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Jose Gisbert - PeerSpot reviewer
Manager Network (IT/OT) at a consumer goods company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Real User
Top 10
Is flexible, easy to configure, and provides good visibility into our devices
Pros and Cons
  • "The flexibility and ease of configuration are the most valuable features."
  • "The inability to scale the FortiAnalyzer to match our growth necessitates the purchase of new hardware."

What is our primary use case?

Our organization utilizes Fortinet FortiGate for SD-WAN. All business units within our organization connect to the SD-WAN, which is constructed using Fortinet devices.

The primary reason we implemented Fortinet FortiGate was to enhance connectivity. Our previous reliance on MPLS resulted in low bandwidth and high costs. By transitioning to SD-WAN devices and leveraging common ISP connections, we have achieved two significant goals: substantial cost savings and increased flexibility in configuring device communications across our various plants.

How has it helped my organization?

FortiGate offers us the capability to provide visibility into and segmentation of our industrial devices. We are currently implementing this for the LAN, and we are migrating firewalls to Fortinet FortiGate devices. In this process, we are separating the operational network from the IT network.

Knowing that some of Fortinet's devices can be used in harsh environments that's nice to have. But that's something that is not needed right now just because we are only using them in very few places. These devices are specifically used to prevent intrusions in harsh environments. 

These devices help to control network traffic with OT-specific protocols. The LAN firewalls we have implemented are purchased with the functionality of network-specific modules to enable the management of network traffic with OT-specific protocols.

The approved offerings help us achieve our budgetary goals. We are adapting the budget to align with the devices provided by Fortinet. We are doing this because we can utilize Fortinet. Therefore, all of our budgets should take this into account as well.

The decision to utilize Fortinet stems from its ability to integrate with our preferred vendors. We have plans to implement both ClearPass and Nozomi as part of our OT cybersecurity strategy, both of which offer API-based interfaces for connecting to FortiGate devices. This interoperability is crucial for our organization.

The combination of FortiGate and FortiManager provides a comprehensive overview of all the firewalls we manage. It is very convenient to have everything centralized in one place.

FortiGate has helped reduce the risk of cyberattacks that could disrupt our production, which is one of our primary goals.

We were not affected by any cybersecurity attacks that would have impacted our production operations. However, we have a comprehensive plan in place to address such incidents. FortiManager enables us to block essential protocols and implement security measures across all business units if we detect a security breach in one area. This centralized approach ensures that the security measures we implement are consistently applied throughout the organization.

FortiGate has aided in centralizing the management of our network and security operations. The impact of this on the operational efficiency of our industrial network depends on how we organize it. Centralized management has significantly simplified management tasks. However, we require a dedicated team capable of addressing the diverse needs of different plants and business units, implementing necessary changes, and resolving any issues that arise. A single point of contact facilitates this process. In this regard, we have not only improved operational efficiency but also consolidated our management structure, reducing the need for multiple teams scattered across different countries.

FortiGate provides us with actionable data that helps us make informed decisions about the appropriate actions to take. Additionally, we utilize FortiAnalyzer to analyze the type of traffic we are experiencing, potential issues, and other relevant information. Furthermore, we monitor CPU memory, bandwidth, and other metrics associated with various IP connections using Fortinet devices. This monitoring is conducted across multiple firewalls. By employing these tools, we can ensure that any changes we make are the correct ones and are made for the right reasons.

The implementation of Fortinet's Security Fabric has significantly enhanced the security of our industrial control system. Previous solutions were unable to effectively manage the diverse protocols employed in this environment, resulting in operational and technological limitations. However, with the introduction of the new security fabric, we are now able to address these challenges and achieve a more robust security posture.

The Fortinet Security Fabric helps us reduce our mean time to remediation. With all its tools and centralized management, it's much easier to identify and resolve issues, leading to improved overall security posture.

Fortinet helped mature our approach to cybersecurity for protecting our industrial equipment.

What is most valuable?

The flexibility and ease of configuration are the most valuable features.

What needs improvement?

Overall, we are satisfied with the product. However, we encounter occasional capacity issues. The FortiAnalyzer, being a hardware appliance, has limited expansion capabilities. As our organization has grown, we've outpaced the FortiAnalyzer's performance. The inability to scale the FortiAnalyzer to match our growth necessitates the purchase of new hardware. This is an area that could be improved. If we anticipate reaching the size of six countries within the next five years, investing in a solution that can accommodate such growth would be more cost-effective than repeatedly purchasing new hardware. The ability to scale the FortiAnalyzer in tandem with our growth would be a significant improvement.

Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiGate
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiGate. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for over three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

FortiGate is now stable. We experienced some difficulties in the beginning, possibly due to some bugs we encountered. However, for approximately the past six months, we have been closely monitoring various ratings for FortiOS versions. As a result, we are currently running only on mature versions. Since then, we have observed that the device is significantly more stable than before.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability for the FortiManger and the devices themselves is a nine out of ten but for the FortiAnalyzer it is a six out of ten.

How are customer service and support?

On the few occasions that we have needed to use technical support, we have found them to be responsive.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

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

We used different solutions such as Cisco, Watchguard and Sophos in different countries, and one of the reasons we switched to FortiGate was to standardize what we used in all the countries.

The FortiManager is one of the biggest advantages they have. From a single management point, we can manage all the devices connected to the support manager. This is something I haven't seen before. So, in that sense, I would say that the most important difference between FortiGate and other vendors is the FortiManager.

How was the initial setup?

Due to the extensive network, the deployment spanned several months; however, on a site-by-site basis, each deployment was completed within a few hours. We had a minimum of two people per country involved in the deployment with 1-2 people from Central IT.

What about the implementation team?

It was a mixed team vendor - in-house. The vendor expertise was really good and I would rate it on a 9 out of 10.

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

FortiGate's pricing falls within the mid-range when compared to other leading firewall solutions. While it's more expensive than Sophos, it's more affordable than Palo Alto.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate Fortinet FortiGate eight out of ten.

We have FortiGate deployed across multiple locations with 120 firewalls.

I suggest testing FortiGate. For organizations looking for an affordable solution, with good management and initial management, Fortinet FortiGate is the right choice.

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 Consultant at Escuela de Comunicación Mónica Herrera
Real User
Top 5
Nice GUI, easy to configure, and has a reasonably priced licensing model
Pros and Cons
  • "The GUI is good."
  • "Maybe they could make some features more accessible, such as a way to translate directions between two networks that share the same subnets."

What is our primary use case?

I primarily administrate the solution as a firewall. It's a perimeter solution. We filter content in order to ensure protection. We use it to publish services on-premises.

What is most valuable?

The GUI is good.

It's a basic firewall and it's a simple configuration. It can be ported very easily to our unit.

All of the licenses are included. We don't need to buy more licenses per pack of users. It is cost-effective. 

What needs improvement?

We'd like to see what they will do when AI attacks are generated. They will need to ensure their prevention continues to be exceptional. 

The solution isn't missing any features. Maybe they could make some features more accessible, such as a way to translate directions between two networks that share the same subnets.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for ten years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is very stable. It is a robust unit.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's scalable. You can grow as you need. If you need more, you can use a model to upgrade to the next model. 

We don't have users per se; I provide the service to clients. 

How are customer service and support?

I very rarely contact technical support. If I need to scale, they have very knowledgeable sources and solid workbooks. The resources they offer ensure I always have a solution. 

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

I've worked with SonicWall and Cisco. Fortinet offers a good license model. It's also very clean in terms of configuration. It offers high performance. It is a bit more expensive compared to SonicWall, however, if you take everything into consideration, the pricing is quite reasonable. 

How was the initial setup?

We have a FortiGate appliance. We are using the 2000F version of FortiGate and running the license for FortiOS. 

First, we design our network, then we update policies. 

Fortinet makes the process very easy. I try to make it more efficient by replicating policies using the GUI. 

How long it takes to deploy depends on the complexity. I have 20 or so subnets and some services and I can manage the deployment in two to three hours. 

It is not difficult to maintain the solution. 

What about the implementation team?

I'm able to handle the deployment myself. 

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

The licensing model is very good. It's less expensive than Check Point. 

What other advice do I have?

I'm an independent consultant. 

Users have to understand the size of the network. That would dictate the model you need. You also need a qualified technician to configure the unit. 

I'd rate the solution nine out of ten. It's very easy to use.

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: Integrator
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiGate
December 2024
Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiGate. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: December 2024.
824,053 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Team Leader Network & Security at Rogers Capital
Real User
Straightforward implementation and affordable
Pros and Cons
  • "The initial setup of Fortinet FortiGate was straightforward."
  • "Fortinet FortiGate needs to improve the logging and reporting. Additionally, the next-generation application's policies should be improved. When they were released they had bugs."

What needs improvement?

Fortinet FortiGate needs to improve the logging and reporting. Additionally, the next-generation application's policies should be improved. When they were released they had bugs.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for approximately 12 years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Whenever we install a new release of an OS we should expect lots of bugs on the system that could break the system. Something that is working fine in the previous system, if we upgrade it, it could break it. Fortinet should work a lot on this to remediate it before releasing any OS. This includes any update and upgrade of FortiOS because I have seen issues when I upgraded, such as the memory and CPU jumping to 100 percent, and some or all functions were not operational. These bugs should be fixed in the firmware.

If there is a need for some upgrade or update on an existing system then I will plan ahead, but if it is not stable I will not do it. We have new releases being tested now and once they are rated stable I will upgrade.

How are customer service and support?

I have found the support from Fortinet FortiGate very poor. I do not use them anymore because they are not very good. This is based on the support I have received from South Africa and India. However, the support from France I have heard was excellent. I only open support tickets for bugs.

I would rate the support from Fortinet FortiGate a two out of five.

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

I have previously used SonicWall, Sophos, Juniper, and Cisco Meraki.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup of Fortinet FortiGate was straightforward.

The time it takes to implement a firewall a large and small firewall is the same. It does not matter the size of the firewall. The complexity comes from the network and the scope of work that we need to do for the customer on the network.

If it is a large network, it will take us more time to deploy it, because there is more to configure. If it is a small network, it will take less time, but configuration-wise, it's likely the same.

What about the implementation team?

I have deployed Fortinet FortiGate on my own. I have never needed help from any third-party consultant, or integrator. I work as a consultant and integrator for other companies. I provide my service as a consultant.

Fortinet FortiGate doesn't require a lot of maintenance if you deploy the system correctly, it will run well. However, you do need to have some security checks, auditing, and cleanup of the system, every month. It depends on the company policies. 

If you already deployed the solution correctly you should not have an issue. Maintenance is required, we do have some customers that are doing morning checks on memory and CPU, it does not take much time.

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

The license for Fortinet FortiGate is affordable in my country.

What other advice do I have?

I rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight 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
Adeel Razzaq - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Ar at IBEX Holdings Ltd
Real User
Top 10
Highly reliable, reasonably priced, and worth the money
Pros and Cons
  • "Reliability is the best feature. We faced some issues when we were setting it up, but the service, portal, and administration are good."
  • "There are some complex administration tasks in their administration portal. That needs to be improved."

What is our primary use case?

We are using Fortinet for administration over local users that need to connect with our wireless. We have users that come from different domains, and there are certain limits and restrictions that need to be implemented.

How has it helped my organization?

There is not much visible improvement, but it's a stable and reliable environment. We did not see anything critical in the production environment.

What is most valuable?

Reliability is the best feature. We faced some issues when we were setting it up, but the service, portal, and administration are good.

What needs improvement?

There is some development gap. We had experienced bugs in their operating system. When we were planning to upgrade it, there was no patch available for a bug, and the support team was saying that they need to work on that. That's the part they should work on.

There are some complex administration tasks in their administration portal. That needs to be improved.

For how long have I used the solution?

It has been around two years since we set it up.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's stable.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

It's scalable. We have 1,500 to 2,000 people across the world. We have multiple regions and multiple sites.

How are customer service and support?

We contacted them for a few cases. I would rate them a seven out of ten. They could be better at finding solutions.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Neutral

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

This was the first option, but we'll try Cisco as well for our Wi-Fi setup for the next one to two years. 

It was a management call to go for this. They know what is best for their business.

How was the initial setup?

I was not exactly involved in its initial setup, but at a later stage, I had to jump into that. I was more into Cisco setup.

Overall, the setup was easy. There was a portal, and most of the things were similar to other hardware we use, such as Palo Alto. We found some bugs during the setup, and there was not much support available from the Fortinet support team

In terms of maintenance, there are upgrades available roughly every quarter.

What was our ROI?

It's worth the money.

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

The price range is quite acceptable and normal.

What other advice do I have?

It's excellent. The services, administration, and reliability are up to the mark. They just need to improve it a bit. 

I would recommend it if you want to set it up for your business. Overall, I would rate it a 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
EhabAli - PeerSpot reviewer
Sr. Cybersecurity Solutions Architect at BMB
Real User
Top 5
Efficient, user-friendly, and affordable
Pros and Cons
  • "Fortinet FortiGate is user-friendly and affordable."
  • "For the migration, everyone has a firewall in use and I am selling Fortinet. Typically, I am replacing another firewall. Previously, there was a tool available to convert configurations from one firewall, such as Palo Alto, to Fortinet, but this tool is no longer free. If it could be made free again, it would be very beneficial."

What is our primary use case?

There are various use cases for Fortinet FortiGate, including firewall protection for internet access, data centers, branches, and SD-WAN. We use the firewall in multiple locations throughout our network, taking advantage of its many features, such as the promising CDR feature and security profiles like the WAF filter and application DNS security. We deploy these features in different parts of the network. Additionally, some customers use Fortinet FortiGate in the cloud to safeguard their cloud servers within platforms like Microsoft tenants.

Our customers are using Secure SD-WAN for connecting different branches. For example, oil and gas companies have different branches all over Egypt, which are not in the main city, so they need a secure connection and stability for certain protocols, such as voice and things like that. They also need visibility. They need to understand which applications are consuming SD-WAN. 

Some of the customers are also using SD-WAN for load balancing. For SD-WAN, you need at least two internet connections, so some of the customers are using it as a load-balancing technique. Overall, there are a lot of features for which customers are using SD-WAN.

How has it helped my organization?

For our customers, Secure SD-WAN is very useful for giving the right priority to the applications and controlling the proper use of the application.

Secure SD-WAN's interoperability with other systems and applications in the environment is very good. The integrated application protection provided by Secure SD-WAN is also good. There is a very good integration with all the applications and portfolios. We don't integrate the firewall with the application itself, but it does what is needed to control and reroute the traffic.

Secure SD-WAN has a lot of benefits. There is a calculator on Fortinet's website. When you feed the right information to that calculator, it tells you how much money you will save by acquiring SD-WAN. The first benefit is that you're going to save money. Instead of buying multiple ISP connections, MPLS, and other such things, you can use the normal internet and apply SD-WAN on it, so you can save a lot of money. You also don't need to increase the bandwidth. SD-WAN helps with the routing of your traffic and the optimum use of your links. It's efficient and secure, and it saves you a lot of money, and of course, there is the security of the firewall that's applied on SD-WAN. If we're comparing it with other vendors like Cisco, you are not getting the firewall features.

It's very efficient. There is a lot of visibility. It reduces the number of incidents. If there is any problem, you can immediately log in to the firewall, and you will know if there is a notification about bandwidth consumption or any other issue, or if there is any drop in connectivity. It makes the operation very easy. It makes it easy for the teams to respond to incidents and manage issues. SD-WAN helps to remediate threats more quickly and efficiently because, with SD-WAN, there are a lot of applications going through different links, so if you can know which link an application is using and what's on the link, you can make the right decision in a very fast way to fix it. It provides both visibility and efficiency.

It reduces your mean time to detect (MTTD). In the new version, which is version 7.x, of the FortiGate firewall, through the main dashboard, you can know what is going on. If you've done the dashboard and you're putting these statistics in front of you on a screen, once you look at it, you'll know what's going on and what's the problem. It, of course, will give you the tools and the right information to reduce the time to solve.

It's hard to say whether it has reduced help desk tickets because it's more on the operational side, but it helps them a lot. The operations team is not handling the firewall. It's either the network team or the network security team. Generally, once it's up and running, it just works. It's different from having an antivirus or something else that can be changed from day-to-day activities. With this one, once you turn it on, the service will be stable unless you have a problem with your internet. It doesn't cause a lot of problems.

In terms of helping to future-proof business, from a partner perspective, it gives you a lot of flexibility to enhance the customer network. It opens a lot of doors for sales, for a new business, and for new potential. That's from the partner side. From the customer side, you can save money and solve a lot of problems. If you need to connect with a few branches all over the country, it's efficient. You don't need to travel for five to ten hours to reach the second branch. If you have proper SD-WAN technology and it's connected in a good way with good vendors, you can save a lot of time, effort, and money. You can have proper connectivity between branches as if the guy you are talking to is next door. So, SD-WAN gives a lot of benefits at the vendor level, partner level, and customer level.

What is most valuable?

Fortinet FortiGate is user-friendly and affordable.

When it comes to Secure SD-WAN, ease of use is valuable. The visibility and reporting are also valuable. A cool thing is that SD-WAN is free of charge with the Fortinet firewall. You can just use it just by using the Fortinet appliances that you already have in the branches. You cannot have appliances from different vendors. Fortinet customers can use the feature in a very easy way. It takes one click to integrate with the firewalls. It's very very easy to deploy. You don't need to build anything.

What needs improvement?

In the past, NSS Labs was utilized to test files and verify the numbers and datasheets. It would be beneficial to have an organization or testing lab that can verify the numbers in our datasheets since changes are frequently made, which can be inconvenient for review. For instance, when comparing different competitors such as Forcepoint, Palo Alto, and Check Point, the throughput or numbers in the datasheet may be lower than the actual numbers. Conversely, Fortinet typically reports very high numbers, but they cannot be replicated in the real world. Therefore, it would be advantageous for them to partner with a neutral testing organization such as NSS Labs to validate these numbers, thus providing more credibility and comfort to everyone regarding the accuracy of the datasheets.

For the migration, everyone has a firewall in use and I am selling Fortinet. Typically, I am replacing another firewall. Previously, there was a tool available to convert configurations from one firewall, such as Palo Alto, to Fortinet, but this tool is no longer free. If it could be made free again, it would be very beneficial. This tool shows a lot of promise and is very good. Making it free would help many companies deliver their products in a more efficient and integrated way. It would also be more valuable to include the tool with the firewall package or license instead of having to pay extra for it. Paying extra puts more pressure on small companies to deliver the firewall and complete the configuration, especially if they have hundreds or thousands of policies. It's very painful to move through these policies line by line.

The stability has room for improvement.

When it comes to Secure SD-WAN, everything is fine. They are going the right way. SD-WAN is very promising. They can provide the SD-WAN solution separately, but they will not take this approach because even the smallest firewall can support the features, so there is no need to have a separate service or appliance. They are following the right steps, and there is nothing to be improved. Feature-wise, I'm really satisfied with the new release, and the features they have added. For now, it's fine.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for seven years, and I have been using Secure SD-WAN for two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Secure SD-WAN is stable, but when it comes to the firewall, sometimes there are issues with the throughput and related factors. Improper handling of these can lead to a memory surge, a well-known bug that can cause the entire system to freeze. When this happens, the system appears to be running but no traffic is processed, causing disruptions to applications, users, and overall internet connectivity. This can be confusing because the firewall appears to be functioning correctly. Typically, the solution is to restart the firewall. However, when we contact support, they require logs before restarting, which can be challenging in urgent situations. As a result, we prioritize quick resolution over troubleshooting. This is a common drawback of the operating system.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I'd rate Fortinet FortiGate's scalability an eight out of ten.

How are customer service and support?

While the technical support offered online and on-site is generally effective, there may be occasions when we need to escalate an issue to a higher level due to its complexity. 

I initially sought assistance from level-one support, but they were unable to resolve my issue. Eventually, they informed me that the problem would be addressed in a future patch. However, within a day or two, a level three engineer intervened and provided me with an update to resolve the issue. He explained that it required a command line configuration, as it couldn't be done through the graphical user interface. I was impressed with the level-three engineer's expertise and problem-solving skills. It taught me that if we persist and communicate our needs, we can achieve our desired outcomes.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward. We need to determine whether the firewall will be positioned in an active-standby or active-active configuration. Based on this decision, we will choose the appropriate license. If the firewall is intended for use with the Internet, we will need to include features such as a full DNS filter. However, if it's being used in a data center, these features may not be necessary. Additionally, we need to consider the speed of the interface, 1G or 10G, and the expected amount of network traffic to properly size the firewall model and ensure proper throughput. This is the initial phase of the process. Once the firewall has been deployed, it's a matter of connecting it and configuring policies. 

When it comes to the deployment model of SD-WAN, my customers usually buy the appliance. They already have FortiGates, so we're just connecting firewalls to each other. In Kuwait and Egypt, there are mostly on-prem deployments. It's rare to have someone deploying a firewall on the cloud, and if it's deployed on the cloud, it's for a certain reason. It's not for SD-WAN because you're not loading balancing or you don't need SD-WAN for cloud access. In the countries where I was responsible for its implementation, there was only on-prem deployment.

There is one single challenge with the deployment of SD-WAN, but it's not from the FortiGate side. It's from the customer side. You need to understand your traffic so you can get the best out of SD-WAN. For some organizations, it's huge because they don't know which application is doing what and which is more important than the other. Especially during the COVID years, a lot of applications popped up. Companies used to release an application every few weeks. To do a proper implementation, you need to understand your network, understand your application, and set your priorities. Once you do this, the implementation will be a piece of cake. If you have all the information, it will take a day or two days.

What about the implementation team?

We implement the solution for our clients. One person can easily deploy multiple Fortinet products through the firewall including FortiAnalyzer for the logs, FortiManager, and FortiMail.

For SD-WAN also, one senior security engineer can do everything for a customer. The maintenance is easy. We haven't faced any critical problems with it.

What was our ROI?

We have experienced a positive return on investment by utilizing Fortinet's products. For instance, their website features a calculator for SDR, which enables us to measure the actual ROI in dollar amounts. We input our current expenses, the products we intend to purchase, and our connectivity plans, along with a few other details. At the end of the process, we receive data that indicates the amount of money we will save, such as two hundred thousand, for example. This provides us with clear and precise figures on our savings, making it an excellent tool.

Our customers have seen time to value with Secure SD-WAN. Its time to value is seen within weeks of implementation.

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

The price for the Fortinet FortiGate is reasonable. Secure SD-WAN is free of charge. If you have their firewall, it's free of charge. It's very tempting. Other vendors, such as Palo Alto, will charge you to have an SD-WAN license, whereas, with Fortinet, it's free of charge.

What other advice do I have?

When purchasing a firewall, stability is non-negotiable. For small to medium businesses, Fortinet's affordability and ease of deployment make it a suitable option. However, for enterprise-level businesses, Palo Alto or Check Point would be preferred for their robust clients and immediate updates, despite the higher cost.

When comparing the pros and cons of Secure SD-WAN with other solutions, the challenge is not with SD-WAN. It's with the appliance that's offering SD-WAN, which is the firewall. So, the first comparison would be between the FortiGate firewall and other firewalls, and if the other firewalls are already offering the same service, the comparison will be between different levels, not just SD-WAN. There could be other firewalls that are more efficient or lower in cost or even more familiar to customers than Fortinet. So, the challenge is not with SD-WAN. The main reason I use SD-WAN on FortiGate is to get the benefit of the security profiles or security features of the firewall on top of the SD-WAN. Otherwise, I can use my internet router, the basic load balancing protocols, and the basic IP tunneling, and send some traffic here and some traffic there, and I'll save the cost. 

I'd rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight 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: Integrator
PeerSpot user
Network admin at Penobscot Valley Hospital
Real User
An easy-to-use product that does a lot for you and allows you to be independent
Pros and Cons
  • "It does a lot for you for intrusion protection and as an antivirus. The threat management bundle is worth the money. You don't need another company to monitor your web traffic for you. You can do everything yourself on the firewall. You restrict your own black list for people on the firewall. You don't need to pay some other company for another product to do that for you. The firewall can do that for you. So, it's an easy-to-use product for people to be independent. They don't need to rely on other vendors to do what the firewall can do. They can do everything."
  • "I don't really have anything negative to say as far as Fortinet firewalls are concerned. If anything, they can support a user a little bit better. They can stop being so time-sensitive about how much time the support call has taken, and they can help you do it yourself."

What is most valuable?

It does a lot for you for intrusion protection and as an antivirus. The threat management bundle is worth the money. You don't need another company to monitor your web traffic for you. You can do everything yourself on the firewall. You restrict your own black list for people on the firewall. You don't need to pay some other company for another product to do that for you. The firewall can do that for you. So, it's an easy-to-use product for people to be independent. They don't need to rely on other vendors to do what the firewall can do. They can do everything.

The GUI is good. I'm really happy with the ease of use of the firewall. Fortinet's support is also great.  

What needs improvement?

I don't really have anything negative to say as far as Fortinet firewalls are concerned. If anything, they can support a user a little bit better. They can stop being so time-sensitive about how much time the support call has taken, and they can help you do it yourself.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've had different models of Fortinet since 2009. They all are physical appliances. I had 300As, and now I'm on 300Ds. I've got a remote site with a different model, which probably is 60F. They are great little firewalls, and for bigger size places, they have 300 models.

I don't have virtual appliances. I don't have a virtual infrastructure. I have an older virtual environment with Hyper-V, and the servers are not up-to-date. It was a money thing. So, it was better to go with the appliance itself.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I'm happy with what they got. It is a great product. Sometimes, you're going to get a lemon—the way it initially happened with FortiAuthenticator 300F—but that doesn't happen very often.

If there is a problem, the next business day, they send it and get the replacement, and they help me configure it.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

In terms of its users, everybody uses the firewall because they're going out. That's our egress point. So, there are about 20 users for that. We have a dozen IPsec tunnels with which we connect to different companies. So, security is a big part of it. I also have a remote location with about 10 users who use a different firewall.

We probably won't be increasing its usage. Now that I got Authenticator, it nicely compliments the Fortinet firewall. The size of the company isn't going to grow any more than what it is. So, we're good.

How are customer service and support?

Their support is great, but it also depends on who you get for support. From the support perspective, they can help you do it yourself, which is always more beneficial to both parties. They can stop being so time-sensitive about the call duration and let a user help himself a little bit more.

It takes time to study this stuff, and I don't always have time to do it. So, I'm looking for a quick answer because I get interrupted all the time during work. I don't always have the time to study something and figure it out. So, I have to call them, but I don't always get somebody who really knows what they are doing. They don't know deep enough to help you. They're troubleshooting with you, and that's the difference between Level 1 and Level 2 support.

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

When I first got here in this job in 2007, they had Cisco ASA Firewall, but it was too cryptic. You had to enter all these CLI commands for a configuration. It also didn't do everything that Fortinet could do. It was very limited, and it wasn't easy to use. I know what I want to do, and I don't have to learn a special language in order to do it. I just want to be able to use some basic programming code that they have put into the firewall and use the GUI interface with it to actually visualize what I am looking at. Some of the Cisco products are not visual enough. That was one of the reasons I stayed away from it. Cisco is also very high-priced. They price themselves out of business a lot of times for equipment, but Fortinet is just great.

I've also used SonicWall before. It was okay, but it is better for bigger places. I was looking for a midrange-size firewall for a couple of hundred users, and I felt Fortinet was the right fit.

How was the initial setup?

Its deployment and maintenance are easy. 

What about the implementation team?

I pretty much used the support from Fortinet to do it. They're good about their support. I did it myself by being a nuisance to Fortinet. I kept calling them to ask questions. They had to remote on to it and see you do something you don't know how to do.

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

It was probably about $2,500 per firewall. It was all included. It included support, services, threat management software, and 24/7 FortiCare on it. Cisco products are more expensive.

What other advice do I have?

Fortinet has got great firewalls. They do everything. They do FortiTokens for two-factor. They do the IPsec VPNs, SSL VPNs. They have a great GUI for you to know, but you still got to know the CLI commands. 

I would rate it a 10 out of 10. It does its job, and it is easy to use. The support is great.

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
Esubalew-Berihun - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineer at Ahad
Real User
Easy to manage with reasonable pricing and good monitoring
Pros and Cons
  • "The reporting and monitoring are very good."
  • "We'd like more management across other integrations."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution for security purposes. We use it as a firewall for protection. 

How has it helped my organization?

It helps protect our users, and we are able to initiate our own policies. It also provided good visibility and reporting. 

What is most valuable?

The management is very easy.

It offers very good security features. 

The reporting and monitoring are very good.

We can integrate the solution very well with other Fortigate solutions. 

It's stable and reliable.

The solution can scale. 

Pricing is reasonable. 

What needs improvement?

We do not need any other features.

We'd like more management across other integrations. It would be ideal if it could centralize the management, and we could therefore manage all solutions under Fortinet instead of managing everything individually.

In some cases, depending on the module and the age, performance could be better.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for three years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is very scalable and reliable. There are no bugs or glitches. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have 800 end users, approximately.

The solution is scalable. 

How are customer service and support?

Technical support has been fine. However, we haven't really dealt with them too much. We haven't had any critical issues. 

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

We also use other Fortinet products, including the NFGW.

We also work with Cisco devices and solutions. 

We have worked with Palo Alto in the past. It has a pretty good performance. 

In the end, we moved to Fortinet as the cost was very good. 

How was the initial setup?

The solution is very simple. The process is easy to understand. It's not complex at all. 

I helped deploy the solution. We had to integrate it with internal and external firewalls. 

We had the full functionality in place within five days. We had five people managing the deployment process. 

What about the implementation team?

I integrated the solution myself without outside help.

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

The cost of the solution is reasonable. 

What other advice do I have?

I'm an end-user.

I'd rate the solution nine out of ten.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Elvis Mahadeo - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Systems Engineer at Caribbean Development Company
Real User
Has good ECC management feature and a single GUI with excellent monitoring capabilities
Pros and Cons
  • "The ECC management and the GUI that offers single interface management are the most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate."
  • "The documentation available for Fortinet FortiGate should be improved"

What is our primary use case?

Our company uses this solution for endpoint network security. 

What is most valuable?

The ECC management and the GUI that offers single interface management are the most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate. 

What needs improvement?

The documentation available for Fortinet FortiGate should be improved. Often, I find documentation of older models and not the latest version of Fortinet FortiGate. I have to often utilize the older documentation and reengineer the information for the latest model of Fortinet FortiGate. 

There are competitor products in the market that can monitor all logs, which are referred to as SOC; Fortinet FortiGate should have such in-built features. The solution should be able to implement machine learning and analytics of all the logs for threat detection and protection. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for more than a year.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I would rate the stability an eight out of ten. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is used daily in our organization. I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten. 

How are customer service and support?

I would rate the tech support an eight out of ten. Our company needs to contact customer support on certain issues. The support team is usually able to resolve the issues by communication over call a few times. Sometimes, there was quite some back-and-forth through support tickets with the vendor team before the issues got resolved. 

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

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

Our company previously worked with Juniper, NETGEAR, and Cisco. The devices from the aforementioned vendors reached the End of Life, and their support was expiring in our company, so we switched to Fortinet FortiGate to have visibility and manage all devices through a single vendor. 

How was the initial setup?

I would rate the initial setup a nine out of ten. Due to some network complexities, we had to schedule the downtime of our organization's business, so the initial deployment of Fortinet FortiGate took more time than anticipated. But the setup process was seamless and our company didn't face any abrupt down time. 

At our company, first, we prepared a deployment plan and then divided the services into varying areas based on which the deployment was performed in phases. Only two professionals, a system engineer, and an infrastructure manager, are required to deploy Fortinet FortiGate.

Another two individuals are needed to maintain the solution with the same aforementioned professional job designations. In our company, we didn't face any issues while integrating Fortinet FortiGate with our existing infrastructure and even with other tools.

What about the implementation team?

A third-party team deployed the solution for our organization. 

What was our ROI?

In our company, we haven't realized an ROI yet, as the solution was implemented just a year ago. There are some devices that I need in addition to other area devices of my company, we are in process of renewing all old devices with newer versions.

In the next few months, our company will be able to obtain the actual capex purchase with at least ten switches. Fortinet FortiGate is worth the money, offers multiple solutions under one roof. 

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

I would rate the pricing a five out of ten. Our company onboarded the solution through a traditional capex purchase of the standard license with three years of customer support. 

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Our company has been using Fortinet FortiGate since 2009 at the firewall level, due to familiarity with the RTO and FortiGate environment, complete adoption of Fortinet FortiGate was an easier choice than other solutions for a single clear management. 

Fortinet FortiGate also had all the features that our company was expecting, and in terms of ease of management, opting for the same vendor from firewall to edge device was a comfortable option. 

What other advice do I have?

Previously, in our organization, we didn't have a network monitoring tool. With the adoption of Fortinet FortiGate, we can now check the port level of the switches that can be witnessed at the EP end, where all devices remain connected to the network. The management and monitoring are the major benefits of Fortinet FortiGate. 

I would advise others to consider adopting the solution without hesitation. I read the latest Gartner Magic Quadrant report, and it mentioned that, based on its track record, Fortinet can compete with the best in terms of network and security solutions.

For the last five years I believe Fortinet has dominated the market. I recently attended a Fortinet event where I met all the local and regional support team; I learned that the vendor is continually expanding, and in our region, we can easily avail support and guidance regarding Fortinet solutions whenever required. 

The monitoring subscription that is provided with the Fortinet FortiGate has built-in AI features for the past three years. I believe Fortinet is in the sixth generation of their AI and ML utilizing the native infrastructure. Thus, the AI features have been available for a long time in Fortinet FortiGate, but they are promoting it now due to the market trends. I would overall rate the solution an eight 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.
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Buyer's Guide
Download our free Fortinet FortiGate Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: December 2024
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Fortinet FortiGate Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.