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Cisco Prime [EOL] vs Fortinet FortiManager comparison

 

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

Cisco Prime [EOL]
Average Rating
7.8
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
35
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Fortinet FortiManager
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
73
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (3rd)
 

Featured Reviews

AR
Network Engineer at Edmonton Catholic School Board
Has an easy implementation process, but the performance monitoring feature could be more intuitive
The project implementation was easy overall. Adapting Cisco's solutions to our specific environment required effort, as their documentation only covers some network scenarios. The deployment didn't happen all at once; it was staged and controlled to ensure a smooth transition. We started with a small test environment before gradually rolling it out to all campuses. This gradual approach helped mitigate the risk of any issues arising across multiple locations simultaneously, especially on a critical day like Monday morning. We have a team of three executives working on the process. Their job roles included network specialists and a manager. It requires maintenance, which is included in the annual cost. We receive updates and support as part of the renewal process.
SudeepMaydeo - PeerSpot reviewer
Global Head of IT Infrastructure at EPL Americas
Ensures seamless integration and centralized visibility for network security operations
The version upgrade from a single dashboard for all the firewalls in one click is the beauty of Fortinet FortiManager as the most impactful feature in managing our network security. Fortinet FortiManager's policy management enhances our security protocols by enabling us and giving integrated centralized visibility, which has proven to be very healthy. Because of this, we have identified some of the vulnerabilities in our systems, and we mitigated them through Fortinet FortiManager. The central dashboards and the visibility are what appealed to us to go with Fortinet FortiManager. Fortinet FortiManager has adapted to changes in our network scale and complexity as we have geographically 18 international locations, all equipped with firewalls and some cybersecurity initiatives and IT infrastructure initiatives.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The most valuable is the assistance for network support."
"The product has a lot of features and capabilities."
"The solution is very easy to use, and I absolutely advise using it, as long as your budget has no limits."
"Operationally, Prime is quite easy to use and I like the wireless heatmap and search management features."
"Our clients are happy with Prime, the stability is good and it's easy to manage."
"Cisco Prime, from a management perspective, has good reporting."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco Prime is the heat map."
"The dashboard is a valuable feature. It's very clear, and the metrics make it easy to see the current network situation."
"FortiManager is a benefit to our clients who have several Fortinet products in their ecosystem."
"We like the central management capabilities."
"It's a very rich, robust product."
"The main benefit of Fortinet FortiManager is the ability to control all the devices from a central location, view their statuses, and manage their configurations and updates from a single management console."
"For the ROI, for a five-year project, Fortinet FortiManager would be the best option to use."
"FortiManager is for the syncing of devices, and when companies are using multiple devices from Fortinet, such as FortiGate, FortiSwitches, and FortiAP, it is required so that a single person can centrally manage all of the devices, making it a very useful application."
"The best feature of Fortinet FortiManager is its ease of use. It is easy to manage the firewall from Fortinet FortiManager. Additionally, the interface is very good."
"The user interface is very easy to navigate."
 

Cons

"There is room for improvement in the Access layer."
"Cisco Prime's initial setup is complex."
"They could consider offering more flexible pricing options for their customers."
"The product is expensive compared to other vendors in the market."
"That is unacceptable and it's the biggest downfall of the solution."
"Cisco Prime is slow at times, we often have to restart the database to run reports or to gain access."
"It should be able to monitor Palo Alto, Juniper, and Check Point products - not just Cisco solutions."
"The solution needs to include centralized management that aligns with the Greenfield network and its focus on real-time, scenario-based applications."
"The solution could improve by having better integration with other solutions other than Fortinet."
"Can be difficult to configure."
"The solution has to be enhanced to manage new switches."
"I didn't like the connectivity with FortiManager and FortiSwitch, which was buggy and annoying and had fewer features."
"In the next release, FortiManager should include more protection features."
"FortiManager should improve the integration with third-party platforms."
"Performance issues should be improved. We have problems when we have more mobile connections than local devices. Most of us have two to three devices."
"Pricing-wise, it could always be less, even though it is less expensive than Palo Alto."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"If we have a license for Cisco DNA, we can use the same license for Cisco Prime."
"You need to get special quotes from the company for each order."
"I would rate the pricing of Cisco Prime a seven out of ten."
"I would rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."
"The product is expensive compared to other vendors in the market."
"The cost is quite high."
"Cisco Prime is an expensive solution."
"The product's performance monitoring feature could be more intuitive."
"Fortinet FortiManager is costly."
"The license model they use depends on the size and is not limited to the users."
"In comparison with other products, the price of FortiManager is reasonable."
"Fortinet FortiManager is a low-priced product."
"Compared to Check Point or Cisco, Fortinet FortiManager is more affordable but it is still on the higher end."
"I hope that the prices will become more competitive in subsequent releases, as the current pricing is perceived as somewhat elevated."
"The licensing costs depend on how many devices you want to use."
"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."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
12%
Government
12%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Computer Software Company
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Construction Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise5
Large Enterprise24
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business34
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise20
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiManager?
I am satisfied with the licensing cost, and I would rate it an 8.5.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiManager?
I would like to see functionality that simplifies my life. I understand that adding new devices should be simplified.
What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiManager?
I am using FortiGate 200E. I am mostly working with Fortinet FortiManager. Overall, I am using Fortinet FortiManager for everything. The dashboard is used frequently. I use Fortinet FortiManager mo...
 

Also Known As

Cisco Prime Infrastructure
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Mohawk Industries, Universidad EAFIT, Halton Healthcare
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco, Fortinet, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and others in Network Management Applications. Updated: June 2026.
902,456 professionals have used our research since 2012.