The network security and cloud security are most valuable.
Group Manager Procurement/SCM at a comms service provider with 201-500 employees
Good security, stable, and scalable
Pros and Cons
- "The network security and cloud security are most valuable."
- "Its price could be better."
What is most valuable?
What needs improvement?
Its price could be better.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been dealing with this solution for hardly two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable.
Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiGate
February 2025
Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiGate. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: February 2025.
832,138 professionals have used our research since 2012.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable. We have 10 clients who are using this solution.
How are customer service and support?
We have never contacted them.
How was the initial setup?
It is a little complicated. It took four months.
What about the implementation team?
We have a team of about 20 people for deployment and maintenance.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Its price could be better.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend this solution to others. I would rate it a nine out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
System & Network Administrator at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Scalable and stable tool for securing networks, with good SD-WAN, VPN, and URL filtering functions
Pros and Cons
- "The stability and scalability of this solution are satisfactory. Its SD-WAN, VPN, and URL filtering features are very useful."
- "Pricing for it is a bit high. It could be cheaper."
What is our primary use case?
I use Fortinet FortiGate to secure the network.
What is most valuable?
The features I found most valuable in Fortinet FortiGate include their SD-WAN features and their VPN. They are good and very useful. My remote user and I are using them all the time. The URL filter is also good.
For how long have I used the solution?
I started using Fortinet FortiGate five years ago.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I'm satisfied about the stability of this solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of Fortinet FortiGate is good.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of this solution wasn't complex at all.
What about the implementation team?
This solution was implemented in-house. I was the one who implemented it.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Licensing for Fortinet FortiGate is on a yearly basis. Pricing for it is a bit high. It could be cheaper.
What other advice do I have?
Deployment of Fortinet FortiGate took one to two days, because I needed time to put my existing environment and what we have, and what we intended to do with our network, to convert it into the Fortinet FortiGate system.
We were on another platform which was a concurrent platform and it wasn't a good one, and it was our first time to go on Fortinet FortiGate, so we had an issue and it took me a few days to deploy.
Maintenance of this solution requires two people. The number of users of Fortinet FortiGate in our organization depends on whether it's direct or indirect. If indirect, it will be all the users we have in the organization, but if it's direct, it could be just the administrator. If indirectly, it'll be a hundred users on our actual site, and 2000 to 3000 users on the other site, all done remotely.
I didn't have to contact Fortinet's technical support, so I can't evaluate their level of responsiveness. I was able to make all the configurations I wanted, without needing to contact support. This solution is good for me.
I'm rating Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten.
I'm recommending this solution to be deployed for a new user. I'm really happy with 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.
Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiGate
February 2025
Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiGate. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: February 2025.
832,138 professionals have used our research since 2012.
System ADM at a recreational facilities/services company with 501-1,000 employees
Stable, with a quota to monitor and control user access
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature of this solution is Quota."
- "In the next release, I would like to see the interface simplified to be more user-friendly."
What is our primary use case?
We use this solution as our Firewall.
FortiGate is a service, and because of that, I don't use it very much. The equipment is for the operator that monitors who is on the internet, nothing more.
How has it helped my organization?
It has improved our productivity because we can control the people who go on the internet, and we control their access to social networks.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of this solution is Quota. It allows the user to go where they want to go and to use the internet.
What needs improvement?
The price could be improved.
In the next release, I would like to see the interface simplified to be more user-friendly.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for approximately six years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's a stable solution. It works for us.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This is not an area fully explored. It has been sufficient for what we need.
We have 700 users in our organization who are using this solution. We don't have plans to increase our usage at this time.
How are customer service and technical support?
We have not needed any technical support for the Fortinet FortiGate service.
How was the initial setup?
The initial set up was not something that I was concerned with.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price could be lower.
What other advice do I have?
It's a good tool to control users.
I would rate Fortinet FortiGate 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.
Information Security at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees
Great web tutor and automated rules by schedule features
Pros and Cons
- "The web tutor and automatic rules by schedule are good features."
- "They've become quite expensive."
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use case of this solution is for the UTM it offers and the access to VPN. We have branches in Rio, Singapore and the UK. I'm an information security manager and we are customers of Fortinet.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features for me are the web tutor and the automated rules by schedule - the VPN itself.
What needs improvement?
Fortinet is huge in today's market and they've become quite expensive. I think there are products at the same level as Fortinet, but with better prices. They've changed their subscription plan and are now forcing companies to subscribe 24/7.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for around five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We never had any issues or problems related to stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
There are other products on the market that are a little better than FortiGate in terms of scalability, but in general it's a good solution. We have about 200 users in the company.
How are customer service and technical support?
We didn't need to contact technical support very much. We had a local partner and if there were problems we contacted them directly.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward. We were implementing on a large project and it took a weekend to completely deploy with all the features, connections and everything.
What other advice do I have?
They have very good documentation and if you've had experience with other products I'm pretty sure that you'd be able to deploy just by reading the documentation.
I would rate this solution an eight out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Network Engineer at Concentus
An intuitive user interface for our SOHO edge protection solution
Pros and Cons
- "This solution has solid UTM features combined with a nice GUI."
- "The Web-filter in this solution is not very good."
What is our primary use case?
We use this solution for edge protection in SOHO and K-12 environments.
How has it helped my organization?
FortiOS has a very good, intuitive GUI.
What is most valuable?
This solution has solid UTM features combined with a nice GUI.
What needs improvement?
The Web-filter in this solution is not very good. Perhaps because Fortinet does not want to compete with its own dedicated solution.
For how long have I used the solution?
Three years.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Senior Security Consultant at SEE "Systems Engineering of Egypt"
It has very easy management and an amazing ETM configuration.
Pros and Cons
- "It performs very well."
- "It has very easy management and an amazing ETM configuration."
- "I would like to see more advanced developments of a wireless controller in the future."
What is our primary use case?
My primary use case of this solution is as a data center. It performs very well.
How has it helped my organization?
It has very easy management and an amazing ETM configuration.
What needs improvement?
I would like to see more advanced developments of a wireless controller in the future.
For how long have I used the solution?
More than five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I think the product is stable. It is amazing.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is amazing, but sometimes there are issues with Fortinet Integrations. But, I know they are now trying to rectify the problem.
How is customer service and technical support?
We have good technical support from the vendor.
How was the initial setup?
It was very straightforward. An easy installation process.
What other advice do I have?
I think when you look at this product, you must realize that the box hardware and software are vary stable. And, the pricing is perfect.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: I am a reseller.
Senior Information Security Engineer with 501-1,000 employees
It's excellent and we strongly recommend it, but WAN link load balancing needs improving.
What is most valuable?
I am using different features of this product but the most valuable are -
- SSL VPN
- Web filter
- Explicit proxy
- IPS
- Application control
- Routing
How has it helped my organization?
I replaced my core router with a Fortigate appliance and it is performing inter-VLAN routing. I removed manual proxies and used transparent proxy using Fortigate security profiles, and implemented traffic shaping, web filter, application control, IPS and anti-virus. All the servers are protected by Fortigate security profiles.
What needs improvement?
- WAN link load balancing
- Reports
- Anti-virus.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution since 2013.
What was my experience with deployment of the solution?
We faced some technical issues on the Fortinet side.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
No issues encountered.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
No issues encountered.
How are customer service and technical support?
Customer Service:
6/10.
Technical Support:6/10.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I didn't use any other solution prior to Fortinet.
How was the initial setup?
It was complex because there was a huge network with VLANs configured and routing protocols enabled.
What about the implementation team?
We implement this through a vendor. I would rate their level of experience 8/10.
What was our ROI?
I would only say that Fortinet provides business and security returns at a cost substantially lower than the benefits derived.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We evaluated Sophos and Barracuda alongside Fortigate.
What other advice do I have?
Our experience of using Fortigate is excellent and we strongly recommend it.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Technical Lead at Yssy
Has good inspection and web security features and is useful for SD-WAN purposes
Pros and Cons
- "The inspection and web security features are most valuable."
- "There can be more security in hybrid implementations. When a customer has a hybrid environment where some parts are in the cloud, we need a consistent security solution for such scenarios."
What is our primary use case?
My company is a system integrator in Brazil, and we are also a partner. We mainly use it for SD-WAN purposes. It is being used in the public sector and the commercial sector.
In terms of deployment, some customers deploy it on-premises, and some customers deploy it on the cloud.
What is most valuable?
The inspection and web security features are most valuable.
What needs improvement?
In Brazil, the main problem that we have is related to the protection from various attacks and ransomware in the public sector and the commercial sector. The main focus in Brazil is to deploy a solution to counter-attack ransomware and other attacks.
There can be more security in hybrid implementations. When a customer has a hybrid environment where some parts are in the cloud, we need a consistent security solution for such scenarios.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate it a 10 out of 10.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner.
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Fortinet FortiGate Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
Updated: February 2025
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Buyer's Guide
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