Try our new research platform with insights from 80,000+ expert users

Cisco DNA Center vs Fortinet FortiGate Cloud comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco DNA Center
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
40
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (1st), Network Monitoring Software (19th), Network Automation (2nd)
Fortinet FortiGate Cloud
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
74
Ranking in other categories
Firewall Security Management (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

Cisco DNA Center and Fortinet FortiGate Cloud aren’t in the same category and serve different purposes. Cisco DNA Center is designed for Network Management Applications and holds a mindshare of 29.8%, up 27.4% compared to last year.
Fortinet FortiGate Cloud, on the other hand, focuses on Firewall Security Management, holds 5.4% mindshare, up 5.0% since last year.
Network Management Applications
Firewall Security Management
 

Featured Reviews

AvrahamSonenthal - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 12, 2024
Efficiently manages our wireless network and provides valuable monitoring features
The platform's biggest benefit has been in managing our wireless network. Having a single pane of glass to control all wireless controllers and access points and to monitor activity has been a significant advantage. We're a small federal agency with around 300 network devices, so automation is a minor focus. It's more relevant for larger networks. The main benefits we've seen are in inventory management and the potential for configuration automation. However, I recommend using the DNA Centre only for larger networks with over a thousand devices; otherwise, it may not be cost-effective. Before proceeding, ensure that your devices are compatible with DNA Center, as not all Cisco devices are supported. Also, investing in proper training is different from plug-and-play. I rate it an eight.
OcheEluma - PeerSpot reviewer
Aug 2, 2024
Cost-effective platform with valuable security management functionality
I use the product as a security and networking gateway. I have deployed instances in Azure and AWS as virtual appliances, and my main use cases are for connecting VPNs, routing, and securing connections between the outside and inside of the environment The platform's most helpful features for…

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It enables monitoring of various components such as access points, switch cards, and other elements within the company's solutions."
"Automation is another key highlight. With automation, you can automate everything through a single port."
"The solution helps in user microsegmentation."
"I like that we can easily configure any new hardware. It's also easy to deploy and easy to troubleshoot."
"The most valuable features of the solution are all of its security features...It is a highly scalable solution."
"I think that their LAN automation is a very good feature."
"We have many people from the team who manage a lot of devices. By using Cisco DNA Center, it has taken some of that burden away, we are impressed with it. We did the investment in CAPEX, but in the OPEX was very low."
"Cisco DNA Center provides operational support, compliance support, security vulnerability detection, and automatic scheduling."
"The template will save time from being wasted on load balancing."
"Our customers implement this solution so that they can be assured of security in their environment."
"This is a vast system that includes a lot of features."
"I have found the SD-WAN, flexibility, and security the most valuable features."
"The most valuable FortiGate Cloud feature is logging. It's there seven days a week, and there is no hard limit on logs or size restrictions. This much capacity will show up for that seven days. FortiGate Cloud offers many other valuable features like Fortinet Secure Gateway, SASE, and the Fortinet Security Fabric."
"FortiGate Cloud boosts productivity because one solution covers all the requirements, features, and management functions. Staff can operate it with less security knowledge, so it decreases the workload of our security specialists. Anyone with training on the console can manage access to users and devices based on standardized structural services."
"The solution responds more quickly to attacks or issues in the field."
"It's easy to use."
 

Cons

"The weaknesses primarily involve pricing and the ongoing need for increased bandwidth and data throughput."
"Cisco DNA Center should improve its configuration management. It is better to have a dev version before pushing it."
"What I want to see in Cisco DNA Center in the future is more support for other platforms so that you can manage third-party products, such as Fortinet."
"Cisco could improve the security side of their solutions."
"The product doesn’t have good monitoring capabilities."
"Cisco DNA Center was a new technology for us, at the beginning, it was not easy to do, but Cisco did a lot of training with us to a level we could handle everything. The team is managing itself now without the assistance of Cisco."
"In terms of the clustering part, there are some concerns."
"We encountered issues with their response times, which had a big impact on our workflow."
"GUI access could be improved. It should be simpler to access everything from the portal. Once we log in to the portal, we should be able to access all the Fortinet Cloud options."
"The console or demonstration tool could be more user friendly."
"Fortinet FortiGate Cloud could improve the dashboards."
"I had some problems with the performance."
"It would be much better if Fortinet FortiGate Cloud allowed third-party integrations like multi factor-authentication."
"The robustness of the software could be improved."
"All Fortinet products have many security flaws, and new versions often have large security holes."
"Fortinet could improve FortiGate Cloud by providing better integration with third-party applications and features."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The licensing cost for Cisco DNA Center is not more than that of other solutions."
"We get a yearly license at the time we buy the product."
"Licensing for Cisco DNA Center is a little bit expensive, just like any Cisco solution. Its cost could still be improved."
"Cisco DNA Center is too expensive."
"Affordability is a problem because it's created for large enterprises only. So, some customers, even if their engineers want the solution, might have problems with budget limitations."
"It is an expensive solution."
"The solution is a little bit expensive but depends a lot on the customer's usage. If you use it in the right place, you can easily pay for it."
"The solution is expensive."
"We need to pay a yearly licensing fee for Fortinet FortiGate Cloud."
"FortiGate Cloud was the most affordable option I knew of, but their new pricing is less of a bargain as it has fewer levels."
"The solution requires an annual license but the cost is reasonable in comparison to competitors in the same category."
"On a scale of one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the pricing a one or two. The pricing is suitable for our company."
"The solution is neither cheap nor expensive."
"The solution is relatively cost-effective compared to alternatives."
"The price fits the needs of our clients and it is adjustable by Defender."
"We have a yearly license because we have a huge environment, so we need to upgrade regularly. We do it annually because quarterly updates would overwhelm the staff. Cisco was doing it at half-year intervals."
report
Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Network Management Applications solutions are best for your needs.
815,854 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
20%
Government
10%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
6%
Computer Software Company
22%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Government
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco DNA Center?
The most valuable feature of the solution stems from the fact that it gives some kind of ease in operations, especially since our company is moving from CLI to GUI-based configuration.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco DNA Center?
I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, with ten being expensive.
What needs improvement with Cisco DNA Center?
One area that needs improvement is the upgrade process. The time required for downloading and installing packages during upgrades is too long, often taking around ten hours. This is a significant i...
What do you like most about Fortinet FortiGate Cloud?
Fortinet FortiGate Cloud has valuable firewall, SSL VPN, and web filtering features.
 

Also Known As

DNA Center
FortiCloud, FortiGate Cloud
 

Learn More

 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Information Not Available
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco DNA Center vs. Fortinet FortiGate Cloud and other solutions. Updated: May 2020.
815,854 professionals have used our research since 2012.