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Fortinet FortiClient vs Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 27, 2024
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiClient
Ranking in Endpoint Compliance
1st
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.0
Number of Reviews
90
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (19th), Enterprise Infrastructure VPN (2nd)
Quest KACE Systems Manageme...
Ranking in Endpoint Compliance
7th
Average Rating
8.8
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (14th), Patch Management (7th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of October 2024, in the Endpoint Compliance category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiClient is 35.7%, up from 31.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) is 4.1%, up from 2.1% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Endpoint Compliance
 

Featured Reviews

Ayman Said - PeerSpot reviewer
Oct 15, 2024
Enhance secure remote access with feature-rich VPN and content filtering
We mainly use FortiClient as a VPN client. Additionally, we use it for anti-malware, anti-spam, and as a content filter. When a user is outside the company, we can use FortiClient as a content filter to control the sites the user can access FortiClient has improved our security posture by…
Fernando Cezario - PeerSpot reviewer
Jan 25, 2024
Helpful for IT asset management and offer a good dashboard
I like the KACE software dashboard so much! It's convenient. I don't need to know technical details like file formats (PDF or whatever) for installation, even for applications like Adobe. Here's how I use it: Let's say I have a license for Adobe and I need to install it on a computer named Julian. I simply open a case, enter the name of the application (Adobe), open the dashboard, and search for the computer named Julian. Once I select the computer, it shows up in the dashboard. Now, in the same case, I can open a large batch of software, select the application (Adobe Acrobat again), and choose the computer named Julian. KACE then deploys the application with minimal errors, usually within one or two minutes. Julian even receives a notification on their computer that the installation process has begun. It's fantastic! Moreover, it helped so much streamline our IT asset management and inventory. Sometimes someone changes the computer assigned to someone else. For example, Juliano had a computer, and then Matos changed it to his own use. I wouldn't know about this change if it weren't for KACE. KACE automatically tracks this information and saves it for me, allowing me to call it up on the dashboard. For example, if I need to find Juliano's computer in the system, I don't need to search through endless spreadsheets. I just search for "Juliano" in KACE. KACE also lists other details like the last login user. So, if I see "Juliano" on KACE but a different user is logged in, that tells me something might be wrong. I find this functionality very helpful for IT asset management.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"It is a scalable product."
"It is a stable solution."
"The technical support from Fortinet and local vendors is good."
"It is a fantastic product. Its overall security is valuable. We are very impressed with the web filtering and the application firewall it provides."
"From an application perspective, this solution is stable."
"The initial setup of this solution is easy."
"It's easy to use, easy to deploy, and I have more visibility over my network that shows which users are connected to the firewalls, which users are connected to the network, and what they're accessing."
"It supports securely connections for VPN users from outside our environment during the lockdown."
"Patching is definitely the most valuable feature. It gives us good, centralized software, which comes in very handy since we are doing 400 servers at a time. It enables us to manage all the servers, and to deal with the application team regarding reboots and scheduling."
"The ability to push an image to a machine, wake that image up, and just blast a new image to a computer without even having to touch it, and then push the software to that machine. This just made things so much more convenient for us and so much more efficient."
"KACE’s knowledge-based articles are very good."
"My company had bought some new machines. We used the tool to do some basic settings to ship every machine the same way and undertake the Windows deployment. We did the scripted installation. The tool helped us deploy custom software for specific departments. We also did Windows updates with the product."
"This product made the job easy to do without having to go put hands on the machines."
"You don't have to be an advanced user. Rather, in terms of ease of use, this product is right where it needs to be."
"We use the Systems Deployment appliance. It's our bread and butter. It is every machine that gets imaged here in this building and out through the whole state goes through the SDA. We rely on it completely. There is no manual process of getting a laptop out of a box, plugging it up, turning it on, and waiting for Windows to start. If you were to go to Best Buy and buy a brand new laptop, you spend the next two to three hours just setting it up. We don't do that. We get a laptop, plug it into the network, connect it to the SDA, and within about three clicks, we're done."
"It is excellent in terms of updating and configuring everything the way we need. For anything more complex, we do professional service engagements, and they're exceptional. For anything less complex, we just need to ask questions. Their support division is extremely good too."
 

Cons

"The software inventory part is not yet up-to-date. It doesn't have a great interface, which is a disadvantage. I wish we could leverage it, but we don't use it at all because it's not that reliable."
"The solution could be more secure. I would like to see more safety features."
"I have yet to find the benefits of the latest upgraded version."
"I think that FortiClient can enhance the multifactor authentication."
"There are compatibility issues, and sometimes, especially with macOS, it's difficult to set up properly."
"FortiClient's encryption key could be stronger so that it's not broken too easily."
"The user interface is a bit sluggish and needs improvement."
"Everybody else is doing AI, machine learning, self-healing, next-generation features. It needs more next-generation features. Everybody else is doing AI, machine learning, self-healing, next-generation features. It needs more next-generation features."
"We'd love to see support for larger dependencies in the scripting feature."
"Sometimes the information is not as real time as it's supposed to be."
"I would like them to implement VBScript language in KACE Systems Management. Currently, we can only use PowerShell."
"Easier integration would be beneficial."
"The K1000 doesn't communicate well with some clients without SMB. There are some issues with getting things to image correctly because they rely on SMB, and SMB is a protocol that is being removed due to security reasons. Organizations are trying to rely less and less on SMB. I know Quest is aware of it. They've talked about having a new version that wouldn't rely on SMB for connection to the clients, but they haven't gotten there yet."
"One of the complications is that they don't have 24/7 support, and they're also not in our time zone... Sometimes, no matter how critical my application is, if my production server is down I won't be able to connect with anybody till 11:00 AM Eastern Standard Time."
"What could be improved is the possibility to use replicas in a secure way outside our network in order to maintain the machines that never connect to our corporate network."
"The GUI needs some work. I love all that it can do, however, it can be just be so cluttered at times."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"Fortinet requires you to buy a lot of product in order for you to have proper protection."
"An annual license costs about 1.5 to 3,000 US dollars. There are no additional costs."
"The price is okay and competitive."
"Anyone can download this product for free, but you have to have a FortiGate gateway that you are connecting to."
"I don't know it by heart, but it is comparable to other solutions. It is based on the number of clients. It is probably 50 Euros per year per client. It greatly depends on the number of clients you're handling because the more clients you are ordering it for, the cheaper it will be."
"We are using the free version of this product."
"It is not that expensive. It was within the range. A dollar per user per month is nothing."
"Pricing is an area that I would like to see improved, as it could be lower."
"We are a university. So, we have a very good price for the system. I think the price for the system is worth it because of the security patch management. The security patch management is very important for us. The price is very good for KACE SMA, the functionality you get, and the patch management."
"Licensing is very straightforward. They don't overcomplicate it. This is not a Cisco product where you have to have 30 different licenses just to open the box. It's pretty much set-and-forget. You pay an annual license... The cost is in the mid to upper range, but the ROI exceeds the outside cost, especially once you've had the system for a while."
"Their pricing is per end-point device. There is an initial cost for the license for the server, which is pretty low, and then there is a per end-point device license, which is also fairly low. So, the pricing is still reasonable."
"The pricing and licensing are good. It's worth it."
"Based on other solutions that we had implemented, its pricing seems to be quite competitive. It is not inexpensive, but it is also not more expensive than any other solution. They have the standard licensing fees and support fees."
"The pricing is great. It's billed annually and it's very reasonable."
"There are no costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."
"We pay annually for technical support."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Educational Organization
41%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
5%
Manufacturing Company
5%
Computer Software Company
13%
University
12%
Government
10%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

How does Fortinet FortiClient compare with Open VPN Access Server?
Fortinet FortiClient is a feature-rich solution that is easy to use and deploy without sacrificing safety and security. It has a very fast connection rate and has a built-in VPN. With this solution...
What's the difference between Fortinet's FortiEDR and FortiClient?
I suggest Fortinet’s FortiEDR over FortiClient for several reasons. For starters, FortiEDR guarantees solid protection because it continually scans servers for emerging vulnerabilities, which gives...
What do you like most about Quest KACE Systems Management?
KACE automatically tracks this information and saves it for me, allowing me to call it up on the dashboard. For example, if I need to find Juliano's computer in the system, I don't need to search t...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Quest KACE Systems Management?
It is expensive in Brazil. Generally, it's considered expensive, especially compared to solutions like Spiceworks.
 

Also Known As

FortiClient
Dell KACE Systems Management
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Waypoint, Mattos Filho, Meetic, Gems Education, Green Clinic HealthSystem, Service King
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiClient vs. Quest KACE Systems Management Appliance (SMA) and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
814,485 professionals have used our research since 2012.