

Aruba Airwave and Fortinet FortiManager compete in the network management sector, each offering unique advantages. While Aruba Airwave is known for its broad vendor compatibility, Fortinet FortiManager stands out for its strong focus on security and automation features.
Features: Aruba Airwave provides rich reporting, zero-touch provisioning, and support for multivendor environments. It's designed for ease of use, accommodating various network products, and offering effective troubleshooting tools. Fortinet FortiManager offers centralized management, integrates well with other Fortinet products, and provides automation tools that simplify deployment and management tasks for up to 100,000 devices.
Room for Improvement: Aruba Airwave could improve its integration with third-party systems, refine synchronization between CLI and GUI, and enhance multi-platform compatibility, though cost remains a user concern. Fortinet FortiManager needs better documentation, improved real-time traffic monitoring, increased compatibility, and more streamlined interfaces.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Aruba Airwave and Fortinet FortiManager are mostly used on-premises, with Fortinet also supporting cloud environments. Aruba's customer service has mixed reviews, with customers noting quicker response times from competitors like Cisco. Fortinet is known for reliable support but could enhance regional availability and technical query management.
Pricing and ROI: Aruba Airwave is considered costly, especially regarding scalability and additional licensing, but provides good ROI through operational efficiency. Fortinet FortiManager is competitively priced relative to other firewalls, appreciated for its flexible licensing and robust security, leading to a positive ROI but there is demand for more competitive future pricing.
Fortinet provides a strong ROI for organizations focused on comprehensive security.
The cost has been reduced for us by 24%.
I would rate their technical support as a nine or ten, as it's quite good.
Angie was very kind and communicated well in both Spanish and English, making it pleasant to connect with her.
The people are very good, and they are very attentive.
Fortinet's support has proven to be reliable, particularly as we've been engaged with them since the project's initiation.
They are responsive and resolve issues quickly when I raise a ticket.
Aruba Airwave is fully scalable, as we have a large number of tenants using the network with approximately six thousand end users.
Aruba Airwave gives good information about SNR value, signal value, and you can get extensive information.
Whenever you are monitoring or managing more than 10 or 20 firewalls, it is evident that you need a single pane of glass, which Fortinet FortiManager is offering.
You can raise the capacity as you go, and there is no limit for hardware.
The problem is cloud connectivity and roaming profiles are not working, as there is no option for them.
I have found Aruba Airwave to be stable.
As it is centralized, sometimes it disconnects from the cloud, and I need to reboot.
I rate the solution's stability ten out of ten.
95% of the time, there are no problems interacting with other devices.
It is an absolutely very stable product, and we have not encountered any kind of disruption as far as the product is concerned.
The end-to-end users' messages show some details that are not always up-to-date, and sometimes the information from the GUI is not exactly aligned with what's on the website.
I find the price of Aruba Central compared to Aruba Airwave to be more expensive.
When upgrading hardware, there were technical issues with network interfaces and Red Hat, which required escalation to developers.
FortiManager is a good tool, but there is a lack of really advanced documentation.
In such cases, their CPE or other devices on-site may become unreliable, leading to occasional configuration discrepancies.
The graphical user interface could use improvement as it appears complex and not user-friendly.
The pricing for Aruba Airwave is acceptable because compared to Cisco, it's slightly cheaper, but not significantly - maybe 5% or 7% less expensive.
I hope that the prices will become more competitive in subsequent releases, as the current pricing is perceived as somewhat elevated.
I would rate the price 8 out of 10 with 10 being the most expensive.
Some competing solutions in the market, like Sophos and SonicWALL, offer lower costs of up to 40 percent.
It provides near real-time monitoring using AIMON and AURO protocols, which is robust with multiple models and brand support.
Aruba Airwave provides good visibility, offering extensive data on network dynamics, such as access point connections, usage, signal strengths, and potential interference from neighboring Wi-Fi networks.
The most helpful feature I noticed, yet did not utilize, allowed us to add our Cisco switches for monitoring.
I can automate the installation of configurations using different programming languages like Python or HPE, and it's a GUI solution, so it's pretty easy to use, even for basic users.
Being able to push consistent firewall rules and configuration changes across multiple FortiGates saves a ton of time and reduces errors compared to managing each device individually.
FortiManager captures all devices and provides reports for security analysis.
| Product | Market Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Fortinet FortiManager | 4.4% |
| Aruba Airwave | 4.0% |
| Other | 91.6% |

| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 11 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 4 |
| Large Enterprise | 14 |
| Company Size | Count |
|---|---|
| Small Business | 35 |
| Midsize Enterprise | 16 |
| Large Enterprise | 19 |
Fortinet FortiManager offers centralized management for FortiGate devices, ensuring easy synchronization with cloud accounts, automation, and policy deployment, enhancing network security and performance.
Fortinet FortiManager provides comprehensive oversight and streamlined operations for FortiGate environments. It centralizes the administration of firewalls and other Fortinet devices, simplifying their configuration and deployment. Users benefit from its efficient automation and policy management capabilities, which reduce implementation times and enhance security protocols. FortiManager features seamless integration and robust monitoring within a single interface, offering visibility across network operations. While it requires improvements in documentation, platform integration, and licensing clarity, it remains an essential tool for large-scale network management.
What are the standout features?In the finance and healthcare industries, Fortinet FortiManager enhances security and compliance by streamlining policy management and deployment across multiple sites. Retail sectors benefit from its scalable network management, ensuring continuous and reliable connectivity across branches. Education institutions use it to manage complex security infrastructures, effectively handling multiple devices and networks to safeguard sensitive data.
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