Cisco DNA Center vs Fortinet FortiManager comparison

Cisco and Fortinet are both solutions in the Network Management Applications category. Cisco is ranked #1 with an average rating of 8.0, while Fortinet is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.0. Cisco holds a 27.4% mindshare in NMA, compared to Fortinet’s 5.1% mindshare. Additionally, 89% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of Fortinet users who would recommend it.

Cisco DNA Center

Read 41 Cisco DNA Center reviews

6,512 Views
3,890 Comparison Views

89% willing to recommend

Fortinet FortiManager

Read 64 Fortinet FortiManager reviews

964 Views
719 Comparison Views

94% willing to recommend

Cisco DNA Center

Fortinet FortiManager

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jan 2, 2025

Fortinet FortiManager and Cisco DNA Center compete in centralized security and network management. Cisco DNA Center has the upper hand in network visibility and analytics, while FortiManager excels in the centralized management of Fortinet environments.

Features: Fortinet FortiManager provides centralized management for up to 100,000 devices with automation for deployments and policy creation. Its integration with Fortinet solutions offers seamless zero-touch provisioning and management capabilities. Cisco DNA Center excels in automation and provides comprehensive network visibility and analytics, enhancing security integration with Cisco devices.

Room for Improvement: FortiManager users report issues with documentation, real-time troubleshooting, and integration with external products. The VPN manager and user interface could be more intuitive. Cisco DNA Center experiences challenges with pricing, integration with non-Cisco products, and more detailed failure reporting, alongside desires for improvement in flexible configurations and intuitive interfaces.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both FortiManager and Cisco DNA Center offer on-premises deployment options, with FortiManager additionally thriving in cloud environments. FortiManager provides solid technical support, though sometimes lacking in speed and expertise. Cisco's support is more dependable but at a higher cost, providing consistent customer service due to its global reach.

Pricing and ROI: Fortinet FortiManager is seen as affordable with pricing flexibility based on device numbers, offering a significant ROI by optimizing management tasks. Cisco DNA Center, perceived as expensive, offers value in centralized management for large enterprises but may deter smaller businesses due to its cost. While offering comprehensive management tools, Cisco's high pricing impacts its ROI perception.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco DNA Center vs. Fortinet FortiManager Report (Updated: March 2025).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco DNA Center vs. Fortinet FortiManager

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

Cisco DNA Center

Ranking in Network Management Applications

1st

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

6.3

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Network Monitoring Software (13th), Network Automation (2nd)

Fortinet FortiManager

Ranking in Network Management Applications

3rd

Average Rating

8.0

Reviews Sentiment

7.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Mindshare comparison

As of March 2025, in the Network Management Applications category, the mindshare of Cisco DNA Center is 27.4%, down from 28.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiManager is 5.1%, down from 5.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Network Management Applications

Featured Reviews

AvrahamSonenthal

Senior Network Engineer at Inside Global

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.

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HamedWasel

Senior Network Security Engineer at Orange

Easy to set up with good integration capabilities but we've had troubles when moving devices

We've faced an issue when we need to move devices. Templates need to be recreated instead of having the policies, et cetera, cut and pasted over. Everything should just move over when we need to move devices instead of recreating everything from scratch. For the IPSEC tunnels, Fortimanager doesn't have all of the features that are available on Fortigate.

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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

"I think that their LAN automation is a very good feature."

"Cisco VXLAN is a protocol that has been around for some time, but the practical implementation and operational capability of Cisco DNA Center bring it to life."

"It is very versatile in terms of analytics."

"The solution helps in user microsegmentation."

"We can monitor all devices and get the required information using the product."

"I like that we can easily configure any new hardware. It's also easy to deploy and easy to troubleshoot."

"It enables monitoring of various components such as access points, switch cards, and other elements within the company's solutions."

"The best feature of Cisco DNA Center is the visibility page, where you can see everything on the dashboard, and you don't have to be a technical person to view the issues."

More Cisco DNA Center pros

"The most valuable feature is the centralized management console."

"FortiManager's best feature is the integration of administrator users."

"FortiManager's most valuable feature is central management."

"There is something called zero-touch provisioning, where you can add a new device without any configuration. You just add it to FortiManager and then forget about it."

"The user interface, along with user-friendly planning features, makes it straightforward to configure desired settings."

"The product is easy to use and manage."

"Fortinet has the option of synchronization in the cloud, so you can manage everything if you have a cloud account."

"It's very easy to install, and it's easy to discover and communicate with your device."

More Fortinet FortiManager pros

Cons

"The solution's technical support is an area with which my company's clients have a problem. Cisco doesn't provide good technical support unless a user has a big account that Cisco wants to retain."

"Cisco DNA Center should improve its configuration management. It is better to have a dev version before pushing it."

"From the recent DNA point of view, there are some stability challenges with Cisco, but very minor."

"The solution can be quite pricey."

"Requires more focus on the digital side of things."

"The solution’s security side could be improved."

"They can improve the network visibility. Licensing and its maintenance are also needed."

"The solution's integration feature can be better."

More Cisco DNA Center cons

"Its licensing model should be improved."

"Troubleshooting for Fortinet products is more difficult than competing products like Cisco and Palo Alto."

"The reporting details have room for improvement."

"There are a lot of bugs that need to be fixed, for example, the ZTP."

"Within the management of some features on FortiManager, specifically the management of user objects used for VPN service, FortiManager is quite weak."

"The graphics interface between Fortinet FortiManager and any Forti products should be standardized."

"The price always has room for improvement."

"The interface could be improved. It is split up into different areas, which makes it more difficult to navigate and get the right section of the correct file. The solution is quite expensive, so it would not be suitable for small to medium sized organizations."

More Fortinet FortiManager cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Cisco DNA Center is expensive."

"It is an expensive solution."

"The licensing cost for Cisco DNA Center is not more than that of other solutions."

"I do know that Cisco does offer some really good promotions for DNA Center to bring the costs down."

"I would rate the pricing a six out of ten, with ten being expensive."

"The tool is medium-priced."

"We have a three-year license with them."

"Licensing for Cisco DNA Center is a little bit expensive, just like any Cisco solution. Its cost could still be improved."

More Cisco DNA Center pricing and cost advice

"The solution requires you to have a license for every device, as well as for any advanced features being used, which makes it costly for high-volume users. However, for a large-scale environment with a lot of customers we have found it to be a worthwhile investment."

"The price of Fortinet FortiManager is inexpensive."

"Our organization pays a monthly license fee for the solution."

"If you compare Fortinet and Palo Alto, Fortinet is cheaper, but if you compare Cisco and Fortinet, sometimes Cisco is cheaper because Cisco gives us more discounts because of the size. Cisco isn't cheap, but sometimes, we get a big discount from them."

"I hope that the prices will become more competitive in subsequent releases, as the current pricing is perceived as somewhat elevated."

"Fortinet FortiManager is a low-priced product."

"Fortinet is a high-end product and the cost is high. They should consider reducing the price, especially for existing customers."

"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a six out of ten."

More Fortinet FortiManager pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

17%

Government

10%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Computer Software Company

18%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Manufacturing Company

Comms Service Provider

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.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco DNA Center?

The cost is very high.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Cisco DNA Center?

The system is working fine for me currently.

See all answers

What do you like most about Fortinet FortiManager?

The most valuable feature is the centralized management console.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiManager?

Pricing is reasonable and does not pose challenges.

See all answers

What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiManager?

The graphical user interface could use improvement as it appears complex and not user-friendly. Better integration of Fortinet ADC into FortiManager would be beneficial.

See all answers

Comparisons

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Compared 9% of the time

Juniper Mist Wired Assurance vs Cisco DNA Center

Compared 8% of the time

SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager vs Cisco DNA Center

Compared 7% of the time

Meraki Dashboard vs Cisco DNA Center

Compared 7% of the time

NetBrain vs Cisco DNA Center

Compared 6% of the time

More Cisco DNA Center Competitors

Fortinet FortiGate Cloud vs Fortinet FortiManager

Compared 68% of the time

Fortinet FortiOS vs Fortinet FortiManager

Compared 9% of the time

AlgoSec vs Fortinet FortiManager

Compared 5% of the time

Fortinet FortiWeb vs Fortinet FortiManager

Compared 3% of the time

Zabbix vs Fortinet FortiManager

Compared 3% of the time

More Fortinet FortiManager Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Cisco DNA Center

March 2025

Download Cisco DNA Center product report

Buyer's Guide

Fortinet FortiManager

March 2025

Download Fortinet FortiManager product report

Also Known As

DNA Center

No data available

Overview

Cisco DNA Center offers a comprehensive platform for network automation and management, providing detailed analytics, enhanced security, and streamlined operations for both wired and wireless networks.

Cisco DNA Center integrates with Cisco infrastructure to deliver efficient network automation and management, helping organizations improve network visibility, security, and control. It supports AI-driven analytics and automated workflows to enhance operational efficiency and reduce errors. Challenges include compatibility with third-party systems, steep learning curve, and complex deployment. Its interface facilitates centralized control, vital for troubleshooting, policy management, and configuration management, with support for zero-touch provisioning and SD-Access.

What are the key features of Cisco DNA Center?

Robust Analytics: Provides detailed insights into network health with AI-driven analytics.
Centralized Security: Integrates with ISE for comprehensive security management.
Automated Device Management: Simplifies device provisioning and configuration transfers.
Wi-Fi Analytics: Offers deep insights into wireless network performance.
Zero-Touch Provisioning: Streamlines new device deployments with minimal human intervention.
Scalable Segmentation: Efficiently segments network traffic ensuring security and performance.

What benefits should users consider?

Operational Efficiency: Automation reduces potential errors and streamlines workflow.
Enhanced Security: Integration with Cisco ISE bolsters security capabilities.
Network Visibility: Comprehensive dashboards and analysis tools enhance monitoring.
Troubleshooting: Real-time monitoring aids in identifying and resolving issues swiftly.

In sectors such as healthcare, finance, and retail, Cisco DNA Center is utilized for its ability to enhance security and compliance, manage large-scale networks, and provide detailed analytics for better operational decision-making. Its support for location tracking and policy automation ensures efficient network management across diverse environments.

Cisco

Fortinet FortiManager is used for centralized management of FortiGate firewalls, utilizing zero-touch deployment techniques to optimize configuration and deployment, reducing installation time and errors while improving network security and efficiency.

By centralizing policy management and monitoring across devices and locations, Fortinet FortiManager enhances security and operational efficiency. Automation tools simplify management, control, and consistent configuration across environments. It offers scalability for managing large numbers of devices, beneficial for organizations seeking unified threat protection and streamlined administration from one console. The platform integrates effortlessly with Fortinet products, supporting zero-touch provisioning, SD-WAN, and traffic analysis. Although intuitive, the graphical interface and overall performance require refinement, alongside enhanced support and documentation for troubleshooting and configuration.

What are the key features of Fortinet FortiManager?

Centralized Management: Streamlines device configuration across multiple systems.
Automation Tools: Simplifies implementation and maintenance of configurations.
Zero-Touch Provisioning: Reduces setup time and minimizes errors.
SD-WAN Support: Enhances wide-area network efficiency and effectiveness.
Traffic Analysis: Monitors network traffic for improved security insights.
Policy Pushing: Facilitates efficient deployment of security rules.

What benefits and ROI should users look for in reviews?

Operational Efficiency: Reduces installation time and configuration errors.
Scalability: Supports management of numerous devices.
Improved Security: Centralized management enhances threat protection.
Time Savings: Automation reduces manual intervention needs.
Cost-Effectiveness: Simplified administration can lower management costs.

Fortinet FortiManager is implemented across diverse industries like telecommunications, finance, and healthcare, where centralized management and enhanced security are crucial. Its ability to streamline processes and integrate with existing Fortinet products makes it ideal for organizations looking to maintain robust network security standards.

Fortinet

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data

Buyer's Guide

Cisco DNA Center vs. Fortinet FortiManager

March 2025

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