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CEO at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Stable connection, centralized administration, and easy deployment
Pros and Cons
  • "We like its centralized administration, integration with Active Directory, deployment, and stability of the connection."
  • "The user interface on the central server could be improved."

What is our primary use case?

It is for a VPN connection. It only has one purpose, and Fortinet is doing very well.

It is used for mobile offices, and/or for our own company so that we can connect to the company network using the VPN. We also do remote access to our customer's environment. They all have FortiGate equipment for firewalls, and we connect to their networks.

We are using its latest version.

What is most valuable?

We like its centralized administration, integration with Active Directory, deployment, and stability of the connection.

It fits perfectly with our FortiGate firewall equipment. We are just using FortiGate firewalls, and these FortiGate firewalls make it very easy to use FortiClient because it is just a natural fit. Another advantage is its integration with the antivirus solution of Fortinet. If someone is using the antivirus software by Fortinet, it is the same agent. So, it perfectly integrates with the complete security stack if you are using the VPN and antivirus from the same brand.

What needs improvement?

The user interface on the central server could be improved.

In terms of additional features, the only thing I could imagine is that it should handle not only FortiClient VPN connections; it should also integrate with OpenVPN, for example. They should open it up for non-FortiGate devices. It is not a must, but it would be nice to have.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for about two years.

Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiClient
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiClient. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Its stability is great.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We haven't reached the limit.

How are customer service and support?

The support of Fortinet for their products is great. The same is true for the Fortinet VPN client. There are a lot of online resources, and you can go through frequently asked questions. You have an online knowledge base, and you have a support company in the background to call and open a ticket with Fortinet. The responsiveness of Fortinet is very good. I would rate them a four out of five.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

It is straightforward. If you set up your environment correctly and it is centrally managed, it is just a matter of 10 to 15 minutes to set up a VPN connection to a new client. It is absolutely fast.

What about the implementation team?

We are an integrator. Its deployment and maintenance can be perfectly handled by one administrator. We have a team for management because if a person is on vacation or ill, the other person can take over, but one administrator would also be perfectly okay.

What was our ROI?

We do not track return on investment. So, I don't have any numbers.

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

I don't know it by heart, but it is comparable to other solutions. It is based on the number of clients. It is probably 50 Euros per year per client. It greatly depends on the number of clients you're handling because the more clients you are ordering it for, the cheaper it will be.

What other advice do I have?

I would totally recommend it. The stability of the connection is great. The performance is also great, and I don't see any big improvements that are necessary. 

I would rate it an 8 out of 10. I haven't seen a software I would give a 10 because 10 would just mean that the company can just sit back and do nothing else in the future.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Integrator
PeerSpot user
reviewer2144703 - PeerSpot reviewer
Principal Software Engineer at Infopulse
User
Top 20
Unstable, with lots of false positives and poor filtering
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is easy to configure and manage."
  • "It has a horrible performance. It is one of the most unstable VPNs I have ever used."

What is our primary use case?

The primary use of Fortinet FortiClient is to protect endpoint devices against various types of cyber threats, such as viruses, trojans, spyware, and phishing attacks. It also helps to prevent unauthorized access to sensitive data and networks and can be used to control access to specific applications and websites.

In addition to endpoint protection, FortiClient can also be used to create secure VPN connections to enable remote access to company resources like Jira, code repositories, corporate Wiki, etc. 

How has it helped my organization?

It has a horrible performance. It is one of the most unstable VPNs I have ever used. 

Since the project was pushed to use, many employees complained about its instability. 

Sure, it has some advanced features, and it is not fair to evaluate it as a VPN only. Unfortunately, the company policies bring most of the resources through protection, and without the VPN, you will be simply blocked. 

Therefore, we are paying so much attention to it. With a slow or unstable internet connection, Fortinet becomes a nightmare. I personally numerous times printed tasks from Jira to PDF for other employees due to VPN issues.

What is most valuable?

The solution is easy to configure and manage.

It is designed to bring additional safety to the machine (it is hard to uninstall by an ordinal user, and it has an in-built web filter). However, implementation is far behind industry standards. 

For instance, the Web filter is a component that provides protection against web-based threats by blocking access to malicious or inappropriate websites. It might bring additional safety. However, in the real world, it constantly produces:

  1. False Positives, which can result in legitimate websites being blocked. This can be frustrating for end-users and potentially impact their productivity.
  2. FortiClient's Web filter may also over-block certain websites, even if they are not malicious or inappropriate. This could result in users being unable to access legitimate websites that are important for their work, causing delays or disruptions.

What needs improvement?

The solution needs network stability, especially when the internet connection is not stable. 

Forticlient should provide proper polling functionality to try to keep the session alive by all possible means. We have seen certain improvements over the past year. However, it is simply not enough to be treated as a good yet even acceptable tool to use. It is currently producing more issues than adds value.

The web filter quite often blocks random sites, including online dictionaries, governmental sites, etc. Review of the wrong block reports simply doesn't work. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used the solution for around a year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is not stable enough.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution offers a weak performance.

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

After the merger, our project was forced to use Forticlient.

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

I know nothing about pricing.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We had no options to choose from.

What other advice do I have?

If your employees might have a weak internet connection (for instance, mobile) think twice before choosing this configuration. If you decide to have FortiClient, never use the WebFilter component. Even Microsoft analog works better (if you really need it).

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
Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiClient
November 2024
Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiClient. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.
816,406 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Infrastructure Specialist at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
Real User
User friendly with an easy initial setup and good reliability
Pros and Cons
  • "It is a scalable product."
  • "They have an EDR feature for end protection detection and response, and this is actually with an add-on subscription, which is charged separately. What I would like to see is this included with the base cost."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution for remote access.

What is most valuable?

It's very easy to use. It's nice and much easier to use than other solutions we've seen in action.

The initial setup is simple.

It is a scalable product.

The stability is great.

What needs improvement?

The EDR feature to be included in the basic license.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is good. We have never experienced an outage.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I have seen it working before COVID and during COVID. It has scaled up quite easily. There's no problem with expanding it.

Right now, I'm in a small company and there are 50 users. Previously, a year ago, I was in a bigger organization with 300 users that were using FortiClient.

How are customer service and support?

I haven't had any incident or any interaction with the technical support service.

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

I've used other solutions in the past. One main difference is it is light, so it consumes minimum resources. The user does not understand the difference in the performance of the endpoint of the laptop or the PC. 

How was the initial setup?

It's easy to implement. I'd rate it at a five out of five in terms of ease of execution.

What about the implementation team?

We handle the implementations in-house. We do not need any integrators or consultants to assist us. 

What other advice do I have?

I would rate the solution at a nine out of ten.

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: PARTNER
PeerSpot user
Cyber Security Senior Specialist at MilliKart llc
Real User
Stable, scalable, and simple installation
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution is stable, we have not had any issues in the time we have been using it."
  • "The solution can improve by adding new remote console or endpoint features to make the solution easier to use."

What is our primary use case?

We are using Fortinet FortiClient to allow our workers to connect remotely to work. This is mostly because of the lockdown or if they are on vacation.

What needs improvement?

FortiClient has not given us any ongoing problems. We did have a problem with uninstalling it, but we opened up a service request ticket to resolve it.

The solution can improve by adding new remote console or endpoint features to make the solution easier to use.

In a future release, the web client section could improve by adding more features, such as a firewall.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Fortinet FortiClient for approximately two months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is stable, we have not had any issues in the time we have been using it.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability of Fortinet FortiClient has been good.

How are customer service and technical support?

We have had some problems related to FortiClient and other products, which is related to Fortinet. We have owned other Fortinet solutions which have had a problem connecting with the switch. We have opened a service request ticket on their system, and it has been nearly one month and they are still looking for a solution.

How was the initial setup?

The installation was easy, we did not face any major issues. We had one small issue related to the proxy settings because we did not have a direct connection to the internet. When we applied the license to the FortiClient, we needed to connect through EMS. However, because we do not have a direct connection to the internet, we needed a proxy, but later resolved it. We created a service request ticket and they said that there was no proxy feature, that is why we created a second adapter and it allowed us to have internet. If there were proxy settings on their EMS, it would have been beneficial.

What other advice do I have?

I rate Fortinet FortiClient an eight out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Private Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: partner
PeerSpot user
Cybersecurity Engineer at GFR Media
Real User
Easy to use, Centralized console that provides visibility
Pros and Cons
  • "The return on investment was very reasonable. It was low cost and it functioned, so the return on investment was excellent."
  • "Everybody else is doing AI, machine learning, self-healing, next-generation features. It needs more next-generation features. Everybody else is doing AI, machine learning, self-healing, next-generation features. It needs more next-generation features."

What is our primary use case?

The primary use case is for remote access from having encrypted tunnels for our users back into our firewall. It was what was available at that point. We no longer are using a Fortinet firewall, which was the reason we stopped using FortiClient. While it was available, it was a good solution.

What needs improvement?

We had some issues using IPsec as a remote tunnel protocol and we had to change those configurations from IPsec to SSL. That was the only issue we had with FortiClient during the four years we used it. 

Everybody else is doing AI, machine learning, self-healing, next-generation features. They should incorporate more next-generation features. 

For how long have I used the solution?

Three to five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability is excellent. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It scaled very well. We had close to a hundred users running the solution without an issue.

How are customer service and technical support?

Technical support was excellent. 

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

Before FortiClient we were using Microsoft RAS, Remote Access Server. We moved to FortiClient when we installed the Fortinet firewalls.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was very straightforward. It was on demand. We would have our help desk level one technicians do the installation on the end user laptops. The deployment strategy was as needed or on demand. The deployment took half an hour of a level one technician's time.

We didn't have technical staff for this, it was a very simple software to deploy. We had a manual that we would give the users. It was a self-serve. Apart from our installation, it was very simple to use. It had a lot of options which we really didn't use like vulnerability assessment or patching. We just used it for remote access. 

What about the implementation team?

We did the implementation ourselves. 

What was our ROI?

The return on investment was very reasonable. It was low cost and it functioned, so the return on investment was excellent. The integration was the firewall. Being able to a have firewall log that actually logged my FortiClient information and being able to have a centralized console to give me visibility, was the main reason we used FortiClient, because of its integration with the firewalls.

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

Licensing was free up to ten users and after that, it was pretty reasonable.

What other advice do I have?

I would advise someone considering this solution to use as much functionality as possible on the endpoint. 

I would rate it a seven out of ten. It fills remote access needs. I give it a seven because of the issues we had between IPsec and SSL. I also give it a seven for its cost, which is very low. It was a good product while I had it.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Manager at Inspira Enterprise
Real User
Easy to install with useful security features
Pros and Cons
  • "FortiClient's most valuable features are that it's easy to install and connect and has OTP on email IDs and two-factor authentication."
  • "FortiClient's encryption key could be stronger so that it's not broken too easily."

What is our primary use case?

I mainly use FortiClient to connect my laptop to my data centers.

What is most valuable?

FortiClient's most valuable features are that it's easy to install and connect and has OTP on email IDs and two-factor authentication. 

What needs improvement?

FortiClient's encryption key could be stronger so that it's not broken too easily.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using FortiClient for about three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

FortiClient is stable.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was easy.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate FortiClient nine 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
Alessandro Povero - PeerSpot reviewer
Systems Engineering Specialist at ATECH – NEGÓCIOS EM TECNOLOGIA S/A
Real User
Fast and safe security solution
Pros and Cons
  • "FortiClient's most valuable features are that it's fast and safe."
  • "We've had some problems with having to remove the current version and either reinstalling an old version or updating to the new one."

What is our primary use case?

I use FortiClient to connect my home office to the company.

What is most valuable?

FortiClient's most valuable features are that it's fast and safe.

What needs improvement?

We've had some problems with having to remove the current version and either reinstalling an old version or updating to the new one.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using Fortinet FortiClient for four to five years.

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

Previously, I used Check Point but switched to FortiClient as it's much cheaper.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was easy.

What other advice do I have?

I would give FortiClient a rating of nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Public Cloud

If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?

Other
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1019505 - PeerSpot reviewer
Director of Information Technology at a real estate/law firm with 201-500 employees
Real User
Competitive pricing, centralized console, and useful Fortinet fabric to secure and track the movement of data through our network
Pros and Cons
  • "Having a centralized console is a valuable feature. The Fortinet fabric is also very valuable where all different pieces talk together to secure our network and track the North, South, East, and West movement of files and data through our network."
  • "Its stability can be improved. It is not as reliable as I would like it to be. There are times when things don't work quite right. Our biggest pain point is not related to Fortinet FortiClient and the whole scheme of things. It is related to one of the additional services called FortiGuard. They are the arm that does all of the updates to definitions, keeps all the signatures updated, and responds to new threats and whatnot. What we have found is that they react quickly, but sometimes their solutions aren't compatible with all of the components of the Fortinet security suite, specifically around FortiSandbox."

What is our primary use case?

We use it for securing all of our endpoints as they move behind our firewall and outside our firewall or in and out of our network. We are using its latest version.

What is most valuable?

Having a centralized console is a valuable feature. The Fortinet fabric is also very valuable where all different pieces talk together to secure our network and track the North, South, East, and West movement of files and data through our network.

What needs improvement?

Its stability can be improved. It is not as reliable as I would like it to be. There are times when things don't work quite right.

Our biggest pain point is not related to Fortinet FortiClient and the whole scheme of things. It is related to one of the additional services called FortiGuard. They are the arm that does all of the updates to definitions, keeps all the signatures updated, and responds to new threats and whatnot. What we have found is that they react quickly, but sometimes their solutions aren't compatible with all of the components of the Fortinet security suite, specifically around FortiSandbox.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for about eight months.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is not as reliable as I would like. Its reliability is around 95%. There are times when things don't work quite right.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We're a relatively small company, and we haven't expanded really large. We're in the 500 or less range, and it works fine for our environment. I don't know how scalable it is. We will continue to use it in the foreseeable future.

How are customer service and technical support?

They have been responsive. Sometimes, it takes them a little while to understand what the issues are. Fortinet right now has a little bit of growing pain. They have acquired a lot of different technologies over the last 18 months, and it hasn't been an absolutely smooth integration between all of those different products, support infrastructures, and developers.

How was the initial setup?

Its deployment was complex and drawn out. It took a long time.

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

Its pricing is good. One thing that has always attracted us to the Fortinet range of products is that their pricing is very competitive.

Our particular licensing is on a yearly basis. However, as part of this project, we did pre-purchase three years of maintenance and support at a fairly significant discount.

What other advice do I have?

I would recommend this solution. They are developing more EDP as it comes out, and they are staying on track with their development side and current trends. 

I would recommend others to talk to Fortinet Professional Services before using a local professional. What we found as part of our long implementation was that the local professionals generally have a very good grasp of one area but not in bringing the fabric together, where you have the EMS, Folder Manager, Sandbox, all the firewalls, and other things coming together. There may be some out there who are good at it, but we ran into a number that didn't have a grasp across the whole thing, and we ended up talking directly to Fortinet Professional Services.

I would rate Fortinet FortiClient an eight out of ten.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Fortinet FortiClient Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: November 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Fortinet FortiClient Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.