC of iboss' ChatGPT Risk Protection feature two weeks ago. AI is a great tool, but you need to be careful what you put into it. My biggest fear is employees inputting sensitive corporate information or customer PII data into one of these chatbots. I was impressed by our trial of the feature. It's exactly what we wanted. Now, when a user goes to ChatGPT, there's a banner warning them not to share information, and we can block conversations containing customer data like bank details and email addresses. I don't want to stop people from using it, but we need visibility. We've only tried it on a test group of 15 people. You can configure it to look for specific keywords or integrate it with your DLP policy if you have that configured

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reviewer2159601

Manager- Secure Web Defense- Perimeter Security at a financial services firm with 10,001+ employees

A user-friendly security SaaS provider with an easy setup

Akamai SPS Threat Avert is deployed on-cloud in our organization. Users should choose Akamai SPS Threat Avert based on their needs and the organization's capability. If it's a small-scale business, I would recommend exploring other solutions that will be fairly cheaper than Akamai SPS Threat Avert. However, if it's an enterprise business with a lot of transactions, security concerns, and compliance issues, I would advise them to go ahead with Akamai SPS Threat Avert. Although it's a good solution, Akamai SPS Threat Avert is expensive and best suited for enterprise-level businesses, not mid-level or low-level organizations. Overall, I rate Akamai SPS Threat Avert a nine out of ten.

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David Carlson

CIO at Camco Mfg.

Non-IT people could plug it in, connect it to the fiber, and get it running without IT help.

FortiGate is easy to configure. We configured one of the units and sent it to Indiana to be installed. We asked them to give us a call when they got it, so we could help them through the process, but they called us back to tell us it works great. Non-IT people could plug it in, connect it to the fiber, and get it running without IT help. That was fantastic. Fortinet also offers a single pane of glass that we can use to manage our routers with gateways, so that's convenient. We're running a VPN to our remote location, and the performance is good. We're changing all our VPN connectors on our laptops from Cisco's Anywhere to Fortinet's VPN because the performance is just so much better.

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Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"iboss is easy to use despite its complexity. Multiple engineers manage it, but it's significantly more straightforward to administer than traditional VPNs and web proxies."

"Our primary use case for this product is DLP,"

"iboss has significantly lowered the number of security incidents. It is crazy how much it blocks and how much it is aware of the outside danger."

"Valuable features: Within the filter: Controls (Web categories, applications, and Allow/Block list) and Network (local Subnets). Within the reporter: Logs (Event Log) and Reports."

"It was a very easy product to install. It can be deployed very fast."

"Because of iboss, I did not have to assign web filtering tasks to my techs on a daily basis."

"From a use-case scenario, what I like the most is the plug-in. I like the fact that we can do the filtering of these devices offsite independent of the network they are connected to, and we do not have to have traffic coming back inside our network."

"Iboss is a solution that prevents advanced persistent threats, and has a zero tolerance for attacks."

More iboss pros

"The best feature of Akamai SPS Threat Avert is that it's very user-friendly compared to other technologies."

"The solution is superior to Cisco in terms of security."

"It has a valuable SD-WAN feature and provides good performance."

"The performance is very good and the solution is simple to manage."

"We have found the product to be scalable."

"The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiGate SWG is its stability."

"I am content with its user interface and functionalities."

"The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiGate SWG is inspection."

"The product is stable and strong."

More Fortinet FortiGate SWG pros

Cons

"The reporting feature needs improvement."

"Sometimes the agent stops working in iboss, and we have to reinstall the agent."

"Its pricing could be better."

"Sometimes, obviously, there are bugs."

"Their on-premise hardware's network interface is capped at one gigabit, which is sort of a problem. If you stand a filter up where all traffic flows through that, according to them, in order to go above a gigabit, you have to have multiple devices, which in today's IT seems a little bit silly. They could easily put in an SFP port into their device that could accommodate 10 gigs or at least offer a box."

"The solution could be stronger on the integration side and offer more cloud applications like G Suite or Oracle."

"The dashboards for local use could be better."

"I am currently doing a PoC of the zero trust aspect of it. Compared to other similar solutions, it is hard to get around each feature. It takes a while to get used to it."

More iboss cons

"Akamai SPS Threat Avert's pricing could be improved because it's a very expensive enterprise solution."

"The graphical user interface of Fortinet FortiGate SWG is an area of concern where improvements are required."

"The product’s price is high."

"They should make the product user-friendly and enhance the security features."

"Fortinet FortiGate SWG's costs need improvement."

"It is complicated to manage different kinds of on-premise boxes."

"Another issue is how deduplication services don't work reliably after enabling deduplication on Fortinet."

"There's room for improvement in the interface, especially following their upgrade to version nineteen."

"One area of improvement I've noticed is the lack of built-in monitoring capabilities in the firewall. Currently, we rely on third-party solutions for monitoring purposes. However, I believe the firewall itself has the potential to do a better job in this aspect. Another aspect of Fortinet that concerns me is related to redundancy. We have a setup with two firewalls working in parallel, which requires a highly adaptable configuration. However, it feels unfair that clients need to purchase two licenses, especially when one of the firewalls serves as a backup. We have noticed that other manufacturers have different policies on this matter."

More Fortinet FortiGate SWG cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is expensive compared to one of its competitors."

"It is probably in line with other solutions, but I do not deal with the financial side."

"It is not expensive, and it is also not cheap. iboss is priced right in the sweet spot for the number of features it offers."

"The overall pricing for iboss is very competitive and transparent."

"We have not priced the solution recently, but they were competitive with other vendors in the past."

"Provided the features Akamai SPS Threat Avert provides, it is bound to be expensive."

"It could be more competitive and cost-effective."

"When comparing this solution to others, I would rate it a ten out of ten in terms of pricing. However, the issue of requiring a separate license for redundancy is a drawback, and I would rate it a nine out of ten."

"The pricing for this solution is reasonable."

"Fortinet FortiGate SWG is an affordable solution."

"I rate the product's pricing a seven out of ten. Its one-year license cost is competitive with three and five-year licenses offered by other products."

"Pricing for Fortinet FortiGate SWG is more suitable for enterprise or large-sized organizations because they are the ones who can afford it versus small and medium-sized organizations."

"The solution is cheap."

"It is less expensive than a Cisco solution."

More Fortinet FortiGate SWG pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Computer Software Company

27%

Financial Services Firm

20%

Government

Manufacturing Company

Computer Software Company

15%

Government

Comms Service Provider

Financial Services Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about iboss?

Content filtering is the most useful feature of iboss.

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What needs improvement with iboss?

I have the same complaint about them that I have about other software companies. Sometimes when you call in support, ...

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What is your primary use case for iboss?

We are a PreK-12 public school district, and we use iboss to filter internet content for our students at home and sta...

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What do you like most about Akamai SPS Threat Avert?

The best feature of Akamai SPS Threat Avert is that it's very user-friendly compared to other technologies.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Akamai SPS Threat Avert?

Provided the features Akamai SPS Threat Avert provides, it is bound to be expensive.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Akamai SPS Threat Avert?

Akamai SPS Threat Avert's pricing could be improved because it's a very expensive enterprise solution. AWS and a lot ...

See all answers

What do you like most about Fortinet FortiGate SWG?

The interface and other reports are all user-friendly.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiGate SWG?

On a scale from one to ten, I would rate the pricing for FortiGate AWG as nine, which is perfect.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiGate SWG?

I would rate the technical support of Fortinet a six or seven out of ten. It is not very helpful. I would like to see...

See all answers

Comparisons

Zscaler Internet Access vs iboss

Compared 18% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs iboss

Compared 14% of the time

Netskope vs iboss

Compared 12% of the time

Cloudflare One vs iboss

Compared 11% of the time

Check Point Harmony SASE (formerly Perimeter 81) vs iboss

Compared 4% of the time

More iboss Competitors

Cisco Umbrella vs Akamai Secure Internet Access Enterprise

Compared 40% of the time

Zscaler Internet Access vs Akamai Secure Internet Access Enterprise

Compared 35% of the time

Infoblox BloxOne Threat Defense vs Akamai Secure Internet Access Enterprise

Compared 13% of the time

Palo Alto Networks DNS Security vs Akamai Secure Internet Access Enterprise

Compared 11% of the time

More Akamai Secure Internet Access Enterprise Competitors

Fortinet FortiProxy vs Fortinet FortiGate SWG

Compared 48% of the time

Cisco Umbrella vs Fortinet FortiGate SWG

Compared 21% of the time

Sangfor Internet Access Gateway (IAG) vs Fortinet FortiGate SWG

Compared 7% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs Fortinet FortiGate SWG

Compared 3% of the time

Forcepoint Secure Web Gateway vs Fortinet FortiGate SWG

Compared 2% of the time

More Fortinet FortiGate SWG Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

iboss

March 2025

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Buyer's Guide

Secure Web Gateways (SWG)

March 2025

Akamai Secure Internet Access Enterprise report

Download Akamai Secure Internet Access Enterprise product report

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiGate SWG

March 2025

Download Fortinet FortiGate SWG product report

Also Known As

iBoss Cloud Platform

Akamai Enterprise Threat Protector, Akamai ETP, Akamai SPS Threat Avert

FortiGate SWG, FortiGate Secure Web Gateway

Overview

iboss offers a comprehensive security platform designed for diverse use cases such as web filtering, data loss protection, corporate proxy services, and URL filtering.

iboss integrates advanced features to address dynamic security needs, leveraging its strength in SASE, ZTNA, AI initiatives, and cloud integration, while ensuring seamless operations for remote work. It excels in historical forensics, malware protection, and flexible cloud deployments. Users benefit from comprehensive traffic scanning, robust malware detection, and PaaS capabilities that reduce hardware management. An intuitive admin console ensures efficient management with content filtering and low false positives. SSL decryption enhances security, while DLP protects data in AI conversations. Deployment is rapid and scalable, allowing effortless integration with emerging technologies.

What features does iboss offer?

Granular Web Filtering: Provides precise control over web content access.
Traffic Scanning: Monitors data through multiple ports for security breaches.
Malware Detection: Ensures superior protection against malware threats.
PaaS Capabilities: Eliminates need for hardware management.
SSL Decryption: Enhances data protection by decrypting secure connections.
DLP Capabilities: Safeguards data during AI interactions.

What benefits and ROI should users consider?

Scalability: Adapts quickly to growing demands and emerging tech integration.
Rapid Deployment: Reduces time to implement security measures.
User-Friendly Admin Console: Facilitates efficient operations management.
Low False Positives: Increases accuracy of threat detection systems.

iboss finds significant application in sectors such as education, where web filtering for K-12 is crucial, and in corporate environments requiring robust proxy services and URL filtering for network security. Its adaptability is essential in scenarios demanding flexible, decentralized security frameworks, particularly for remote work setups.

iboss

Safely connect users & devices to the internet with a secure web gateway.

Akamai Secure Internet Access Enterprise (SIAE) enables security teams to proactively identify, block, and mitigate targeted threats such as malware, ransomware, phishing, and data exfiltration that exploit the Domain Name System (DNS). Powered by real-time intelligence from Akamai Cloud Security Intelligence and Akamai’s proven, globally distributed recursive DNS platform, Enterprise Threat Protector efficiently delivers security, control, and visibility to the enterprise while easily integrating with your existing network defenses.

Akamai

Fortinet FortiGate SWG is a comprehensive web security solution provided by Fortinet. FortiGate SWG combines web filtering, malware protection, data loss prevention (DLP), and application control capabilities into a single integrated platform. It is designed to protect organizations from web-based threats, enforce compliance policies, and provide secure access to web resources.

FortiGate SWG Benefits:

Comprehensive web filtering and security features
Ease of use and management
Integration with other Fortinet products
Strong threat detection capabilities
Scalability and flexibility
Granular control over user access and activity

FortiGate SWG Features:

Web Filtering: FortiGate SWG employs URL filtering and content categorization to control and enforce web access policies.
Malware Protection: The solution provides real-time protection against web-borne threats, such as malware, ransomware, and phishing attacks.
Data Loss Prevention (DLP): FortiGate SWG helps prevent sensitive data from being leaked or exfiltrated through web channels.
SSL Inspection: The solution supports SSL/TLS decryption and inspection, allowing organizations to examine encrypted web traffic for threats and enforce security policies.
Application Control: FortiGate SWG enables granular control over web applications and protocols.
Advanced Threat Intelligence: FortiGate SWG leverages Fortinet's threat intelligence services to provide up-to-date information about emerging threats and zero-day vulnerabilities.
User Authentication and Access Control: The solution supports various authentication methods, including single sign-on (SSO) and integration with identity providers, to ensure secure user authentication and access control for web resources.
Reporting and Analytics: FortiGate SWG provides comprehensive reporting and analytics capabilities.

FortiGate SWG is typically deployed as a hardware appliance or as a virtual appliance in on-premises environments, but it may also be available as a cloud-based service. It is part of Fortinet's broader security fabric ecosystem, allowing integration with other Fortinet products to provide a unified and coordinated security infrastructure.

Reviews from Real Users

Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by FortiGate SWG users.

David Carlson, CIO at Camco Mfg., says that "Non-IT people could plug it in, connect it to the fiber, and get it running without IT help".

Suresh Vijayen, Product Manager at IX Telecom, writes that FortiGate SWG "Provides helpful technical support, but its dashboard needs to be more user-friendly".

Chandan Munshi, Chief Technical Officer at Provision Technologies LLP, states that "The user interface is intuitive. Anyone can configure the firewall with little knowledge of the product. The back-end is robust with good security."

Fortinet

Sample Customers

More than 4,000 global enterprises trust the iboss Cloud Platform to support their modern workforces, including a large number of Fortune 50 companies.

MCNC, Educational Testing Service

Salt Lake County, Catholic College Bendigo, Azienda Unita Sanitaria

Buyer's Guide

Secure Web Gateways (SWG)

March 2025

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