Fortinet FortiGate Reviews

We use it for our security needs. It enables us to effectively manage and monitor all the websites our employees access.

One of the features I appreciate the most is application control which offers great flexibility.

They should consider making some improvements regarding the pricing. It could be more competitive and cost-effective. I would also like to know more about Fortinet's XDR offering, understand how it operates, and how we can effectively implement it in our network.

I have been working with for one year.

It offers reliable and stable performance.

I would rate its scalability capabilities ten out of ten. In my previous job, I worked with it, and the company was substantial in size. They used Fortinet's FortiGate in a Solaris environment, which was quite extensive. Now, I'm with a different company, which falls somewhere in the mid-range in terms of size.

I have had excellent experiences with its support team and they have been proactive in responding to my inquiries. I rate their support services a solid ten.  It is robust and efficient, and I currently have no difficulties in this regard.

Positive

Previously, we relied on Cisco WAFSA and Cisco AC, but with FortiGate, we have completely revamped our infrastructure and gained full control over security policies.

I set up a lab using Fortinet's FortiGate (FGT) within VMware on my laptop. Creating the lab environment was a challenge, but not overly difficult, so I would say it fell somewhere in between, not too hard and not too easy. I would rate it five out of ten.

When comparing it to other vendors such as Palo Alto and Check Point, it is on the the expensive side. I would rate it four out of ten.

Overall, I would rate it nine out of ten.

The most valuable features we found are the SD-WAN, FortiGate SD-WAN, and the standard UTM protection, among others.

If someone doesn't have a certified or skilled technician/engineer, certain configurations, like setting up VLANs and SD-WANs, might not be difficult but can be simplified within FortiGate. The areas that might require more expertise are related to setting up VLANs and configuring SD-WANs, among others.

Therefore, the setup process could be made simpler. 

I've been working with FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall for three years. We are currently working with its latest version.

I would rate it as a nine. It is a stable solution.

I would rate the scalability a five out of ten. It is not very scalable because scalability depends on the model. For instance, the FortiEdge, which is the entry-level model (the smallest model), supports up to about 15 users. Then the next model supports up to around 30 to 40 users, and the following one supports a hundred users. The price increases significantly with more users, which can be a concern.

If I make a guesstimate, I'd say about 20 to 30 of our clients, but they all have multiple branches. So, in total, we have about 200 FortiGate firewalls deployed for our customers, spread across 20 to 30 clients.

Most of our clients fall under the medium to enterprise category. We have clients from financial institutions and big corporate organizations. It's not an entry-level solution, as it might be challenging for small businesses to afford.

Based on the support we receive from our supplier, who is a reseller or vendor of FortiGate, I would rate it at about six. Because it takes time to get support from the vendor. So it is not very fast.

Neutral

I rate my experience with the initial setup six on a scale of ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy. The initial setup of the solution is not difficult; if you have an engineer with certification and experience on other firewalls. For them, it's relatively easy. However, someone without certification and experience with other firewalls might find it a bit more challenging to grasp the FortiGate format and its platform layout.

FortiGate is primarily deployed on-premises. We also have a cloud option for certain referrals with tier-three engineers. We have it in our own data center in our cloud, and we also provide it to some of our customers. However, most of the ones I sell are for end customers, and they typically choose the hardware for on-site deployment.

The duration of the deployment can vary depending on different factors. The timeline can involve various stages, such as ordering from overseas, ensuring stock availability, and finally, setting it up for a specific project. As such, the duration can differ based on these factors. 

Eventually, once we have the stock, we can set up the firewall within about an hour.

I would rate the pricing in the middle, around five out of ten. It also depends on how you sell it. If you want to sell it as a one-time purchase, then I'd put it at a seven. But if you amortize it, it can go down to a four because some customers prefer to pay it off over thirty-six months, as the licensing is for that duration.

There are additional costs to the standard license. While the standard licensing fees include UTM and a few other features, for additional features like FortiAnalyzer, FortiManager, and other PCs that you might need, there are additional costs. For features like FortiManager and FortiAnalyzer, the additional costs do add up. So, while getting the entry-level firewall with basic UTM protection and web filtering is not too bad if you want to add features like analyzer reporting, cloud managers, and FortiManager, the costs can become significantly higher.

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

Organizations with about 50 to 100 employees use the solution for VPN, ZTNA, and remote connectivity between branch offices and site-to-site VPN. The solution acts as a gateway-level firewall that secures the office infrastructure against threats in mid-size enterprise organizations.

FortiGate Next Generation Firewall is a good solution because it has a range of options and a clear ecosystem. It has good availability of solutions that complement the next-generation firewall. For example, it has a good range of switches and access points. The solution also has a good ecosystem where cloud services like FortiMail complement the whole solution. The solution has a better ecosystem for community support.

FortiGate Next Generation Firewall could be made a little less expensive.

I have been working with FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) for around three years.

Bugs appear whenever a new firmware or operating system is uploaded into the device for certain modules. These bugs might cause certain services not to work, which has been the case in the past. There have been certain things that were resolved with the new firmware update. FortiGate Next Generation Firewall comes with a six version or a seven version.

The 6.1, 6.2, and 6.3 versions would have bugs, but the 6.4 version would be pretty stable and precise without any issues. Hence, I generally prefer to go ahead with the later version of a particular generation. For example, instead of going with the first version of the sixth generation, I would go in for a third or a fourth version. These things are there in most vendors, but I've noticed these, particularly in FortiGate Next Generation Firewall.

FortiGate Next Generation Firewall is a pretty scalable solution, and mostly, small and medium companies use the solution.

Although FortiGate Next Generation Firewall's customer support is spontaneous in responding, their actual responses are a little slow. They take time. When I say spontaneous, I mean the case ticket gets logged immediately, but the response from Fortinet doesn't come so fast. You have to follow up and then get things done.

Neutral

FortiGate Next Generation Firewall’s initial setup is straightforward.

The solution’s deployment takes one hour. Two to three engineers are required for the deployment of the solution. One or two people maintain the solution by monitoring and fixing breakdowns, which rarely happens.

FortiGate Next Generation Firewall is an expensive solution. I rate FortiGate Next Generation Firewall an eight out of ten for pricing. The solution has a yearly license, and you have to pay additionally for the deployment and partner-led services.

FortiGate Next Generation Firewall charges additionally for migration. Suppose you're upgrading from an older appliance to a newer appliance. In that case, the partner has to buy a FortiConverter Service or a FortiConverter tool on a per-incident basis, which is charged. On the other hand, partners can use the tools available in SonicWall. Compared to FortiGate Next Generation Firewall, SonicWall is better in terms of support and pricing.

We work with the latest version of FortiGate Next Generation Firewall.

Overall, I rate FortiGate Next Generation Firewall a nine and a half or ten out of ten.

We use Fortinet FortiGate for end-to-end advanced firewall protection.

Fortinet FortiGate is deployed both on-premises and in the AWS and Azure clouds.

Fortinet FortiGate makes it extremely easy to manage the entire security system independently of our enterprise. In our company, we operate multiple networks, each with its own distinct layers of networking. Whether it is a small or large company, each network will consist of various layers, including the first, second, and third layers, as well as Wi-Fi access points. Additionally, we have different access switches, distribution switches, and core switches. FortiGate allows for direct management of all these options, which is one of its core advantages.

FortiGate is highly user-friendly and promptly addresses security threats and vulnerabilities commonly found in the modern technology world. Additionally, Fortinet offers the latest versions to cater to the needs of enterprises. They provide a range of firewalls, suitable for both small-scale businesses and larger enterprises. Overall, we are quite satisfied with their performance, and it has been working well for us so far.

Fortinet should focus on enhancing the capabilities of FortiGate by consolidating its various products, such as FortiGate Cloud, FortiManager, and FortiAnalyzer. Currently, these multiple products often confuse users and clients. It would be beneficial if Fortinet could offer a comprehensive integrated solution instead of separate products that cause user confusion. By providing an integrated solution, users would have access to all features and functionalities within a single window, eliminating the need to navigate through multiple windows. This approach would greatly improve the user experience.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for three years.

Fortinet FortiGate is extremely stable.

Fortinet FortiGate can easily scale using the cloud firewall option.

The technical support team is exceptional. They are consistently available and prompt in their responses, regardless of the region from which we open the ticket.

Positive

I used Cisco at my previous company and my new company uses FortiGate. FortiGate is better than Cisco. Where Cisco requires a person with great networking or programming knowledge, FortiGate does not. We can manage everything from its user interface. It provides comprehensive security fabric management, including Forti switches and access points. Additionally, FortiGate serves as a gate for our home, allowing us to monitor who enters and exits. Therefore, if we compare it to Cisco, monitoring the entire traffic becomes much easier.

The initial setup is straightforward. Fortinet provides step-by-step instructions in its documentation. The Fortinet engineers and support team are always available to assist, but even for a non-technical person, the deployment is easy.

The pricing depends on the FortiGate model we are using, ranging from $3,000 to $20,000 US dollars. We are using the FortiGate 600E, and its price falls within the midrange. The most expensive part is the renewal of the license subscription.

I give Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten.

Fortinet FortiGate offers a cloud trial that organizations can use in a test environment to evaluate the solution before making a purchase.

I use Fortinet FortiGate to secure the internal network and perform unified threat management, forward filtering, and application control. This is crucial for the organizations and products I collaborate with on projects. The solution effectively addresses high availability through SD-WAN load balancing. Additionally, we rely on Fortinet FortiGate to resolve remote access issues for our clients.

Fortinet FortiGate has helped improve our reporting analysis, ease of management, and enhance the security of our environment.

Fortinet FortiGate's ease of management is the most valuable feature.

FortiGate offers numerous features that are designed to assist end users in gaining a clear understanding of the activities occurring within their network.

The non-error conserve mode has room for improvement.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for eight years.

I rate the stability of FortiGate an eight out of ten.

I rate the scalability of FortiGate a ten out of ten.

The technical support has improved compared to the last few times I used it.

Positive

I had previously used a different solution but switched to Fortinet FortiGate due to its better price and ease of use.

The initial setup is straightforward. Depending on the customer's requirements and environment, the deployment can take anywhere from one day to a couple of weeks and can be completed by a single person.

We implement the solution in-house.

I achieve approximately a 30 percent return on investment with FortiGate.

Fortinet FortiGate is reasonably priced. 

I rate Fortinet FortiGate a nine out of ten.

Fortinet FortiGate is primarily utilized by medium to large organizations, although it can also be employed by small ones.

In terms of maintaining the solution, updates are typically performed to address bugs.

I highly recommend Fortinet FortiGate to others.

Our primary use cases for FortiGate are SD-WAN and the next-gen firewall.

Most clients in the Philippines seek a cost-effective solution that can secure their network, and FortiGate is often their first choice. If your network is secure, there's less downtime and threat exposure, increasing overall efficiency. 

Fortinet's secure SD-WAN helps us remedy threats faster. It's user-friendly, and you can see everything on the FortiGate dashboard through a single pane of glass. Secure SD-WAN has reduced our mean time to detect. We haven't had any significant issues so far. 

SD-WAN has reduced our help desk tickets by making us secure. Many of our clients switched from other brands to Fortinet, and they feel that the FortiGate box and the added security FortiGuard provides have exceeded their expectations. 

FortiGate firewalls are user-friendly, and I like the security profiling features. 
FortiGate has always had good interoperability. Their fabric enables you to integrate a lot of products into one vendor. 

The secure SD-WAN gives you a tool for failproof your connections, especially with a branch-to-branch setup. FortiGate also comes with FortiGuard, which is an excellent threat-detection service. They have their own R&D and threat intelligence for FortiGuard.

While FortiGate is cheaper than most other solutions, we're seeing increased license renewal costs. Most of our clients are asking for more significant discounts because the price is going up. 

We have been using the solution for more than two years.

I rate FortiGate an eight and a half out of ten for stability.

I rate FortiGate a nine out of ten for scalability. 

I rate Fortinet support a nine out of ten. 

Positive

We also use Meraki. FortiGate has advantages in terms of usability. Also, if we don't pay for the Meraki license, it becomes useless. 

Deploying FortiGate is straightforward. It typically takes about three days to deploy and configure the solution. One person is usually enough to deploy it. 

Most of our clients are still using the FortiGate D Series, so they have gotten their money's worth. 

Fortinet is much cheaper compared to the other leading platforms. However, most of our customers are asking for bigger discounts on license renewals. 

I rate Fortinet FortiGate a nine out of ten. 

We use FortiGate for our firewall. We have a typical business environment that includes end-user workstations, an ERP, web hosting solutions, etc. It's around 600 endpoints. 

FortiGate improved our security. It's one of the best hardware firewalls. We're secured against various outside threats. It's hard to know how effective a firewall is if you aren't experiencing attacks. We haven't been affected, so we've seen the benefits of the solution from day one. 

FortiGate provides solid protection against viruses, malware, and other threats. 

It would be nice if FortiGate incorporated some built-in endpoint protection features. I would also like a built-in SOC dashboard for managing multiple Fortinet firewalls. 

I have used FortiGate for five years, including my work at my previous company.  

FortiGate is stable. 

FortiGate could be more scalable. 

I've used Cisco firewalls previously. FortiGate is a little better in terms of web protection, but it's more expensive. 

We had professional services deploy FortiGate. For maintenance, we have an annual maintenance contract, and there are periodic firmware upgrades. A network admin is responsible for maintenance. 

We've seen a return in the form of greater security and threat protection. 

FortiGate is a little expensive. In addition to hardware and licensing, there are some implementation and maintenance costs. 

I rate Fortinet FortiGate a nine out of ten. I would recommend FortiGate, but Cisco is one of the best. The biggest lesson I've learned from using FortiGate is that it's crucial to install and maintain the solution properly. 

We use the solution to provide firewall, cybersecurity, VPN access, and SD-WAN connectivity worldwide.

The GUI is reasonably good. The product is easy to configure.

The product runs out of memory. The web process often has a memory leak. The support cost could be improved.

I have been using the solution for ten years.

The solution’s stability is good. I rate stability a nine out of ten.

The scalability is good. I rate the scalability a ten out of ten. Some customers have 20 users, while others have about 5000 users.

Support is good. It's a bit scripted. It takes a while to get to somebody who knows what they're talking about. It'd be nice to talk to someone technical upfront. Sometimes we have to go through a service desk and go through a whole lot of quick repetitive questions before we get to talk to someone knowledgeable.

I've been working with the product for ten years. I find the initial setup quite simple.

I'm currently deploying 50 units around the country. It'll take me about ten minutes each to configure the solution. Once the product is set up, we need about one or two people to maintain it.

The solution’s price has gone up recently, but it's still good value for money compared to the other firewalls we use. Especially for smaller ones, it is good value for money. Our customers pay for licenses annually or once every two to five years. If we have an older version, the support costs get quite high. I rate the support cost a six out of ten.

I work with lots of firewalls. I deploy the product on FortiManager. It'll take me about a day to configure FortiManager. We have lots of customers. I would recommend the solution to others. Overall, I rate the product a nine out of ten.