Fortinet FortiClient and Microsoft Defender for Business compete in the cybersecurity solutions category, offering robust security features for businesses. Fortinet FortiClient appears to have an edge due to its cost-effectiveness, fast connectivity, and comprehensive threat protection bundle.
Features: Fortinet FortiClient is known for its comprehensive integration capabilities, user-friendly nature, and stable VPN functionality. It offers a wide range of features within a unified threat protection bundle, contributing to its cost-effectiveness. Microsoft Defender for Business provides robust security through extended detection and response capabilities with seamless integration into the Microsoft ecosystem, enhancing its utility for Microsoft product users.
Room for Improvement: Fortinet FortiClient could benefit from integrating newer technologies such as AI and machine learning, while also enhancing memory capabilities, stability, and multifactor authentication. Improvements in connectivity and deployment speed are also desired. Microsoft Defender for Business can enhance its URL filtering, threat detection capabilities, and licensing flexibility. Improving support responsiveness and simplifying usage for non-tech users are additional areas for enhancement.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Fortinet FortiClient is versatile across private, hybrid, and on-premises deployments but receives mixed reviews regarding customer service speed and effectiveness. Microsoft Defender for Business generally receives strong support marks, although it occasionally lacks promptness. Both solutions offer robust deployment options, though Fortinet’s broader range might provide more flexibility.
Pricing and ROI: Fortinet FortiClient is affordable with competitive pricing, offering significant discounts on bundles and reporting positive ROI through its integration and comprehensive features. Microsoft Defender for Business, part of the Microsoft 365 premium package, is seen as costly, especially for small businesses. However, it provides a competitive edge with its integrated security features, ensuring good ROI for those utilizing the full Microsoft suite.
Using Microsoft Defender for Business results in cost reductions as it consolidates various features under one product, saving around 20% to 30% of the budget.
It is pretty good because it offers various features such as Exchange, OfficeSuite, OneDrive, and SharePoint.
The value I see in Microsoft Defender for Business is in its ability to track and respond to application usage and security threats through its CASB and automation features, which are cost-beneficial.
They initiate the troubleshooting process quickly and resolve issues in a timely manner.
They provide very good support, and an issue I had was resolved quickly over the phone.
Technical support can be logged on Fortinet's support portal.
It is rated ten out of ten for its quality and assistance.
The onboarding support is exceptional, ensuring seamless integration and implementation.
Faster support is needed for endpoint security solutions.
I hope Fortinet will start an insider developer program where professionals can provide feedback on new releases to ensure improvements.
We can add more licenses and Fortinet tokens, demonstrating excellent scalability.
We can recommend FortiClient for small organizations with 50 to 60 users as well as for larger enterprises due to its extensive features.
The cloud-based nature of the solution ensures high scalability.
The scalability of Microsoft Defender for Business is rated as ten, indicating it is very scalable.
In terms of scalability, I find Microsoft Defender for Business to be good and reliable.
Its stability level is excellent.
No customer complaints about its functionality or reliability.
Although it generally works, there are occasional issues and errors that sometimes require a complete system format to rectify.
Threat detection capabilities could be improved.
FortiClient needs improvement in restricting user information and ensuring more secure customer data to better protect source code and reduce the risk of security breaches.
There are advanced features like Zero Trust that I currently do not use but could be beneficial for security.
Fortinet frequently releases updates without thorough testing.
Microsoft should provide batch management solutions with the application, integrating pass management with roles.
Features related to Advanced Persistent Threat detection vectors and cyber kill chain integrations are not available out-of-the-box.
There can be improvements in the user interface to make it more intuitive.
FortiClient is a value-for-money product and is not considered expensive compared to similar products on the market.
Justifying the price to clients can be difficult.
FortiClient is included in a package with the UTM features, so there is no separate cost for it.
Single-year pricing remains good.
The pricing is quite affordable at the enterprise level with no extra expenses noted.
The package with Business Premium is good for what you get for the price.
The most valuable feature of FortiClient is its high security level.
We appreciate its VPN capabilities and the features that offer extra security functionalities like antivirus and malware scanning.
The integration with Active Directory is a valuable feature, allowing SSO for users.
The threat detection capabilities are robust, with a dedicated research team and a continuously updated threat feed.
Its vulnerability management is regarded as one of the best in the industry.
The most effective features of Microsoft Defender for Business include its threat detection and response capabilities in managing vulnerabilities and ransomware attacks.
FortiClient is a fabric agent that delivers endpoint protection, endpoint compliance, and secure access in a single, lightweight, lightweight client, providing visibility, information, and control to your endpoints. In addition, it enables secure, remote connectivity to the security fabric. It also integrates network and endpoint with segmentation and automation. FortiClient enables unified endpoint awareness by sharing endpoint telemetry with the security fabric. It is compatible with third-party EDR (endpoint detection and response and anti-malware solutions.
The FortiClient fabric agent can:
• Report on the status of a device, including firmware version and applications running.
• Send all suspicious files to a fabric sandbox.
• Enforce USB control, application control, URL filtering, and firmware upgrade policies.
• Provide application firewall service and malware protection.
• Enable devices to connect securely to the security fabric over either ZTNA tunnels or VPN (IPsec or SSL), both encrypted. The connection to the security fabric can be either a SASE service or a FortiGate next-generation firewall.
You can purchase FortiClient with one of three levels of capability:
Zero Trust security - The ZTNA edition enables both VPN and ZTNA encrypted tunnels, as well as USB device control and URL filtering.
Endpoint security - The EPP/APT edition adds AI-based NGAV (next-generation antivirus), application firewall, endpoint quarantine, and support for cloud sandbox.
Cloud-based endpoint security
Benefits and Features
• Fabric agent leverages integrations and provides telemetry information to the rest of the Fortinet security fabric.
• SAAS control and web/content filtering
• Dynamic access control helps with automation and simplifies compliance.
• Software inventory management enables visibility as well as management of licenses.
• Automated response detects and isolates any endpoints that may be compromised.
• ZTNA delivers better remote access and consistent application access policies
• Managed endpoint security services remotely assist with setup, configuration, deployment, vulnerability monitoring, and overall monitoring of endpoint security.
Reviews from Real Users:
PeerSpot users like that FortiClient is easy to use and integrates well with other solutions. They also appreciate the richness of its features and find it to be inexpensive in comparison to other products that require separate purchases for separate features.
Microsoft Defender for Business is a new endpoint security solution that was designed especially for the small and medium-sized business (up to 300 employees). With this endpoint security solution, your company's devices are better protected from ransomware, malware, phishing, and other threats.
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