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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 hardware Cisco provides is excellent. It's a well-made product."
"I have found the solution to be scalable."
"The solution's configuration management tool is amazing because it centralizes and pushes configurations which saves a lot of volume and effort."
"The solution's configuration management tool is amazing because it centralizes and pushes configurations which saves a lot of volume and effort."
"In terms of reliability especially, Cisco is light years ahead."
"The most valuable feature of Cisco Prime is its excellent audio and video conferencing with clear quality and no interruptions."
"Operationally, Prime is quite easy to use and I like the wireless heatmap and search management features."
"It gives you the ability to upgrade switches remotely, schedule the upgrade time, perform backups, and monitor the health of all networks."
"FortiManager's best feature is the integration of administrator users."
"Central management system for Fortinet devices that's simple, scalable, and stable, with a straightforward setup."
"I find Fortinet's technical support for FortiManager effective and I would rate it eight out of ten."
"In general, I have no serious concerns about this product so I have no problems recommending it."
"We look at the traffic to segment the network and it improves and increases the performance, and when we have a mobile connection and local laptops on the same network, we have seen a big performance upgrade."
"It's a very rich, robust product."
"It is easy to manage a huge number of devices with FortiManager."
"For the ROI, for a five-year project, Fortinet FortiManager would be the best option to use."
 

Cons

"The product's performance monitoring feature could be more intuitive."
"The onboarding process could be improved and developed to enhance compatibility for non-Cisco devices."
"Cisco Prime's initial setup is complex."
"The product is expensive compared to other vendors in the market."
"I rate Cisco Prime seven out of 10 for affordability. All Cisco solutions are expensive."
"The solution is not easy to configure."
"We would like to see the inclusion of detailed alerts."
"Prime is used for managing all the infrastructure and if it can be integrated with the SIEM tool it could be well managed."
"I didn't like the connectivity with FortiManager and FortiSwitch, which was buggy and annoying and had fewer features."
"The CLI could be enhanced."
"The information extraction through command lines was could improve to some extent. Although there were some command lines available, there were not enough options. For instance, I needed to obtain the management IP address of my two Fortigates, but the Fortinet FortiManager did not provide me with the IP address on the LAN interface. I attempted to find this information through the command line but was unsuccessful. I also searched for articles on the internet, but could not find a solution. This is an aspect that could be improved or potentially there is a method to access this information that I have yet to discover."
"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."
"I think the initial setup is too complicated because there are several versions of the operating systems, so you don't have directly connections between two devices."
"Within the management of some features on FortiManager, specifically the management of user objects used for VPN service, FortiManager is quite weak."
"I prefer configuring rules and the VPN on the standalone device, not on the manager."
"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."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The product's performance monitoring feature could be more intuitive."
"Cisco Prime is an expensive solution."
"If we have a license for Cisco DNA, we can use the same license for Cisco Prime."
"I would rate the solution's pricing an eight out of ten."
"The solution is not inexpensive but is worth it for large-scale environments."
"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 cost is quite high."
"We update the license every five years."
"Fortinet FortiManager is not expensive at all if you compare it with other vendors like Check Point and Cisco. Fortinet products are the least expensive on the market in the category of firewalls."
"For us, it is a little bit expensive."
"FortiManager is a bit expensive - I would rate its pricing three out of ten."
"In comparison with other products, the price of FortiManager is reasonable."
"Fortinet FortiManager is a low-priced product."
"Our organization pays a monthly license fee for the solution."
"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."
"FortiManager isn't expensive, but its cost is dependent on which services are required."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Construction Company
8%
Financial Services Firm
8%
Computer Software Company
10%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
 

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, Hewlett Packard Enterprise and others in Network Management Applications. Updated: March 2026.
886,426 professionals have used our research since 2012.