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Fortinet FortiManager vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager 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:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
7.4
Fortinet FortiManager offers cost-effectiveness and ROI benefits, enhancing security and reducing administration costs with improved configuration visibility.
Sentiment score
6.9
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager reduces the need for Cisco certified engineers and offers valuable features with moderate ROI.
We have seen a bit of ROI in that we save time providing the service to clients.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.9
Fortinet FortiManager's customer service is praised but experiences delays, wait times, and variable expertise among support engineers.
Sentiment score
6.6
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager's customer service is praised for helpfulness but criticized for slow response times and ticket prioritization.
I was successful in pushing the FortiOS onto the device, but both devices stopped functioning after that.
I have opened many tickets with Fortinet in the past and found them to be very helpful and responsive.
I'd rate their support a nine out of ten.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Fortinet FortiManager is scalable and suitable for large enterprises, supporting multiple devices but may have hardware and cost limitations.
Sentiment score
7.6
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is praised for its scalability, effectively managing from hundreds to over 25,000 network devices.
Fortinet FortiManager is a scalable solution.
It is a good solution for medium and enterprise companies.
It expands easily.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.1
Fortinet FortiManager is considered stable and reliable, with minimal bugs, occasional reboots, and infrequent minor upgrade issues.
Sentiment score
7.6
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager is stable and reliable, with minor issues primarily related to system updates and hardware specs.
On a scale from one to ten, I would give stability a ten.
I rate the solution's stability ten out of ten.
We haven't dealt with any issues so far.
 

Room For Improvement

Fortinet FortiManager requires enhanced documentation, integration, support, stability, scalability, and improved usability for configuration, VPN management, and automation capabilities.
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager requires better reporting, integration, AI features, enhanced interface, expanded support, more automation, and cost reduction.
Instead of paying separately and having all of these licenses, it would be nice to centralize everything and maybe reduce the price for a bundle.
You have to order licenses for different endpoints and devices, and calculating the costs can be confusing.
The VM model is scalable by simply adding additional licenses.
 

Setup Cost

Fortinet FortiManager offers competitive pricing for enterprises, particularly in large deployments, though smaller installations may find it costly.
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager's annual licensing starts at $1,000, scaling with devices and features up to $30,000.
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.
It isn't like other solutions where you need to pay for SD-WAN or additional bandwidth.
Fortinet has the best pricing currently on the market.
 

Valuable Features

Fortinet FortiManager excels in centralized firewall management, scalability, automation, and integration, enhancing network efficiency and security.
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager provides efficient, user-friendly network configuration management with automation, security, compliance, and customizable dashboards.
The product does help save a lot of time thanks to its efficient management capabilities.
I can automate the installation of configurations using different programming languages like Python or HPE, and it's a GUI solution, so it's pretty easy to use, even for basic users.
This feature allows me to gather information about the interfaces without having to physically connect to the device.
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiManager
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
64
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (3rd)
SolarWinds Network Configur...
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
6.8
Number of Reviews
25
Ranking in other categories
Configuration Management (10th), Network Automation (4th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Network Management solutions, they serve different purposes. Fortinet FortiManager is designed for Network Management Applications and holds a mindshare of 5.5%, down 5.6% compared to last year.
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager, on the other hand, focuses on Configuration Management, holds 1.5% mindshare, up 1.2% since last year.
Network Management Applications
Configuration Management
 

Featured Reviews

HamedWasel - PeerSpot reviewer
Easy to set up with good integration capabilities but we've had troubles when moving devices
We've faced an issue when we need to move devices. Templates need to be recreated instead of having the policies, et cetera, cut and pasted over. Everything should just move over when we need to move devices instead of recreating everything from scratch. For the IPSEC tunnels, Fortimanager doesn't have all of the features that are available on Fortigate.
Manish Ved - PeerSpot reviewer
Network configuration is done well; great pricing
Our model of deployment is on-premises. I would advise other people looking into this solution to read its documentation and better understand what it does before they start using it. I would rate this solution as a whole a 10, on a scale from one to 10, with one being the worst and 10 being the best.
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Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Network Management Applications solutions are best for your needs.
830,824 professionals have used our research since 2012.
 

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
19%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
Government
12%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Computer Software Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
10%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

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?
FortiGate offers the same features as Palo Alto yet at a more reasonable price. The ROI justifies the investment.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiManager?
FortiManager needs to handle different firewall versions more efficiently. If FortiGate devices have different versions, managing them is challenging. There's also a need to upgrade firewalls or ch...
What do you like most about SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager?
The configuration compliance aspect of SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager allows for easy comparison of configuration settings across branches, ensuring adherence to security guidelines and b...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager?
The pricing is okay. Overall, I would rate the pricing a three on a scale of one to ten, with ten being most expensive and one being cheap.
What needs improvement with SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager?
The vendor recently introduced AI features to detect alerts. The AI features do not work well. It would be good if the vendor developed the AI feature so that we could understand what patterns the ...
 

Also Known As

No data available
SolarWinds NCM
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
United Lincolnshire Hospitals, Air Rarotonga, NetSuite, Thai AirAsia, REA Group, 335th Signal Command, Agilisys, Marine Expeditionary Force
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiManager vs. SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager and other solutions. Updated: May 2020.
830,824 professionals have used our research since 2012.