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Systems Architect at ZENTIUS
Reseller
Great UI, good performance, and never crashes
Pros and Cons
  • "Log collection is the most valuable. The UI looks great. It has a very good look and feel. We don't have the need to use solid state drives. We use mechanic drives, and we don't see any performance issues, so basically, it is doing fine."
  • "It will be better if behavior or indicators of compromise were on the same licensing schema. Currently, it is an advanced feature that you have to purchase as an add-on. This is the reason we're trying to do the ELK so that we can integrate them and create those rules by using open-source software. It will also be better if it has some more integration with IT service management tools so that we can do endpoint protection and response based on those indicators of compromise or those behavior analysis rules that create events that can automatically flow. We can inject that data into a service incident ticket on our IT service management tool, and that way we can assign the ticket to the proper teams and respond right away. Currently, we only have integration with ServiceNow."

What is our primary use case?

We mostly use the FortiAnalyzer VM. We sell the license for this solution and also the professional service to have it. 

There are different types of business needs of our clients because they're in different business areas. We have firewalls on them. Some of them are on the perimeter network, and some of them are being used as the core network solution. We collect all the logs from their FortiGates. 

In some cases, we also use FortiWeb, which is a web application firewall. We also use FortiMail, which is an email protection solution or email security solution. We gather all the logs on FortiAnalyzer, and we try to do some flat counting and identify behavior or do behavior analysis from those logs and see what is interesting. Our team analyzes those events so that we can prevent any disruption of service because of the security, vulnerability, or issue.

What is most valuable?

Log collection is the most valuable. The UI looks great. It has a very good look and feel. We don't have the need to use solid state drives. We use mechanic drives, and we don't see any performance issues, so basically, it is doing fine.

What needs improvement?

It will be better if behavior or indicators of compromise were on the same licensing schema. Currently, it is an advanced feature that you have to purchase as an add-on. This is the reason we're trying to do the ELK so that we can integrate them and create those rules by using open-source software.

It will also be better if it has some more integration with IT service management tools so that we can do endpoint protection and response based on those indicators of compromise or those behavior analysis rules that create events that can automatically flow. We can inject that data into a service incident ticket on our IT service management tool, and that way we can assign the ticket to the proper teams and respond right away. Currently, we only have integration with ServiceNow

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for five years. 

Buyer's Guide
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January 2025
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We have the box or the VM running for more than a couple of years now. We do upgrade so that we can add new features that Fortinet is releasing, but it is pretty stable. It never crashes.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is a little complex in terms of scalability and mostly because we're using a kind of high-end systems. For scaling, you have to order a different licensing and move more power and computing into a new architecture. It doesn't have that much scalability.

Our clients are SMB or small and medium businesses, but we also have plenty of customers on the campus wide area network.

How are customer service and support?

I would rate them a five out of ten. They will have to move their base locations to a different city. I'm not a native speaker of English, and sometimes, when we're trying, there is a language barrier. They're located in India or some Middle East city. They can do really better. Sometimes their response is not as adequate as other vendors.

How was the initial setup?

It was very straightforward. The deployment could take a couple of days to fine-tune all the rules for log management.

What other advice do I have?

There are plenty of solutions. Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is very helpful if you are really into FortiGate devices. We handle other firewalls, but 80% to 85% of them are Fortinet, so it is a very good solution because it has native integration with everything, but I wouldn't recommend it if you have less than 50% of Fortinet firewalls. If you have agnostic technology, you can integrate all of them into the same solution. FortiAnalyzer is only for FortiGates right now.

I would rate Fortinet FortiAnalyzer a nine out of ten. It just needs more integration with IT service management tools for endpoint detection and response, which is the main objective.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Reseller
PeerSpot user
Senior Network Engineer at Dejpaad
Real User
Top 5Leaderboard
Easy to set up with good performance and reliability
Pros and Cons
  • "It's easy to set up the product."
  • "The solution costs too much."

What is our primary use case?

We use the solution for just one company for the analysis of the FortiGate switch.

What is most valuable?

The solution is scalable. 

The performance is good.

It's easy to set up the product. 

What needs improvement?

The solution costs too much. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used the solution for about three years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution has been stable and reliable. There are no bugs or glitches, and it doesn't crash or freeze. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's a scalable product and expands well.

Only admins use the solution. There are three to four people with direct access to the product. 

How are customer service and support?

I do not have access to technical support. In Iran, we have sanctions, and so we cannot get support. 

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is pretty straightforward and simple. It's not overly complex or difficult to manage. We can deploy it in about two hours. You only need one person to handle the deployment and maintenance tasks as it is very simple. 

What was our ROI?

We have witnessed a bit of an ROI and find the product to be worth the cost. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

We do need to pay for a license, and the payment is made yearly. There are no extra costs associated with the product beyond the main licensing fee. 

It is an expensive solution. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We did not evaluate other solutions before choosing this product.

What other advice do I have?

Overall, I'd rate the product eight out of ten in terms of its functionality. I have been pleased with its capabilities so far. I'd recommend the solution to others. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiAnalyzer
January 2025
Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiAnalyzer. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: January 2025.
831,265 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Director General CEO at SC Telecom
Real User
Overall effective equipment management
Pros and Cons
  • "Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is a complete package for managing our equipment."
  • "The support could be better for Fortinet FortiAnalyzer here in Mexico."

What is most valuable?

Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is a complete package for managing our equipment.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Fortinet FortiAnalyzer for approximately six years.

How are customer service and support?

The support could be better for Fortinet FortiAnalyzer here in Mexico.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate Fortinet FortiAnalyzer a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Security Engineer at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Overall features useful, reliable, but need more integration
Pros and Cons
  • "Overall we are satisfied with all the features the solution provides."
  • "There are a lot of solutions on the market and Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is limited. It cannot be used across multiple vendors. They can improve by advancing their technology."

What is our primary use case?

We are using Fortinet FortiAnalyzer for analyzing network traffic and it provides us with log analytics.

What is most valuable?

Overall we are satisfied with all the features the solution provides.

What needs improvement?

There are a lot of solutions on the market and Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is limited. It cannot be used across multiple vendors. They can improve by advancing their technology.

The solution could improve by having better integration and support with Apple, Linux, and Microsoft solutions.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Fortinet FortiAnalyzer for approximately five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We have been making changes to the cloud signatures and categories because the market is changing and Fortinet FortiAnalyzer has been stable and reliable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable but there are additional costs if you want to increase the scalability.

How are customer service and technical support?

We have been satisfied with the support.

How was the initial setup?

The installation was not difficult.

What about the implementation team?

We did the implementation ourselves.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

In the local market sometimes people are being charged more than other solutions. Although the market is competitive, legitimate suppliers do not receive a large enough discount to pass onto the customers. 

Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is not suitable for everyone, it is best suited for mid-sized businesses but if the price could be reduced there would be more customers in all-sized businesses.

What other advice do I have?

I rate Fortinet FortiAnalyzer a seven out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
it_user494214 - PeerSpot reviewer
System & Network Administrator at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Gives us a simplified and user-friendly interface to work with
Pros and Cons
  • "It has a simplified and user-friendly interface."
  • "When it comes to pushing logs to a SIEM, most of the time we have some issues when it comes to filtering."

What is our primary use case?

We use the analyzer for reporting, to know what exactly is happening on the network. We use it to see which accesses are granted, which accesses are denied, which sites are visited, which botnets are coming in, which viruses, etc.

The solution is on-premise. Most of the time we set it up on the client's premises, depending on their needs. The cloud is there for testing.

What is most valuable?

It has a simplified and user-friendly interface.

What needs improvement?

With FortiAnalyzer, most of the time, although the interface is simplified, when you are new to it you have issues of navigating through it.

And when it comes to pushing logs to a SIEM, most of the time we have some issues when it comes to filtering.

Also, reports need to be simplified because its reporting currently includes more detailed and technical things. If we could get a simplified or executive summary, that would be good.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using this solution for about four or five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's very stable, unlike the previous version which, when the logs were huge, would crash and we would have to reset it and start all over again.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is also fine if you do your prerequisites right. If so, you won't have any issues. But if you don't do your scoping right, and more logs come into the system - more than it can handle - you will face issues. You need to do your scoping right to get it to be stable and scalable.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support is kind of slow. When you have 24/7 support, the response is quick. But when you send something in, it takes a long time to get a response. Fortinet support is a little bit slow when using their portal for support.

In our case, because we are partners, we have a couple of tech guys we can call to get support done. When an end-user requests support through the portal, and even when we do, it takes hours to get a response.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We work with multiple solutions and Fortinet has been the number-one.

How was the initial setup?

For me, the initial setup was straightforward. The deployment takes approximately ten minutes. In some cases we could be waiting for results, waiting for logs to get up to do some analysis.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price is quite expensive. Fortinet products are very expensive. That is something which they should also look at, because if you compare Fortinet product to, say, Sophos for example, Fortinet is really high and that's the only thing which is a drawback for most users. Although their plan is a value-for-money appliance, the price is expensive.

What other advice do I have?

Anyone who asks me about a Fortinet product, I'll give that person a thumbs-up. So far, Fortinet has been the best for me. It's a value-for-money appliance, it has an easy to use interface, and it gives you exactly what you want. The only drawback would be the price. 

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner.
PeerSpot user
it_user369339 - PeerSpot reviewer
Project manager at IRIDIS Group
Vendor
Our company uses a virtual infrastructure. Implementing this product supplements the protection of our infrastructure.

What is most valuable?

The key functions for us are the next-gen firewall and network analytics. To ensure the best protection, we need to constantly analyze the situation in the network, as well as internal and external threats, as well as actual AV protection. The Fortinet products and FortiGuard services give us all of this.

How has it helped my organization?

Our company uses a virtual infrastructure. Implementing this product supplements the protection of our infrastructure.

What needs improvement?

The current version of the product is easy to use. Based on my experience, I can't recommend any areas of improvement. It's important, however, to know what you want prior to implementation. Otherwise, it may not meet your future needs based on the initial configurations.

For how long have I used the solution?

We've used it for about four months.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

During installation, we had no problems with deployment.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We have had no problems with stability.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have had no problems with scalability.

How are customer service and technical support?

The level of local customer service was very good. Per our request, tested the product. We got all answers to our questions from technical support. I rate both of them highly.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We used Wallix AdminBastion together with it.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

A successful implementation for this product depends on how clearly the customer understands what they have and what they need in the future. In most cases, the customer turns out to be unsatisfied when it's unclear that they knew what they wanted prior to implementation. My main recommendation is to implement it together with the vendor, writing down the tasks, solutions, and the expected result before you begin.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I think Fortinet has a balanced offering of prices and licenses.

What other advice do I have?

Fortinet's strategy is based on the dividing the product line depending on functionality. This allows customers to choose only the necessary feature set for them.

The Fortinet product line is wide – you can choose from SOHO to Enterprise, and from hardware to virtual solution. The presence of a free client (Win/Android/OS X) provides protection for client workstations. Each customer will be able to find the most suitable solution for them.

The balanced policy product line and licensing allows customers to choose only the necessary feature set for them. Also you can easily migrate from other vendors using single tools for conversion. Another tool helps you plan the placement of Wi-Fi points in the building. Also, it's very important that equipment has international and national certification such as PCI, DSS, etc. Presentation of products for SDN (Software-defined Networks including SDDC - Software-defined Data Center) confirms the company's leading position in the market.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Alireza Ghahrood - PeerSpot reviewer
Alireza GhahroodConsultant & Instructor -Cyber Security,GovernanceRIskCompliance (CISO as a Services) at Independent
Top 10Real User

I think Fortinet has a balanced offering of prices and licenses.

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reviewer1247817 - PeerSpot reviewer
Presales Technical Specialist at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
Real User
Simple, straightforward, and stable
Pros and Cons
  • "I like its simplicity. It is straightforward. We get reports and emails about the logs, and that's it."
  • "The cloud version can be expensive. If the customers could get the resources to store the logs on-premises, it would be much better."

What is our primary use case?

It is used to get the logs of all boxes that a customer has.

What is most valuable?

I like its simplicity. It is straightforward. We get reports and emails about the logs, and that's it. 

What needs improvement?

The cloud version can be expensive. If the customers could get the resources to store the logs on-premises, it would be much better.

In terms of features, there is no need for additional features.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It is scalable.

What about the implementation team?

We need only one engineer for its deployment and maintenance.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

It is acceptable for on-premises, but it is expensive for the cloud. 

What other advice do I have?

I would rate it a 10 out of 10.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Consultor de Seguridad at Netrix, LLC (X956)
MSP
It supports SQL for logging and reporting
Pros and Cons
  • "It supports SQL for logging and reporting. Log data is inserted into the SQL database for log view and report generation."
  • "It is very important that FAZ can support FortiController as the architecture designed for the network. FortiController should be registered in FAZ at least for event logs."

What is our primary use case?

It receives logs from the FortiGate 5000 Series (about 12 FortiGate blades), and it was configured for keep logs for about 1,050 days. The logs are divided by archive (raw logs) and analytics (logs indexed in a database). 

The use case is primarily for getting graphical data to make quick decisions.

How has it helped my organization?

FAZ has improved the organization because it stores events in the past so we can correlate incidents using another monitor tools; the problem is that it can´t recognize logs from FortiController blades, not even specifying it as a syslog device so this is a big lack. Devices from another brand are compatible only as syslog devices if they support.

What is most valuable?

It supports SQL for logging and reporting. Log data is inserted into the SQL database for log view and report generation. 

Another feature is the custom reports, where you can obtain a chart builder from a log view: traffic, event, or security log.

What needs improvement?

It is very important that FAZ can support FortiController as the architecture designed for the network. FortiController should be registered in FAZ at least for event logs.

For how long have I used the solution?

One to three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

No issues at all. It is a reliable product.  

The problems come when you are using different OS versions between FortiGate and FortiAnalyzer.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

No scalability issues. You should know how many logs per second or minute are generated in your network to avoid issues with scalability.

How are customer service and technical support?

The technical support with Fortinet has risen considerably. Now, they respond in three to four hours instead of two days.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We did not use a previous solution.

How was the initial setup?

The FAZ includes a wizard, which is very simple to follow during the initial setup.

What about the implementation team?

We implemented it in-house. We have had some experience implementing FAZ.

What was our ROI?

I do not have this value yet.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The cost and pricing should be in accordance with the calculation of log storage capacity for a time period required for historical analysis.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We did not look at any other options, because Fortinet was elected for use by the end user.

What other advice do I have?

My only experience is with a very important customer, the most recognized in Latin America.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: We are Grupo CEPRA, a channel for Fortinet sales.
PeerSpot user
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Updated: January 2025
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Log Management
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