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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
6.9
Number of Reviews
72
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 dashboard is a valuable feature. It's very clear, and the metrics make it easy to see the current network situation."
"As a large organization, it is difficult to individually monitor every device. Instead, we use Cisco Prime to keep an eye on the network and services. We do not use it as a node tool, as we have other tools for network operation centers. When services go down, it can cause issues, we rely on Cisco Prime to monitor and notify us of any service disruptions. We mainly use Cisco Prime Infrastructure for configuration-level tasks."
"Cisco Prime has been around for a long time, and it keeps getting better and better."
"It helps us manage and monitor analytics and fix issues."
"The solution helps with the management and support of the enterprise network."
"Enables oversight in order to tweak and tune."
"I have found the solution to be scalable."
"If an AP or any wireless device goes into critical mode, Cisco Prime sends an alert. That is the most helpful feature."
"I find Fortinet's technical support for FortiManager effective and I would rate it eight out of ten."
"The firewall configuration has more capabilities than the other firewall management systems that I have worked with."
"The most valuable feature is the central configuration for firewall policies."
"The most valuable feature is the centralized management console."
"Stability is good within the product."
"Fortinet FortiManager can centrally manage all FortiGates and is effective for the deployment of updates and patches."
"The centralized management of policies and certificates, coupled with the capability to handle multi-site deployments effectively, provides streamlined operations."
"The capability of centralized management is valuable. We can configure all firewall boxes with the same configuration."
 

Cons

"The overall management capabilities of Prime need to be improved."
"The reporting feature of Cisco Prime should be improved."
"It should be able to monitor Palo Alto, Juniper, and Check Point products - not just Cisco solutions."
"The product's pricing can be cheaper."
"If you think about a centralized monitoring system, Cisco Prime is not good because it does not support third-party vendors like Palo Alto or FortiGate."
"They can also improve the management of more enterprise devices."
"If you look at some of the wireless site-survey tools that are available in the commercial space, Cisco should include similar solutions, which would help our on-plant engineers when they're doing a site survey."
"Lacking in integration with a SIEM tool."
"Setting up FortiManager can be complex because it involves changes from other devices and a lot of configuration."
"Their EDR products could be better. They need to dedicate more R&D to that area."
"The scalability has room for improvement."
"If you have more than one FortiMail device, you can't manage it then with FortiManager on FortiGate."
"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."
"Wizards could be improved in pushing policies."
"The user interface can feel clunky, especially for more complex tasks such as managing large-scale policy packages or custom scripts."
"Having FortiManager work with all of the Fortinet products would be a good improvement."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I would rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."
"The price of Cisco Prime was reasonable because we purchased it as part of a Cisco One package. The package was a bundle of Cisco solutions together, such as Cisco ISE and CMX. The price is reasonable com compared to other solutions."
"The solution is not inexpensive but is worth it for large-scale environments."
"I would rate the pricing of Cisco Prime a seven out of ten."
"The product is expensive compared to other vendors in the market."
"The product's performance monitoring feature could be more intuitive."
"We update the license every five years."
"Cisco Prime is an expensive solution."
"The price of Fortinet FortiManager is inexpensive."
"On a scale from one to ten with one being the highest price and ten being the lowest price, I would rate FortiManager's price at three."
"In comparison with other products, the price of FortiManager is reasonable."
"Our organization pays a monthly license fee for the solution."
"Fortinet FortiManager operates on a licensing system that is dependent on the number of devices being managed. Yearly subscription renewal is necessary to continue using the service. Although there is a cost associated with Fortinet FortiManager, its price is undoubtedly justified by the value it provides in terms of the purpose it serves."
"For us, it is a little bit expensive."
"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."
"Pricing could improve a little bit so I rate it a seven out of ten."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
16%
Computer Software Company
12%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Healthcare Company
8%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business9
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise24
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business35
Midsize Enterprise16
Large Enterprise19
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco Prime?
The most valuable features of Cisco Prime include its comprehensive functionality as a one-stop solution for basic SNMP port management.
What needs improvement with Cisco Prime?
The product's performance monitoring feature could be more intuitive.
What is your primary use case for Cisco Prime?
We use Cisco Prime for centralized configuration management backups and monitoring.
What do you like most about Fortinet FortiManager?
The most valuable feature is the centralized management console.
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 do not use Fortinet FortiManager daily, but I can speak with my security team and ask them what areas need future improvement for Fortinet FortiManager. When I installed it, I found it somewhat d...
 

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, NetScaler and others in Network Management Applications. Updated: December 2025.
879,899 professionals have used our research since 2012.