FortiSASE vs iboss comparison

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FortiSASE

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 6, 2024

iboss and FortiSASE compete in the cloud-based security solutions category. FortiSASE is perceived as having the upper hand due to its robust feature set and security capabilities, though it comes with higher costs.

Features: iboss provides seamless integration with existing infrastructures, simple scalability, and offers flexible deployment options making it user-friendly. FortiSASE includes advanced threat protection, detailed analytics, and a broad range of security features that attract organizations keen on security and analysis.

Room for Improvement: iboss could improve its analytics capabilities, enhance threat detection speed, and offer better network visibility. FortiSASE users mention the need for addressing its complexity, reducing latency, and enhancing network optimization tools.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: iboss features easier deployment and quick setup with responsive customer service that efficiently handles user inquiries. FortiSASE has a more complex deployment process but benefits from thorough documentation and knowledgeable support, even though response times can be inconsistent.

Pricing and ROI: iboss is considered cost-effective initially due to lower setup costs, delivering better ROI early on. FortiSASE, with its higher expenses, justifies the price with its premium features featuring long-term value once fully utilized for its security capabilities.

To learn more, read our detailed FortiSASE vs. iboss Report (Updated: January 2025).

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FortiSASE vs. iboss

January 2025

Helped 832,138 peers since 2012

Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

FortiSASE

Ranking in Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)

11th

Average Rating

7.6

Reviews Sentiment

8.2

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

iboss

Ranking in Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)

10th

Average Rating

8.6

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Secure Web Gateways (SWG) (12th), Internet Security (4th), Web Content Filtering (4th), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB) (8th), ZTNA as a Service (12th)

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2025, in the Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) category, the mindshare of FortiSASE is 6.6%, up from 2.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of iboss is 1.5%, up from 1.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)

Featured Reviews

Peter VanDorp

Cyber Security Analyst and Network Operations Supervisor at a non-tech company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Improved our operational efficiency because we manage one system now that manages all the sub-pieces to it

Deep packet inspection is easier to deploy in the FortiSASE environment. It's much simpler to configure one-touch deployment. It was considerably more convoluted to get that to work using FortiClient. All that processing horsepower is happening in Fortinet's cloud infrastructure, reducing the load on our local routers and on-prem FortiGate firewalls. There wasn't much of a learning curve because we are already a Fortinet organization. We still use all the same pieces, but the interface is slightly different. Still, I don't think the average user would have difficulty picking the solution up. They've got some excellent documentation and support to help you through any questions you may have. FortiSASE lets us manage everything from one web interface. That's the most significant benefit. We also use FortiManager, but it could only do so much when we only used on-prem systems. We still need to touch the EMS server and a few other interfaces to make all the pieces work. FortiSASE puts everything in one place. If something doesn't work, you've got support there to help you out. Previously, we had local support, but it's more complicated because you needed to explain your environment. The SASE environment is under their control, so they know what it looks like and what they're dealing with.

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Matt Crockford

Head of Cybersecurity at SES Water

It's easy to roll out, and their understanding of our business made it seamless

One aspect we value about iboss is its simplicity. Their customer service is brilliant, and they are super responsive and knowledgeable. It's easy to roll out, and their understanding of our business made it seamless. We were impressed by the solution's mental health function, which can detect if someone needs help. It scans what users are browsing and flags warning signs so we can check to see if they are okay. We've had to use it a couple of times. The user interface is highly intuitive. Our IT team picked it up with minimal training. It's arranged so that it's easy to find where things are. Another advantage is the single pane of glass console, which gives you visibility into what's happening. We're not fully there yet because we haven't implemented zero trust, but we're excited about the possibilities from the demos we've seen. We launched a POC of iboss' ChatGPT Risk Protection feature two weeks ago. AI is a great tool, but you need to be careful what you put into it. My biggest fear is employees inputting sensitive corporate information or customer PII data into one of these chatbots. I was impressed by our trial of the feature. It's exactly what we wanted. Now, when a user goes to ChatGPT, there's a banner warning them not to share information, and we can block conversations containing customer data like bank details and email addresses. I don't want to stop people from using it, but we need visibility. We've only tried it on a test group of 15 people. You can configure it to look for specific keywords or integrate it with your DLP policy if you have that configured

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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

"It is highly scalable."

"It has AI-based detections for any signature-less virus or any unknown vulnerabilities."

"I feel that it is a stable solution...It is a scalable solution."

"FortiSASE can operate in a cloud environment with client certificates for authorizations and access control using features like PostCheck."

"Its function is related to the licensing framework."

"The solution is easy to deploy and simple to manage."

"Deep packet inspection is easier to deploy in the FortiSASE environment. It's much simpler to configure one-touch deployment. It was considerably more convoluted to get that to work using FortiClient. All that processing horsepower is happening in Fortinet's cloud infrastructure, reducing the load on our local routers and on-prem FortiGate firewalls."

"This advantage is having the ability to create an SPA unit of FortiGate."

More FortiSASE pros

"Our primary use case for this product is DLP,"

"Content filtering is the most useful feature of iboss."

"Iboss is a solution that prevents advanced persistent threats, and has a zero tolerance for attacks."

"Granular setup, which was able to set different levels of filters using the OUs in the AD."

"iboss is easy to use despite its complexity. Multiple engineers manage it, but it's significantly more straightforward to administer than traditional VPNs and web proxies."

"We were impressed by the solution's mental health function, which can detect if someone needs help. It scans what users are browsing and flags warning signs so we can check to see if they are okay. We've had to use it a couple of times."

"The solution has massively improved our security posture, giving us full visibility into what our staff does online."

"iboss is pretty scalable. They provide good support. The case managers you work with to coordinate what you need are pretty good."

More iboss pros

Cons

"The current high-tech version of FortiSASE is not recommended due to its heavy loading."

"Stability issues persist."

"While stability is generally good, we faced some difficulties during updates."

"They need to have more concise or precise ways to come up with the return on investment for convincing or presenting this to customers."

"While connectivity from outside to inside is okay, inside to outside is not."

"FortiSASE is a work in progress. One area where there is room for improvement is the ability to use FortiSASE on an endpoint that doesn't have the client on it. Other solutions do that by building a VPN tunnel from their on-prem router into the SASE environment. FortiSASE doesn't have that feature yet, but it is on the roadmap for Q3 of this year. I've seen it in their development environment."

"The GUI and connectivity, along with the support offered, are some of the areas of concern in the product where improvements are required."

"The main concern is that if the client is using another firewall, they cannot establish a private channel with the Cisco cloud."

More FortiSASE cons

"The reporting feature needs improvement."

"The dashboards for local use could be better."

"Sometimes, obviously, there are bugs."

"The solution could be stronger on the integration side and offer more cloud applications like G Suite or Oracle."

"Sometimes the agent stops working in iboss, and we have to reinstall the agent."

"Their on-premise hardware's network interface is capped at one gigabit, which is sort of a problem. If you stand a filter up where all traffic flows through that, according to them, in order to go above a gigabit, you have to have multiple devices, which in today's IT seems a little bit silly. They could easily put in an SFP port into their device that could accommodate 10 gigs or at least offer a box."

"To scale up, a new iboss Node Blade Chassis must be purchased."

"Sometimes when you call in support, you get someone who is just following a sheet. It feels like a runaround. You feel that you are running into that support wall."

More iboss cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I rate the product price an eight on a scale of one to ten, where one is high price, and ten is low price."

"I can only speak about the pricing for education users because we get discounts. Other users aren't going to get the same price, but FortiSASE is competitive with the other products out there. All the solutions came in at the same price, so it just came down to the product that works best for us."

"On a scale from one to ten, where one is cheap and ten is expensive, I rate the solution's pricing a three out of ten."

"I rate the product's price a six on a scale of one to ten, where one is low price and ten is high price."

"It is not expensive, and it is also not cheap. iboss is priced right in the sweet spot for the number of features it offers."

"It is probably in line with other solutions, but I do not deal with the financial side."

"It is expensive compared to one of its competitors."

"The overall pricing for iboss is very competitive and transparent."

"We have not priced the solution recently, but they were competitive with other vendors in the past."

See which vendors are best for you

Use our free recommendation engine to learn which Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) solutions are best for your needs.

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832,138 professionals have used our research since 2012.

Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

22%

Manufacturing Company

Financial Services Firm

Construction Company

Computer Software Company

13%

Financial Services Firm

12%

Manufacturing Company

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about FortiSASE ?

The integration with the company's existing security infrastructure enhanced our security posture since it was a straightforward process.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for FortiSASE ?

License is yearly-based.

What needs improvement with FortiSASE ?

If they had application segmentation, we could give secure access to applications. That is not there. I had security challenges, again, with regard to the Internet connectivity. Sometimes the agent...

What do you like most about iboss?

Content filtering is the most useful feature of iboss.

What needs improvement with iboss?

I have the same complaint about them that I have about other software companies. Sometimes when you call in support, you get someone who is just following a sheet. It feels like a runaround. You fe...

What is your primary use case for iboss?

We are a PreK-12 public school district, and we use iboss to filter internet content for our students at home and staff member devices to ensure they do not access inappropriate sites.

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Comparisons

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Compared 18% of the time

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Compared 14% of the time

Netskope vs iboss

Compared 11% of the time

Prisma Access by Palo Alto Networks vs iboss

Compared 10% of the time

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Product Reports

Download FortiSASE product report

FortiSASE

February 2025

Download iboss product report

January 2025

Also Known As

No data available

iBoss Cloud Platform

Overview

FortiSASE is a comprehensive security solution that combines SD-WAN, security, and Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) capabilities in a single platform. It provides secure access to applications and data from any device, anywhere, and at any time. FortiSASE offers advanced threat protection, real-time visibility, and control over network traffic, ensuring that organizations can securely connect their users and devices to the cloud and on-premises resources. With FortiSASE, organizations can simplify their security infrastructure, reduce costs, and improve their overall security posture.

FortiSASE Benefits:

Easy to use and set up
Good value for the price
Provides accurate and reliable results
Compact and portable design
Comes with helpful instructions and customer support

FortiSASE combines the following key elements:

Networking: FortiSASE provides networking capabilities, including SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Network), WAN optimization, and network traffic routing. It allows organizations to optimize and secure their network connectivity.
Security: FortiSASE integrates multiple security services, including next-generation firewall (NGFW), secure web gateway (SWG), secure web application firewall (WAF), and zero-trust network access (ZTNA). It offers comprehensive protection against various threats, such as malware, intrusions, and data breaches.
Cloud Security: FortiSASE includes cloud-native security services to protect cloud-based applications and workloads. It offers secure access to cloud services, cloud-based firewalls, and security for multi-cloud environments.
Zero Trust Security: FortiSASE follows the Zero Trust security model, where all users and devices are treated as untrusted and must undergo strict authentication and authorization before accessing resources. It enforces granular access controls and micro-segmentation to limit lateral movement within the network.
Secure Web Access: FortiSASE includes secure web access capabilities, enabling organizations to enforce web filtering policies, block malicious websites, and protect against web-based threats like phishing and malware.
Visibility and Analytics: FortiSASE provides centralized visibility and analytics to monitor network traffic, security events, and user behavior. It helps organizations detect and respond to security incidents and provides insights for ongoing security improvements.

FortiSASE aims to simplify and streamline security operations by integrating multiple security functions and network services into a single platform. This approach allows organizations to reduce complexity, improve efficiency, and enhance overall security posture.

Reviews from Real Users

Peter VanDorp, Cyber Security Analyst and Network Operations Supervisor at a non-tech company, says that "Deep packet inspection is easier to deploy in the FortiSASE environment. It's much simpler to configure one-touch deployment. It was considerably more convoluted to get that to work using FortiClient. All that processing horsepower is happening in Fortinet's cloud infrastructure, reducing the load on our local routers and on-prem FortiGate firewalls."

Jose-Rivera, Account Manager at Telefónica, that FortiSASE is "Reliable with good security and helps with network optimization".

Fortinet

iboss offers a comprehensive security platform designed for diverse use cases such as web filtering, data loss protection, corporate proxy services, and URL filtering.

iboss integrates advanced features to address dynamic security needs, leveraging its strength in SASE, ZTNA, AI initiatives, and cloud integration, while ensuring seamless operations for remote work. It excels in historical forensics, malware protection, and flexible cloud deployments. Users benefit from comprehensive traffic scanning, robust malware detection, and PaaS capabilities that reduce hardware management. An intuitive admin console ensures efficient management with content filtering and low false positives. SSL decryption enhances security, while DLP protects data in AI conversations. Deployment is rapid and scalable, allowing effortless integration with emerging technologies.

What features does iboss offer?

Granular Web Filtering: Provides precise control over web content access.
Traffic Scanning: Monitors data through multiple ports for security breaches.
Malware Detection: Ensures superior protection against malware threats.
PaaS Capabilities: Eliminates need for hardware management.
SSL Decryption: Enhances data protection by decrypting secure connections.
DLP Capabilities: Safeguards data during AI interactions.

What benefits and ROI should users consider?

Scalability: Adapts quickly to growing demands and emerging tech integration.
Rapid Deployment: Reduces time to implement security measures.
User-Friendly Admin Console: Facilitates efficient operations management.
Low False Positives: Increases accuracy of threat detection systems.

iboss finds significant application in sectors such as education, where web filtering for K-12 is crucial, and in corporate environments requiring robust proxy services and URL filtering for network security. Its adaptability is essential in scenarios demanding flexible, decentralized security frameworks, particularly for remote work setups.

Sample Customers

Information Not Available

More than 4,000 global enterprises trust the iboss Cloud Platform to support their modern workforces, including a large number of Fortune 50 companies.