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Fortinet FortiManager vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager comparison

The compared Fortinet and SolarWinds solutions aren't in the same category. Fortinet is ranked #3 in NMA , with an average rating of 8.0, and holds a 4.7% mindshare in the category. SolarWinds is ranked #10 in CM , with an average rating of 8.2, and holds a 1.4% mindshare. Additionally, 94% of Fortinet users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 94% of SolarWinds users who would recommend it.
Fortinet FortiManager
Read 62 Fortinet FortiManager reviews
  • 1,193 Views
  • 843 Comparison Views
94% willing to recommend
SolarWinds Network Configur...
Read 25 SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager reviews
  • 715 Views
  • 558 Comparison Views
94% willing to recommend
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive Summary
We performed a comparison between Fortinet FortiManager and SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Network Management Applications solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.

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To learn more, read our detailed Fortinet FortiManager vs. SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager Report (Updated: May 2020).
Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiManager vs. SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager
May 2020
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Helped 815,854 peers since 2012
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiManager
Average Rating
8.0
Number of Reviews
62
Ranking in other categories
Network Management Applications (3rd)
SolarWinds Network Configur...
Average Rating
8.2
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 4.7%, down 5.8% compared to last year.
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager, on the other hand, focuses on Configuration Management, holds 1.4% mindshare, up 1.2% since last year.
Network Management Applications
Configuration Management
 

Featured Reviews

HamedWasel - PeerSpot reviewer
Feb 15, 2023
Easy to set up with good integration capabilities but we've had troubles when moving devices
We have over 300 Fortigate sites and we use this solution to manage everything under one interface.  The scripts are very useful. We can push the TCL and CLI scripts to Fortigate. The automation is great between Ansible and Fortimanager. We can integrate the solution with other solutions. There is…
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RajeshB - PeerSpot reviewer
Feb 22, 2024
Offers additional functionality, including warranty management
Setting up a solution involves configuring a server and a web console, which is straightforward. Network team coordination is necessary when applying it to devices. This involves creating device connection profiles and ensuring SNMP is enabled. Initially, there were challenges involved in this process, but once the setup was complete, operations proceeded smoothly. All network devices are automatically added to NPM during auto-discovery in SolarWinds Network Performance Monitor, including Network Configuration Manager features. Once configuration profile credentials are established in NCM, they are automatically deployed to all network devices. The solution is easy to use and deploy, although initial setup may require coordination and overcoming challenges.
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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

"The features are good."
"The most valuable features are the centralized management of the firewalls."
"Fortinet has the option of synchronization in the cloud, so you can manage everything if you have a cloud account."
"The capability of centralized management is valuable. We can configure all firewall boxes with the same configuration."
"It is easy to set up the solution."
"This solution enables you to centralize the rules and the configuration of all the equipment."
"Technical support is great. When we have sent urgent tickets and they do reply back within fifteen minutes."
"The solution has the best stability for application control and inspections."
More Fortinet FortiManager pros
"The scanning features have proven to be highly valuable, particularly due to the comprehensive information they provide."
"The installation is straightforward."
"It is pretty straightforward to set up."
"The tool is useful for security purposes."
"We push all our configurations to the servers with ease and the logs capture almost all the transactions needed for an internal audit."
"It is a stable solution."
"The solution's view is very nice, and they have a great customized dashboard."
"NCM also helps with vulnerability assessment and remediation."
More SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager pros
 

Cons

"This solution needs more experienced technical support staff. There's nothing special about it compared to other vendors."
"We have experienced a series of minor bugs that necessitated contacted technical support on several occasions."
"The GUI is not ideal."
"For the IPSEC tunnels, Fortimanager doesn't have all of the features that are available on Fortigate."
"The price is a bit too high."
"The SD-WAN solution is difficult to manage on FortiManager because you need to share some configurations on the firewall side. Sometimes you lose all connectivity with the firewall, so it is challenging to apply the default configuration to the SD-WAN solution."
"When we have a specific configuration pushed it does take some time to be deployed on the actual firewall."
"I didn't like the connectivity with FortiManager and FortiSwitch, which was buggy and annoying and had fewer features."
More Fortinet FortiManager cons
"Improvements are needed in the automatic network mapping function."
"The interface of solar winds could be improved."
"The network flow is a problem for this solution."
"The network logs could be improved. When the error logs come across with those false positive alarms in the error logs."
"On NCM, reporting could be a bit better. It's completely become just one report. When I try to create a custom report, the solution just commits old server data."
"The solution could improve by being more secure."
"The Network Configuration Manager needs to improve the access control list compliance."
"There are certain limitations of node-related monitoring"
More SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager cons
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"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."
"The price point is very good."
"If you compare Fortinet and Palo Alto, Fortinet is cheaper, but if you compare Cisco and Fortinet, sometimes Cisco is cheaper because Cisco gives us more discounts because of the size. Cisco isn't cheap, but sometimes, we get a big discount from them."
"The license model they use depends on the size and is not limited to the users."
"Our organization pays a monthly license fee for the solution."
"Fortinet FortiManager is a low-priced product."
"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."
More Fortinet FortiManager pricing and cost advice
"There is a license needed to use SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager."
"We have to pay additionally for its support and maintenance."
"The pricing is good."
"The price of the solution is high compared to other solutions."
"Additional costs beyond the standard licensing fee are inevitable."
"Pricing is reasonable and competitive."
"Available at a moderate price"
"I have a yearly subscription."
More SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager pricing and cost advice
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
20%
Financial Services Firm
9%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
Computer Software Company
12%
Government
11%
Manufacturing Company
11%
Financial Services Firm
9%
 

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.
See all answers
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiManager?
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.
See all answers
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiManager?
The graphics interface between Fortinet FortiManager and any Forti products should be standardized. Doing a configuration change directly in the UTM is not the same as doing it via FortiManager for...
See all answers
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...
See all answers
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.
See all answers
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 ...
See all answers
 

Comparisons

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Compared 9% of the time
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Cisco DNA Center vs Fortinet FortiManager
Compared 7% of the time
AlgoSec vs Fortinet FortiManager Logo
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Compared 5% of the time
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Cisco DNA Center vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager
Compared 30% of the time
Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager Logo
Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager
Compared 13% of the time
OpenText Network Node Manager i vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager Logo
OpenText Network Node Manager i vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager
Compared 7% of the time
IBM Tivoli NetCool vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager Logo
IBM Tivoli NetCool vs SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager
Compared 7% of the time
More SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager Competitors
 

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiManager
November 2024
Fortinet FortiManager reportDownload Fortinet FortiManager product report
Buyer's Guide
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager
October 2024
SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager reportDownload SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager product report
 

Also Known As

No data available
SolarWinds NCM
 

Learn More

Fortinet
SolarWinds
 

Overview

Networks are constantly evolving due to threats, organizational growth, or new regulatory/business requirements. Traditional management products focus on mitigating company-wide threats through firewall policies, firmware updates, and keeping content security current. FortiManager offers the features to contain threats as well as providing flexibility to evolve along with your ever-changing network.

Before you monitor your network, configure it! A reliable and secure network starts with carefully planned, executed, and monitored network configuration and change management. SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager (NCM) saves time and improves network reliability and security by managing configurations, changes, and compliance for routers, switches, and other network devices from Cisco, Juniper, HP, Dell, Brocade, Aruba, Rukus, and more.
 

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
Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiManager vs. SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager
May 2020
Free Report: Fortinet FortiManager vs. SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiManager vs. SolarWinds Network Configuration Manager and other solutions. Updated: May 2020.
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We monitor all Network Management Applications reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.