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Director/Owner at Miodesk
Real User
Easy to use, well-priced, and scales to our requirements
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature is the ease of use."
  • "In the future, I would like to see improvements made to cloud-based management."

What is our primary use case?

We use this firewall as part of our security solution.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is the ease of use. It's very simple and this is one of its advantages.

What needs improvement?

I would like to see the product updated more frequently.

In the future, I would like to see improvements made to cloud-based management. They already have some features for this, but it's very basic.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for 15 years.

Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiGate
February 2025
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Stability-wise, this is a good solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Scalability is good, we have about 5,000 users.

How are customer service and support?

I have never used technical support from the vendor.

What about the implementation team?

We have an internal team for deployment, maintenance, and support.

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

The price of FortiGate is good.

What other advice do I have?

My advice for anybody who is implementing FortiGate that it is a great product and easy to use, but be careful which firmware you use.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
IT Specialist 3 at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees
Real User
Enables us to to set up remote systems and has good stability
Pros and Cons
  • "The ability to set up remote systems is the most valuable feature."
  • "They should improve the interface to make it more user-friendly."

What is our primary use case?

We use this solution as our firewall. 

How has it helped my organization?

We have branches that we use for the net clients to VPN back into our network.

What is most valuable?

The ability to set up remote systems is the most valuable feature. 

What needs improvement?

They should improve the interface to make it more user-friendly. 

I would like to see some sort of reporting if there was an issue with the connecting network sources or connections.

For how long have I used the solution?

One to three years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It's definitely stable. We haven't had any issues with it. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I would rate the scalability an eight out of ten. We have just over 100 users using this solution.  

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was complex. The user interface was a little bit difficult so it made actually setting it up a little bit complicated. The deployment took a week to roll out four branches.

What about the implementation team?

We used an integrator for the deployment and had a good experience with them. They made it easier to get everything set up.

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

There are no additional costs aside for the standard licensing fees.

What other advice do I have?

FortiGate is very good if you're thinking of expanding where you have remote offices, then it's a good solution.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten. 

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
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.
838,713 professionals have used our research since 2012.
reviewer978405 - PeerSpot reviewer
CTO at a comms service provider with 1,001-5,000 employees
Real User
Valuable option for security although unstable at times
Pros and Cons
  • "It has improved our security capabilities."
  • "There were quite a few problems with the stability of the system."

How has it helped my organization?

It has improved our security capabilities. 

What is most valuable?

We find the most valuable aspect of this solution is the price. It is affordable and cheaper than other firewalls.

For how long have I used the solution?

Three to five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

There were quite a few problems with the stability of the system but now it's working fine. I think it had to do with the complex environment, not because of the product itself.

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

It is an inexpensive solution.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Tech Manager at Global tec
Reseller
It is a reasonably priced solution for this type of product. It enables productivity of our organization to go smoothly.
Pros and Cons
  • "It enables our organization to become more productive. Also, it protects our NEtWare from viruses and malware."
  • "I think the only issue that needs improvement is the interface."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use this for the Security Fabric feature. It works together with other Fortinet products like FortiWeb and FortiMail, as well as with Amazon products. There is a lot of integration. 

How has it helped my organization?

It enables our organization to become more productive. Also, it protects our NEtWare from viruses and malware.

What needs improvement?

I think the only issue that needs improvement is the interface.

For how long have I used the solution?

More than five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is a very stable product.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Sometimes the solution is not scalable.

How is customer service and technical support?

Our experience with technical support has been very positive. 

How was the initial setup?

It was very straightforward an easy for us to initially install.

What about the implementation team?

We always consider:

  • Price
  • Product success

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

The price, in comparison to other products is very cheap.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

Other products considered were Sophos and CiscoMaraki.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: I am a reseller.
PeerSpot user
it_user245154 - PeerSpot reviewer
Customer Support engineer at a healthcare company with 51-200 employees
Vendor
It helps to come up with the requirements of proxy servers, but it does not have that much troubleshooting & network testing features.

What is most valuable?

The key features of this product are:

  • Network security
  • UTM Features
  • Configuration and ease of deployment.
  • IP/User/Device Mac ID/Device Type based policy configuration
  • Traffic shaping
  • Load balancing
  • Ease of VPN configurations
  • Explicit proxy
  • Link segregation
  • Application signatures
  • Network object based HTTPS/SSL inspection etc.

How has it helped my organization?

In many organizations it helps to come up with the requirements of proxy servers, defining network traffic and the amount of bandwidth for any network object or specified user(s). It has also provided us with security compatibility with other network devices such as IP cameras, the video conferencing system, VOIP phones. It also logs & reports on individual users network activities.

What needs improvement?

The FortiGate series does not have that much troubleshooting & network testing features in its GUI, hence we’ll definitely be looking for some add-on features in near future.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for the past year.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

No issues yet.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

No issues yet.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

For massive logs & reports (over a month) we have to go for a separate logging & reporting device i.e. FortiAnalyzer/FortiCloud, as this is not available in Fortigate itself.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

7/10.

Technical Support:

8/10.

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

We started with FortiGate itself.

How was the initial setup?

This product has a setup wizard (FortiExplorer) for the initial configuration, while the physical connectivity is done via a USB cable which is very easy to use.

What about the implementation team?

We implemented the solution ourselves.

What was our ROI?

It is value for money product as we’ve purchased it with Fortinet's three-year warranty package.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We have evaluated Dell’s Sonicwall & Cyberoam.

What other advice do I have?

Analyze your needs first before implementing this product.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Dono at a tech consulting company
Consultant
The projects' initial costs were high but right now we can do most things, and the only costs now are the annual license fees.

What is most valuable?

  • Active Directory integration
  • QOS
  • Balance/Fail-over
  • Web filtering and protection with AV engine
  • WiFi network for visitors isolated from our corporate WiFi network using only one unit

How has it helped my organization?

After the implementation we stopped internet disruptions and abuse by users.

What needs improvement?

Everything needs to be improved, but they have improvements with each new version.

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been using Fortinet products since 2009. Alongside FortiGate. we also use FortiAnalyzer 10C and FortiWiFi 40C & 50B.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

Yes, a misunderstanding of the environment and misconfiguration of the unit. After reviewing it all, everything has been working fine for years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It works as defined and expected.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

We have the ability to expand our units and there have been no issues so far.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

It's the best I have experienced.

Technical Support:

It's the best I have experienced.

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

Previously, we used Linux distributions, and we changed due to its limitations and our company expansion.

How was the initial setup?

It's straightforward. You just need to understand the concept, and how to apply it.

What about the implementation team?

We used an external company and they had a good amount of knowledge.

What was our ROI?

We have never stopped to calculate it, but we cannot describe how good we feel since we no longer face issues with the internet.

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

The projects' initial costs were high but right now we can do most things, and the only costs now are the annual license fees.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We also looked at BlueCoat.

What other advice do I have?

Feel free to ask me questions about Fortinet.

Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Network Support Analyst at a non-tech company with 501-1,000 employees
Vendor
Cisco's license is more expensive than Fortinet - that was the tipping point for why we changed to Fortinet.

What is most valuable?

The two most valuable features are VPN and firewalling.

How has it helped my organization?

Fortigate 300c is a very robust product, unlike Cisco ASA Firewall, you have already the web gui interface inside the device. Although they the same concept. Fortigate 300c has one of the easiest gui configuration compared to ASA Firewall, where you can lose your way.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the solution for 2 years. It has served as an SSL VPN server.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

So far, I haven't encountered any issues and that was the first time I implemented it. I just followed some concepts with Cisco ASA firewall and 2 hours later I finished configuring SSL VPN with 3 different capabilities.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

None so far.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

None so far, well it depends with license of the vpn. You need to purchase it and discuss it with the vendor.

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

Before I was to implement ASA for SSL VPN, it was already working. My boss told me that we would be implementing Fortigate instead. He told me that Cisco's license is more expensive than Fortinet so I think that was the tipping point for why we changed to Fortinet.

How was the initial setup?

Yes it was, when you plug-in to the Fortigate Manager there is this wizard that will guide you to making it work basically, and that was it.Afterwards you can add your additional features as your company needs. The initial setup took me just 10 or 15 minutes.

What about the implementation team?

Through a vendor team. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate them 8. The representative from the vendor seems to know the basics of the product but when it comes to troubleshooting he seems to lack information. He had to come back the other day just to provide a solution for a specific issue.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We only evaluated two, Cisco and Fortinet.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
reviewer1247301 - PeerSpot reviewer
Founder, Chairman of the Board at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
MSP
Complete, stable, and easy to use
Pros and Cons
  • "I like several features that this product has, such as antivirus and internet navigation inspection. It is also simple to use."
  • "It is very expensive, and their support is not very good. I hope that their technical support will be better in the future."

What is our primary use case?

I use FortiGate for perimeter security, web filtering, and antivirus purposes.

I use two different models. I use 90D and 200E.

What is most valuable?

I like several features that this product has, such as antivirus and internet navigation inspection. It is also simple to use.

What needs improvement?

It is very expensive, and their support is not very good. I hope that their technical support will be better in the future.

In terms of new features, it is a complete product. I don't expect any new features.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using this solution for five years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

It is stable.

How are customer service and support?

Their support is not very good for such an expensive product. I expect better support. You can find a lot of documentation on Fortinet's website, but their technical support is not very good.

How was the initial setup?

It is easy to deploy and use. It didn't take more than a day.

What about the implementation team?

We deployed it ourselves. We have our own team. There are three people in our organization who directly use this product.

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

It is expensive. You need to pay for the subscription every year, which is very expensive. The subscription includes technical support and hardware exchange in case of failure.

What other advice do I have?

I would rate it 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.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Fortinet FortiGate Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: February 2025
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Fortinet FortiGate Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.