Cisco Wireless vs Fortinet FortiWLC comparison

Cisco and Fortinet are both solutions in the Wireless LAN category. Cisco is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.6, while Fortinet is ranked #25. Cisco holds a 12.1% mindshare in Wireless LAN, compared to Fortinet’s 0.3% mindshare. Additionally, 88% of Cisco users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 100% of Fortinet users who would recommend it.

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 31, 2024

Cisco Wireless and Fortinet FortiWLC are rivals in the wireless LAN market. Cisco Wireless seems to have the upper hand in enterprise connectivity and seamless integration, while Fortinet FortiWLC shines with security features.

Features: Cisco Wireless provides scalability, supporting a wide array of devices, and promotes connectivity for enterprises. Its advanced analytics help optimize network operations. Fortinet FortiWLC offers integrated security features and a centralized management platform for secure wireless management.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Cisco Wireless provides straightforward deployment with robust customer support, benefiting from a well-established service ecosystem. Fortinet FortiWLC features a flexible model with strong security configurations but may need more technical expertise during setup.

Pricing and ROI: Cisco Wireless involves higher setup costs but offers scalability that can result in a positive ROI due to reduced management overhead. Fortinet FortiWLC presents a more cost-effective setup with security-focused enhancements, leading to potential long-term savings.

To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Wireless vs. Fortinet FortiWLC Report (Updated: December 2024).

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Wireless vs. Fortinet FortiWLC

December 2024

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Categories and Ranking

Juniper Mist Wireless Acces...

Mindshare comparison

As of December 2024, in the Wireless LAN category, the mindshare of Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points is 5.7%, up from 2.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Cisco Wireless is 12.1%, down from 16.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Fortinet FortiWLC is 0.3%, down from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Wireless LAN

Featured Reviews

Gyan Sharma

Assistant Programmer at Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha

Offers good performance, good solution and smooth implementation

I do have a suggestion: it would be helpful to have even stronger security features to help protect against interference from other nearby access points that aren't part of our network. If there are access points from other brands installed nearby; they can cause interference and disrupt the range of our Mist access points. So, the security features could be stronger, especially in terms of authentication. The connectivity is excellent, but security needs improvement. In future releases, integrating more AI features would be beneficial. If Mist had stronger AI features, it could provide better security against network threats and cyberattacks. So, this solution still needs to improve its AI capabilities. It would be great if the AI could improve the range of the access points, and auto-protect functionality should be there to avoid interference by other nearby access points and enhance threat detection. In the future, I'd like to see stronger threat detection features integrated with Mist, as well as better detection of nearby access points that might cause interference.

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Michael Lees

Production Director at Whitespider

Affordable, resilient, and performs better than other solutions in the market

Assurance capabilities must be improved. There should be more Assurance features on the Wireless LAN Controller. A lot of it is bundled into the DNA Center. Having a little more Assurance regarding what the RF Spectrum looks like will be good. Juniper Mist has a lot of analytical data on the dashboard. The customers would be compelled to look at DNA Center as a longer-term and more comprehensive solution if Cisco were to give them an insight into some of the Assurance capabilities that might be available in DNA Center. The tool must provide something like RF Neighbor. It must enable organizations to receive signal strength and signal-to-noise ratio and see how clients perform in their wireless network. It must have a cap. If we want additional functionality to see our entire network, that's where DNA Center fits in.

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Panagiota Aggelopoulou

IT Products and Services - Senior Account Manager at PANOU S.A.

Quick support, overall high quality, and reliable

We have used the support from Fortinet FortiWLC. We opened a ticket to Fortinet support. They have good support, but it was a simple issue that we had to be resolved. They responded quickly and with a correct answer. We contacted them during regular business hours. I rate the support from Fortinet FortiWLC a five out of five.

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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

"For the most part, it does what it's supposed to do, and I like it. It's a great product."

"It's well-detailed in terms of troubleshooting logs."

"The artificial intelligence feature is very good."

"The product is quite user-friendly and easy to deploy, so one should definitely consider buying it."

"The solution is stable."

"Juniper Mist offers valuable features like comprehensive network insight, granular policy control, fast device setup, strong security, and efficient SSL traffic management."

"The most valuable feature of Juniper Wireless Access Points (AP Series) is the ability to troubleshoot ports on the network. Additionally, when there is an update on the APs they are able to reboot quickly reducing downtime. Other solutions have a longer downtime when updates are done."

"You can easily monitor, manage, and cover all your IT equipment."

More Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points pros

"The installation process is very easy."

"I like that it's a standard wireless solution that can be rolled out throughout the campus. I also like that it is easy to manage. It is a good end-to-end solution."

"Identity PSK helps save SSIDs."

"Cisco's support team is the best in the industry."

"We are using Cisco access point 2802, and they are very reliable."

"I've found it to be quite secure."

"Cisco is one of the leading vendors and is at the top of many lists. The access software is robust, and the performance of the devices is excellent."

"Cisco is one of the leading brands, particularly in the commercial sector. Other brands such as Extreme, cater to different categories at lower levels. Cisco maintains a comprehensive product range across all levels and excels in comparison to other networking sites. They also boast a team of highly qualified professionals, a feature that sets them apart from competitors like Netgear, which lacks such expertise."

More Cisco Wireless pros

"The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiWLC is the overall high quality."

"It's easy to set everything up during implementation."

Cons

"The pricing is very high in the Indian market."

"Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points’ support services need improvement."

"If you want to do more specific stuff, it's a bit limited."

"The pricing should be made cheaper."

"Supporting multiple protocols would be beneficial."

"The product should include adaptive Wi-Fi to show a more accurate location."

"Though certain security features are integrated into the product, my company has to always look forward to tightening certain security functionalities in the solution."

"Enrolling into the tool is a tedious process."

More Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points cons

"Cisco Wireless needs to improve pricing. I understand that Cisco products are typically more expensive than other vendors. Therefore, I believe that adjusting the pricing could potentially be beneficial. Discounts may be available depending on the customer or type of purchase, which could help offset the higher costs."

"The licensing models need to be reviewed in some instances. Obviously Cisco's licensing models are quite challenging, and it can be costly."

"The product could improve the security system's alertness to detect and respond to intrusions more effectively."

"The pricing of Brazil is very expensive. When you look at other options, they are much cheaper."

"In the future, it would be great if the solution had a GPS feature that could have the ability through access points to locate cell phone users inside a local wireless network, for example in a stadium."

"The technical support could be better. They aren't as helpful as they need to be when we run into issues."

"The solution doesn't have much coverage area."

"The integration with our CM and other technologies could improve this solution."

More Cisco Wireless cons

"One thing that is lacking is, compared with some other brands, the signal is a bit weaker. Ruckus has much wider signal coverage."

"Fortinet FortiWLC is not simple to configure when compared to other solutions. The design could be better."

Pricing and Cost Advice

"The pricing is fair."

"The solution is expensive."

"I rate Juniper Mist's pricing a ten out of ten since it is expensive."

"I rate the product price as a six on a scale of one to ten, where one is inexpensive, and ten is expensive. It is a reasonably priced tool."

"I rate the pricing an eight out of ten."

"The pricing is something Juniper Wireless Access Points (AP Series) can work on. The pricing is very high compared to the competition."

"We pay maybe 1000 SEK per year, per access point."

"The pricing is too high."

More Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points pricing and cost advice

"This product's pricing is good. It's not too expensive."

"The solution is a little expensive compared to other brands."

"The product is expensive."

"The platform is expensive for small-scale businesses."

"The price is a little high. However, you get what you pay for. The quality of the product is high, you will find it is worth the money. There is some additional cost, for example, customer support."

"I rate the tool's pricing a ten out of ten. It is expensive compared to Aruba and Juniper."

"The price of Cisco Wireless could be adjusted down, it is a bit expensive. The solution is worth it for the name and the brand. However, there are more products now in the market that give you the same quality, but at a cheaper price."

"There is a need to renew the licenses for Cisco Wireless every three years. My company needs to pay around 25 percent of the budget meant for the tools we purchase towards the price of Cisco Wireless."

More Cisco Wireless pricing and cost advice

"The price of Fortinet FortiWLC is high. The solution will be out of the market for us because the price is too high for the features it provides."

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Comparison Review

it_user212721

President at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Mar 24, 2015

Cisco vs. Aruba Wireless Solutions

Cisco or Aruba Networks? If you are considering wireless access solutions, this is a common question that you are probably asking. You probably have sales people knocking at your door. How do you make sense of all the stories that you are presented with. If you have done any research, you are…

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

17%

Manufacturing Company

Educational Organization

Comms Service Provider

Computer Software Company

17%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Educational Organization

Manufacturing Company

14%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Non Profit

Real Estate/Law Firm

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

No data available

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Juniper Wireless Access Points (AP Series)?

The solution is very secure.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Juniper Wireless Access Points (AP Series)?

Juniper Mist is cheaper than Meraki, placing it in the middle of the pack.

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What needs improvement with Juniper Wireless Access Points (AP Series)?

Supporting multiple protocols would be beneficial.

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Which is better - Cisco Wireless or Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN?

Cisco Wireless is very robust, very rugged, and can handle indoor and outdoor coverage extremely well. We found it to...

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Which is better - Ruckus Wireless or Cisco Wireless?

Ruckus Wireless offers users the benefit of being both easy to set up and get running as well as being very user frie...

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How does Cisco Wireless compare with Aruba Wireless?

On the most basic level, Cisco Wireless can offer a rather straightforward initial setup. In the span of about three ...

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Comparisons

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points

Compared 44% of the time

Aruba Wireless vs Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points

Compared 18% of the time

Ruckus Wireless vs Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points

Compared 15% of the time

Fortinet FortiAP vs Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points

Compared 4% of the time

Huawei Wireless vs Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points

Compared 1% of the time

More Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points Competitors

Aruba Wireless vs Cisco Wireless

Compared 37% of the time

Ruckus Wireless vs Cisco Wireless

Compared 25% of the time

Huawei Wireless vs Cisco Wireless

Compared 7% of the time

Cisco Meraki Wireless LAN vs Cisco Wireless

Compared 6% of the time

Alcatel-Lucent OmniAccess Stellar vs Cisco Wireless

Compared 1% of the time

More Cisco Wireless Competitors

Fortinet FortiWLM vs Fortinet FortiWLC

Compared 35% of the time

More Fortinet FortiWLC Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points

December 2024

Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points report

Download Juniper Mist Wireless Access Points product report

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Wireless

December 2024

Download Cisco Wireless product report

Buyer's Guide

Wireless LAN

November 2024

Download Fortinet FortiWLC product report

Also Known As

Juniper Wireless Access Points (AP Series), Mist Access Points

Cisco WLAN Controller

No data available

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Juniper

Cisco

Fortinet

Overview

Juniper Wireless Access Points work in conjunction with Juniper Mist Cloud Services and Mist AI to deliver premier wireless access capabilities. The Juniper Mist Edge extends microservices to the campus to bring agility and scale while enabling new applications at the edge.

Cisco Wireless is a comprehensive suite of wireless solutions designed to deliver secure, high-performance connectivity for enterprises of all sizes. Offering a range of access points, controllers, and advanced management tools, Cisco Wireless ensures seamless and reliable network access, enhancing mobility and productivity.

Cisco Wireless solutions provide robust, scalable wireless networks capable of supporting high-density environments and diverse applications. With features such as seamless roaming, advanced security protocols, and detailed analytics, Cisco Wireless addresses the needs of modern businesses. The solutions include the Cisco Catalyst and Aironet series access points, wireless LAN controllers, and the Cisco DNA Center for centralized management and automation.

What are the key features of Cisco Wireless?

High-Density Performance: Optimized for environments with a high number of devices, ensuring reliable connectivity and performance.
Advanced Security: Incorporates robust security measures such as WPA3, Secure Boot, and segmentation to protect data and devices.
Seamless Roaming: Enables uninterrupted connectivity as users move across different areas within the network.
Centralized Management: Cisco DNA Center provides a single pane of glass for managing and automating wireless networks, enhancing operational efficiency.
Flexible Deployment Options: Supports various deployment models, including on-premises, cloud-managed, and hybrid solutions.

What benefits should users look for in reviews when evaluating Cisco Wireless?

Improved Mobility and Productivity: Users often highlight how Cisco Wireless enhances user mobility and productivity through reliable and consistent connectivity.
Scalability: Reviews frequently mention the scalability of Cisco Wireless, making it suitable for growing businesses.
Ease of Management: Many users appreciate the centralized management capabilities, which simplify network administration and troubleshooting.
Enhanced Security: The advanced security features are often noted for providing peace of mind and compliance with industry standards.
User Experience: The overall user experience, including ease of use and seamless integration with other Cisco products, is a common point of praise.

Cisco Wireless solutions are implemented across various industries, including healthcare, education, retail, and manufacturing. In healthcare, they support critical applications like patient monitoring and electronic health records. Educational institutions use Cisco Wireless to provide reliable internet access for students and staff. Retailers benefit from enhanced customer experiences through in-store connectivity, while manufacturers use wireless networks to improve operational efficiency and automation.

Pricing and licensing for Cisco Wireless solutions are typically based on the scale of deployment and specific product selections. Cisco offers various support plans, including 24/7 customer service, technical support, and access to software updates and patches.

In summary, Cisco Wireless provides robust, scalable wireless networking solutions that enhance connectivity, security, and management for diverse enterprise environments.

Fortinet controllers for infrastructure Wi-Fi manage authentication and encryption of our enterprise-class infrastructure access points. These controllers are powered by Fortinet’s System Director operating system for seamless mobility and high-density environments.

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

Aegean Motorway, Baylor Scott & White Health, Beachbody, Bellevue, Brunel University London, Bucks County Intermediate Unit , Chartwell School, Children's Hospital Colorado, Cisco Live Milan, City of Biel, City of Mississauga, Dundee Precious Metals, Electricity Authority of Cyprus, Erickson Living, Goldcorp, Great Ormond Street Hospital, Grupo Industrial Saltillo (GIS)

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

Buyer's Guide

Cisco Wireless vs. Fortinet FortiWLC

December 2024

Free Report: Cisco Wireless vs. Fortinet FortiWLC

Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Wireless vs. Fortinet FortiWLC and other solutions. Updated: December 2024.

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