FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) Reviews

The main use case of FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) is that it is used to search for a firewall whenever we need to connect multiple sites to a VPN. At times, the solution needs a web filter or a particular filter. With the IPS and the cloud protection on the gateway, we are also looking for a firewall that can act as zero-depth protection.

The solution's most important feature is that it will work on the app whenever we block the application order, making it a plus point for the NGFW firewall. The solution also works with all the other web protection aspects, because of which we get everything in a single box.

There are multiple firewalls, and I mainly worked with Sophos and FortiGate. To weigh the pros and cons, different types and aspects should be considered in different firewalls.

The support for FortiGate in the Indian region can be improved along with the scalability. The pricing of the solution is expensive, so it could be cheaper.

I have worked as a system integrator with FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) for five years.

We can say that the solution's scalability is moderate. It is not that easy, nor too hard. If the technician is sound, then he can understand the solution easily.

Our customers include small, medium, and enterprise businesses.

In India, support takes some time. If the call gets connected outside India, then it is very good. SonicWall has the best support, and Sophos also offers good support. For FortiGate, the support in the Indian region can be improved. 

As for the rating, I would say that FortiGate offers very good support. Once we get the support, it is very good. However, the support team is not connecting as easily as we require. If the issue is too critical, the process becomes more complicated for us. I rate the support an eight out of ten.

Positive

I mainly worked with Sophos and FortiGate. I have used different solutions depending on the customer's requirements. We can suggest a particular solution to a customer based on their needs. Every firewall solution has its own pros and cons, which we just bifurcate as per the customer's requirement.

The initial setup is easy if I am going to talk about Sophos' and FortiGate's installation. It is easy to install. There is not much complexity involved.

As for deployment, it depends on the customer's requirements. But the average time is 3 to 4 hours. At times, deployment takes 12 to 13 hours, but it depends on the model and the configuration.

It takes two engineers to deploy the product. One of them is the deployment engineer, and one is an architect.

The solution is deployed on-premises.

The solution is more expensive than Sophos. It could be cheaper. The licensing is on a yearly basis. We have had it for about three years. We must only pay extra for the license, additional requirements, and the hardware box.

I am fine with the solution's interface. The solution is easy to use. FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) is a base product, and anyone can use it. I recommend it to those planning to use it.

There is not much maintenance for FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW). OEM provides the support. Whenever it becomes complicated or any issues come up, we can call OEM directly, and they are always available to help.

Overall, I would rate it ten out of ten.

As for us, the IPS and the application control feature are the most valuable.

Maybe the room for improvement is to have more flexibility on the virtual machines of their next-generation platforms. 

So far, FortiGate is really pricey and comes with some restrictions. FortiGate NGFW can enhances that to make it easier to be deployed.

I have been using the latest version of FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) for eight to ten years.

As for the stability of the FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW), I would rate it a nine out of ten.

The scalability of the FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) is good. In our organization, we have our data centers having FortiGate, and our customers are selling FortiGate. So the number of users, you can say 100 in my organization.

I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten.

I don't have premium support or something from their side, but I would like basic support.

Neutral

The deployment depends on the architecture, but simple deployment can take up to five to ten minutes, and you are done. It's an easy deployment when you know what you need, actually. It requires one person to deploy it.

I would rate the initial setup an eight out of ten.

I would rate the pricing of appliances. So, outside appliances are maybe four, but the virtual machine is, like, eight. It is too expensive for virtual licenses.

We evaluated Sophos and WatchGuard in the past. Fortunately, definitely and technically, for the supposed deployments using the platform is much easier and much more efficient.

My advice would be just go for it. It is a really nice solution, scalable and stable, most importantly. It is easy to use, and all the security features are available. Also, it is very flexible for all sorts of deployments. I would recommend it certainly compared to any other firewall providers.

Overall, I would rate the solution a nine out of ten. 

In order to make it even better in the future, improved integration with other vendors' solutions could be beneficial.

FortiGate is compatible enough with other infrastructures, but I encountered difficulties when attempting integration with other infrastructures. So, better compatibility could be an area for improvement.

Another area of improvement could be in terms of changing passwords. For instance, when using FortiGate firewall, you can have the option to set up SSL VPN, allowing users to connect to the network externally. It's like using FortiClient software. But here's the thing, when you have a local account on FortiGate, and you use it to access the network, there is no option to change your password, and that becomes a problem. Especially when you are not using Active Directory and instead relying on the local FortiGate database to create accounts. 

The admin creates the account for you with credentials and a password. But when you try to access using the VPN client software, you have the ability to change your password, and that's not ideal. It's quite challenging. So, if you need to change your password, you have to contact the administrator to change it on the equipment, and that's not convenient, especially in large environments. So, that could be the only solution.

In terms of personal experience, I've been using the product for about seven years. In my current company, it has been three years.

I'm using version 7 for the majority of my equipment, and for some products, it's version 6.6 or something similar.

The product is stable. It offers good stability.

It is a scalable solution. 

The customer service and support have been satisfactory so far.

Positive

FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) is easy to deploy. The deployment process is smooth and straightforward.

In my experience, the ROI has been positive.

The price of FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) is affordable. I believe it offers reasonable value for the features it provides.

If you're using the IPS version, particularly for ATP, the price is higher due to the IP functionality. However, for other features like web filtering, the price is reasonable. For a year, the license cost for ATP is around $8000. 

So far, I haven't had to pay separately for maintenance or support. It's usually included in the support package, including software support.

Overall, I am satisfied with the product. I would rate it a nine out of ten. 

If you are using it in a small environment, you can go for the FortiGate product. However, if you are implementing it in a very large environment or have specific needs, it's recommended to couple FortiGate with another vendor's solution, like Cisco or Palo Alto. 

We use the product for security and filtering purposes.

The product helps block multiple ports during ransomware attacks.

FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) 's most valuable features are reporting and filtering.

The product's data guard feature should support a USB port when the internet connection is unavailable.

We have been using FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) for three years.

I rate the platform's stability a ten out of ten.

Our organization has 500 FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) users. We utilize the platform 24/7. I rate its scalability a ten out of ten.

The platform's initial setup process is easy. I rate the process a ten out of ten. It takes a couple of days. The deployment involves integrating it with SSO in FortiGate. It helps with filtering access to user accounts through Active Directory. One executive is required for deployment. Additionally, one executive is needed to take care of packet updates for maintenance.

We implemented the product with the help of our in-house team.

I rate FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) an eight out of ten.

We use FortiGate Next Generation Firewall first and foremost for the main site's security, remote sites, and establishing the connection between the firewalls they use. More recently, we have been using it when implementing SD-WAN.

The total ownership of equipment has several benefits when using one platform for administration. Training is then more focus-oriented to technology like Fabric. From the operations point of view, we have better savings by using this solution.

I like the common administration and the possibility of adding Fortinet defense systems.

I see problems with the licensing. If I have to add a new feature, we need to add a license. There may then be extra costs for our maintenance budget.

I have been using the solution for the past five years.

Fortigate is very stable.

FortiGate is a very scalable solution.

We used SonicWall. We switched to FortiGate looking for better security technology, and better fabric technology based on security. In this approach, FortiGate is still better than SonicWall.

With the initial setup, it's important to sit with the team to establish the application and the main issues to get the best possible script to implement in Fortinet equipment. We had to spend some time to implement it better.

Deployment could take one week, depending on the site, or even three weeks to implement the solution. Around four people were involved in the deployment.

We contacted an external company to provide some professional services through engineers who have better experience in certain kinds of implementations.

The pricing is better compared to other solutions like Check Point, Arista, or Cisco.

To anyone who plans on supporting this solution, refer to training resources in the Fortinet training center. There are people who have some experience that could provide some guidelines to people who start with basic issues and basic tasks, to then grow with experience by implementing some maintenance windows. I rate FortiGate Next Generation Firewall a nine out of ten.

FortiGate is a popular firewall in Turkey due to its widespread use and strong performance. Technical experts can easily be found for FortiGate, which is very important. Almost every company uses FortiGate internally. FortiGate is user-friendly and reliable, offering good performance at a reasonable cost.

You can integrate certain other services with FortiGate and use additional threat intelligence services because they allow you to combine various solutions, enhancing your overall security.

FortiGate may include AI capabilities and integrate external threat intelligence. However, version management and backup/restore operations could be improved.

I have been using FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall as a reseller for 15 years.

With high availability, this FortiGate allows one device to take over for another seamlessly in case of failure.

I rate the solution’s stability an eight out of ten.

FortiGate is scalable because it supports various models that can accommodate different dimensions. It is suitable for all types of businesses.

I rate the solution’s scalability a nine out of ten.

The initial setup is easy. The firewall setup involves more than just physical installation and basic configurations. It includes customizing specific policies and configurations tailored to the customer's needs, which can take up to two or three days for a single firewall. This process is resource-intensive both in terms of cost and time.

I rate the initial setup a nine out of ten, where one is difficult, and ten is easy.

The product is cheap.

FortiGate Firewall offers advanced threat intelligence capabilities. It allows integration with various threat services, such as Cisco Talos. If you are a customer of both FortiGate and Cisco for threat intelligence, you can integrate Cisco Talos with FortiGate, which enhances security effectiveness through Intelligence.

I recommend FortiGate for every company. It's a highly effective solution that can significantly enhance firewall security. You can easily find technical guides to help you understand its capabilities. FortiGate is known for its reliability and robust features.

Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

I use FortiGate Next Generation Firewall for network protection using its DMZ network.

The solution has helped our network security.

There are multiple features I have found to be valuable, such as encryption and integrated security features.

The management consoles can be improved. I have used them before, and they are not so good.

I have been using FortiGate Next Generation Firewall for over two years.

I would rate the solution eight out of ten points for stability.

I rate the solution eight out of ten points for scalability. Over 200 people use it, some of whom are in IT.

I used Palo Alto more than a year ago at my previous job.

The initial setup was easy, I rate it a nine out of ten. Deployment took several days, involving one or two people. The steps involved in the process are design, configuration and implementation, testing and implementation, and also some fine-tuning.

I would rate pricing to be about four or five out of ten, it is reasonable.

I recommend this solution because the price is reasonable and the performance is quite good. Overall I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

We are a distributor of Fortinet products. My role primarily involves importing these products and delivering them to our partners and resellers, who in turn sell them to the end customers.

FortiGate is a rapidly growing vendor with a wide range of ready-to-use products. Their delivery time is remarkably quick, usually between two to four weeks. They provide excellent support, especially when it comes to helping resellers who may encounter implementation issues with Fortinet. The technical presales and support teams are readily available to assist them. So, there are definitely several benefits to working with Fortinet.

The interface, pricing, and support are good. FortiGate release new patches and offers regularly. In the integration file, they don't have anything to add because they have a very wide portfolio and models in the next-generation firewalls. FortiGate has a variety of add-on license tools that can be applied to the firewall.

FortiGate should continue to push them to continue to grow up as they've been growing for the last eight years.

FortiGate NGFW can improve technical support. The engineer who answers the technical support call, email, or phone call, whatever the medium may be. The response time is very bad.

I have been working with FortiGate Next Generation Firewall for eight years. 

We don't have broken devices to be repaired or replaced with new ones, so they are very stable while working.

I rate the solution’s stability a ten out of ten.

I rate the solution’s scalability a ten out of ten.

We have all types of business models and customers in our portfolio, such as the midsized business, enterprise, entry-level, and small businesses. We are working with all of that with all of the Fortinet solutions.

The customer support is very slow. The engineer who answers the technical support call, email, or phone call, whatever the medium may be. The response time is very bad. 

On the other hand, Cisco takes one or two hours to respond, while Fortinet takes a few days. This is an area that they could improve on a global scale.

Neutral

The initial setup of the solution is easy, which is the most important feature for in-domain-wide resellers, partners, and customers. In the end, if you want to use Fortinet as a firewall administrator in your network, it is highly recommended because it is extremely easy to set up, especially for first-time users.  

Even if you have previous experience with Cisco or Check Point, setting up Fortinet is easy. It is a very user-friendly configuration.

I rate the solution setup a ten out of ten. It is very user-friendly.

FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall is cheaper than Cisco or CheckPoint or Palo Alto and more expensive than Barracuda or Sophos or any smaller brands. The prices fit right where they are on the global market.

I advise you to buy it ASAP because it's a very good product.

From my experience as a distributor, some customers don't buy technical support on the devices. They buy only devices. I will advise them to buy the technical support of FortiCare service. In that case, they will have technical support by phone call, or by mail. They will have a replacement if anything is broken 24/7.

Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.