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Cisco Meraki Systems Manager (MDM+EMM) vs Fortinet FortiGate comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

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

Microsoft Intune
Sponsored
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
238
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (2nd), Remote Access (1st), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (1st), Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) (1st), Microsoft Security Suite (1st)
Cisco Meraki Systems Manage...
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.5
Number of Reviews
30
Ranking in other categories
Mobile Device Management (MDM) (3rd), Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) (6th)
Fortinet FortiGate
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
318
Ranking in other categories
Firewalls (2nd), Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) Solutions (1st), WAN Edge (1st)
 

Mindshare comparison

Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM)
Firewalls
 

Q&A Highlights

CV
Jun 12, 2024
 

Featured Reviews

Joseph Merusi - PeerSpot reviewer
Everything has worked better since we started using it
Sometimes the syncing is inconsistent. I'm confident that the devices are checking in every eight hours, but sometimes the devices aren't picking up the settings as quickly as I would expect. Some features haven't been updated in a while, and Microsoft doesn't seem interested in developing them. Unless you talk to an engineer, you don't know whether there will be an update. There are communication issues, so you might start working with a feature without knowing if it will be deprecated six months from now. Some reporting areas still need development. For example, I noticed that the reporting for driver updates is still confusing.
GaneshKhutwad - PeerSpot reviewer
A central portal where you can add, stack, configure, and maintain your devices
Nearly 35,000 users are connected to Systems from America because their network is configured to cover worldwide areas. I have approximately 450 devices connected, which can scale based on requirements. For instance, if you have around five hundred to six hundred users in one office, the MR14 and MR24 series are suitable. For environments with a larger number of standard device users, the MR24 series is recommended. Cisco Meraki provides various series to meet your requirements, allowing you to manage your users efficiently. I rate the solution's scalability a nine out of ten.
EhabAli - PeerSpot reviewer
Efficient, user-friendly, and affordable
In the past, NSS Labs was utilized to test files and verify the numbers and datasheets. It would be beneficial to have an organization or testing lab that can verify the numbers in our datasheets since changes are frequently made, which can be inconvenient for review. For instance, when comparing different competitors such as Forcepoint, Palo Alto, and Check Point, the throughput or numbers in the datasheet may be lower than the actual numbers. Conversely, Fortinet typically reports very high numbers, but they cannot be replicated in the real world. Therefore, it would be advantageous for them to partner with a neutral testing organization such as NSS Labs to validate these numbers, thus providing more credibility and comfort to everyone regarding the accuracy of the datasheets. For the migration, everyone has a firewall in use and I am selling Fortinet. Typically, I am replacing another firewall. Previously, there was a tool available to convert configurations from one firewall, such as Palo Alto, to Fortinet, but this tool is no longer free. If it could be made free again, it would be very beneficial. This tool shows a lot of promise and is very good. Making it free would help many companies deliver their products in a more efficient and integrated way. It would also be more valuable to include the tool with the firewall package or license instead of having to pay extra for it. Paying extra puts more pressure on small companies to deliver the firewall and complete the configuration, especially if they have hundreds or thousands of policies. It's very painful to move through these policies line by line. The stability has room for improvement. When it comes to Secure SD-WAN, everything is fine. They are going the right way. SD-WAN is very promising. They can provide the SD-WAN solution separately, but they will not take this approach because even the smallest firewall can support the features, so there is no need to have a separate service or appliance. They are following the right steps, and there is nothing to be improved. Feature-wise, I'm really satisfied with the new release, and the features they have added. For now, it's fine.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Intune saves time, and it is very easy to use. It allows us to manage applications completely."
"I haven't used other mobile device management solutions, but compared to SCCM, we eliminate a lot of on-premises infrastructure and maintenance by using Intune."
"The core management feature in Intune is invaluable to us, especially considering the challenges we often face with System Center when pushing external updates."
"It's normally able to meet 100% expectations of our customers."
"It is helpful for managing devices anytime and any place without requiring dependency on the local networks."
"Its protection policies are most valuable. It protects mobile devices as well as individual apps. It is pretty scalable, and its documentation is also pretty good. It is also pretty straightforward to deploy."
"If I assess Intune's user experience, I would say it is perfect and simple."
"Intune provides full endpoint visibility and IT control across device platforms. You can individualize it for your company with the Intune Company Portal app."
"The UI is easy to learn."
"The web portal provides status reporting and ease of configuration."
"It's a very easy solution for the most part, it's very easy to implement and very easy to administer."
"It’s helped us manage our endpoints."
"Meraki Systems Manager's most valuable features are password management, device tracking, remote resetting and wiping, device management, inventory management, and easy policy deployment."
"The most valuable features include remote inventory analysis, security features like geofencing, and software distribution."
"The most efficient way is to prepare your integration in the cloud. After that, we can push your configuration from the cloud to the site once you connect the device. This process makes connecting the cloud and the new devices seamless and allows for easy configuration pushing."
"The cloud manager is user-friendly, and I can manage everything from one dashboard."
"It's super reliable. I don't think I've ever had a reliability issue with it."
"The interface is very user-friendly and I like it very much."
"It is user friendly, and has all the features you need."
"FortiGate improved our security. It's one of the best hardware firewalls."
"I only deal with it from a security analyst's point of view. I don't really get into the features of the actual FortiGate. From the security point of view, it works, and it does its job."
"Some of the valuable features are the firewall, IPS, web filter, and gateway capabilities. Additionally, it is easy to use and flexible."
"I'm looking forward to FortiGate's dashboard features, insights, application oversight, and monitoring, which could help us significantly."
"The most valuable feature is the interface, which is very user friendly. We are utilizing most of the features, like content filtering. The firewall is powerful."
 

Cons

"For autopilot, there should be more granularity on the settings that they offer at this stage."
"I would like to see better integration with Microsoft."
"The initial setup is a little bit complex."
"There are some issues using the solution with macOS and iOS, and it offers limited granular control with them. Intune works better on Windows and Android."
"Microsoft Intune is not user-friendly to manage and has room for improvement."
"They could also make it easier to use because there are some other products that may be easier to use in terms of the look and feel of the dashboard."
"It needs incorporation of Knox, ZeroTouch, etc."
"There is room for improvement, particularly in terms of compatibility, extending beyond the well-known major brands."
"They need to allocate more energy in terms of their offering to devices that are not Apple devices."
"Meraki Systems Manager lacks scripting capability compared to Workspace. I've seen the product focused mainly on mobile solutions. They might need more development in endpoints like Windows desktops."
"In my opinion, the equipment availabilities and competitive pricings could be improved."
"It doesn't seem to be able to establish some VPN tunnels with other devices in a particular way that such as an ASA can do for us."
"One area for improvement in Cisco Meraki Systems Manager is the ability for more advanced users to make detailed and non-standard changes."
"The maintenance is average."
"There are problems with the connection on the client side, and the app that was deployed could be better."
"They could include bandwidth-based policies."
"Security is a continuous process. In every product, there is a requirement for improvement. Its pricing should also be improved according to Indian market requirements. They must also improve on the reporting part. Its reporting can be more precise. If we can get a real-time report in a specific format, it will be helpful for customers to know about the current status of their security."
"I could not configure sFlow from the FortiGate graphical user interface. I realized that the sFlow configuration is available only from the CLI, and discovered that sFlow is not supported on virtual interfaces, such as VDOM links, IPsec, or GRE."
"At first glance, the interface for the device is very confusing."
"The solution could be more secure and stable."
"You do need some IT knowledge in order to effectively work with the solution."
"I think they need to improve more in order to be a competitor with the leaders of the field."
"The firmware needs improvement because there are bugs when a new release comes through. Sometimes, the configuration changes, and it's a bit harder to see where the fail is. The first time that you have the firmware, it tends to have some issues, and it's better to wait a bit to update the equipment."
"Fortinet FortiGate is a firewall solution and once it's deployed, you can rest assured that your system is secure."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"It is expensive. The cost depends on the license that we choose."
"There are licenses required for this solution. We enable licenses on the devices we need to manage."
"There is a license needed to use the solution and we are on an annual license."
"While Microsoft charges for actual usage, it lacks discount options."
"For organizations that are a Microsoft shop, the pricing is compelling."
"Microsoft Intune is not cost-effective as a standalone product."
"I rate Intune five out of 10 for pricing. It's expensive."
"The Intune license model is costly."
"This product is reasonably priced."
"The storage is affordable and the system has some price-related issues. Therefore, keeping the price in mind, I would rate it seven out of ten."
"The price is high for the market."
"Cisco Meraki Systems Manager is an expensive solution."
"My customers at times have issues with the price of the solution. It is expensive, but overall it is worth it. The licensing model cost is based on how many devices you require."
"Meraki MDM is the cheapest solution we have used."
"It's extremely competitive and very good for a product in this sphere."
"The cost of installing this solution can be more expensive depending on who is doing the installation. Cisco is very expensive."
"It's an expensive solution."
"In the Asian economy in which we operate, FortiGate is expensive."
"The value is the capability of having multiple services with one unique license, not having the limitation per user licensing schema, like other vendors."
"The price is okay."
"The price for the Fortinet FortiGate is reasonable. Secure SD-WAN is free of charge. If you have their firewall, it's free of charge. It's very tempting."
"Setup cost may be not so low, as you expect, because it depends on different factors, but TCO for 5 years may pleasantly surprise you."
"We find the most valuable aspect of this solution is the price. It is affordable, and cheaper than other firewalls."
"The price is fine."
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Comparison Review

it_user216600 - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 3, 2016
Sophos UTM vs. Fortinet FortiGate
I have used both Sophos and Fortinet products in production and I have found the Sophos UTM appliances (hardware and virtual) to be a better fit most of the time -- with a few caveats which I will touch on below. In both instances, the transition from TMG will be mostly straightforward. The main…
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
27%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
7%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Educational Organization
52%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
4%
Manufacturing Company
4%
Educational Organization
22%
Computer Software Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
6%
Manufacturing Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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What are the biggest technical differences between Sophos UTM and Fortinet FortiGate?
As a solution, Sophos UTM offers a lot of functionality, it scales well, and the stability and performance are quite ...
 

Also Known As

Intune, MS Intune, Microsoft Endpoint Manager
Meraki MDM
FortiGate 60b, FortiGate 60c, FortiGate 80c, FortiGate 50b, FortiGate 200b, FortiGate 110c, FortiGate, Fortinet Firewall
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mitchells and Buzzers, Callaway
Hafen Hamburg & Empire Riverside Hotel, Eastview Church, Tourism Holdings, Colegio Sagrada Familia Hijas de Jesús, Tommy Bahama's, Canadian School Mexico, Rosebank College
Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Dell, HP, Oracle, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Vodafone, Orange, BT Group, Telstra, Deutsche Telekom, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, CenturyLink, NTT Communications, Tata Communications, SoftBank, China Mobile, Singtel, Telus, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Telkom Indonesia, Telkom South Africa, Telmex, Telia Company, Telkom Kenya
Find out what your peers are saying about Microsoft, JAMF, Omnissa and others in Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM). Updated: January 2025.
838,713 professionals have used our research since 2012.