Our primary use for this solution is as an SMB boundary firewall, and we now use their Security Fabric.
President at a tech services company with 1-10 employees
A solution that impresses our customers and saves them money in the long run
Pros and Cons
- "This is a quality product with ok support, and it is better than the competition we've tried."
- "FortiOS is not simple."
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
This is a quality product with ok support, and it is better than the competition we've tried.
What is most valuable?
Security Fabric makes VLANs a breeze. It impresses customers, as well as saves them money over the long run when comparing apples to apples.
What needs improvement?
FortiOS is not simple. Too many people think it should be simple to use, but the complexity of the product makes that impossible.
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?
Seventeen years.
How are customer service and support?
The support for this solution is ok.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
System Admins at a non-profit with 1-10 employees
Plenty of features, high throughput, but difficult to upgrade
Pros and Cons
- "The solution is stable."
- "There are a lot of bugs I have found in the solution and it is difficult to upgrade. These areas need improvement."
What is most valuable?
I have found the IPS, antivirus, and the feature that allows you to have a firewall in the same appliance most valuable. Additionally, the solution has good throughput and can handle many types of operations, such as VPNs and firewall rules.
What needs improvement?
There are a lot of bugs I have found in the solution and it is difficult to upgrade. These areas need improvement.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using this solution within the past 12 months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support could be improved. There is a long waiting time for a resolution.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Fortinet Fortigate a seven 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.
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.
IT Analyst at Comdados
Stable with good technical support
Pros and Cons
- "This version is stable. I don't have any issues with this solution, in our environment, it works well."
- "We would like to see better pricing."
What is our primary use case?
We are resellers of Fortinet FortiGate.
We use this solution locally and as a VPN.
What is most valuable?
We have a lot of experience with this solution and haven't had any issues. For repairs, the RMA process is also good.
We don't have any issues with the interface, customization, or integration. This solution works well.
What needs improvement?
We would like to see better pricing.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
This version is stable and I don't have any issues with this solution. In our environment, it works well.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support is good.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of the license and warranty can be better because it is very expensive.
The license renewal is very expensive.
There are no additional costs in addition to the standard license fees.
What other advice do I have?
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.
Network Security Engineer at a tech services company with 201-500 employees
A next-generation firewall solution that's easy to setup and use
Pros and Cons
- "Fortinet FortiGate is easy to use."
- "The sniffing packets or packet captures, can be simplified and improved because it's a little confusing."
What is our primary use case?
I use Fortinet FortiGate mostly for security purposes.
What is most valuable?
Fortinet FortiGate is easy to use.
What needs improvement?
The sniffing packets or packet captures can be simplified and improved because it's a little confusing. The automation feature has some limitations and could be better.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using Fortinet FortiGate for over four years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Fortinet FortiGate is a stable solution.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Fortinet FortiGate is a scalable solution.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support was quite good.
What about the implementation team?
I think it's very easy to implement this solution because one person can do it. There aren't too many fancy things to do. I think you can implement FortiGate in less than an hour. We implement it by ourselves. Three administrators can do it because our clients aren't big enterprises, just SMEs.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Setup costs and pricing depends on many variables, but it's mostly affordable.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend Fortinet FortiGate to potential users.
On a scale from one to ten, I would give Fortinet FortiGate an eight.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Senior Security Engineer at crystal networks
Enables us to load balance more than six internet lines but they should develop better visibility, monitoring, and reporting
Pros and Cons
- "Customers want to load balance more than eight lines or six internet lines. FortiGate is the only solution that can accomplish this."
- "The monitor and the visibility, in this proxy, is very weak."
What is our primary use case?
Our primary use case is as a firewall.
How has it helped my organization?
Customers want to load balance more than six internet lines. FortiGate is the only solution that can accomplish this.
What needs improvement?
The monitoring and the visibility, in this proxy, is very weak. I would for them to develop better visibility, monitoring, and reporting.
For how long have I used the solution?
Three to five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's not always stable. When there's heavy traffic, we get hardware problems.
How are customer service and technical support?
Their technical support is very good.
How was the initial setup?
The configuration was very easy. I didn't have any problems with it.
It depends on the project, but I don't need a lot of resources to maintain it. One or two staff are enough to deploy and maintain it.
What about the implementation team?
I integrated it myself.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Our licensing costs are on a yearly basis.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate it a seven out of ten. Not a ten because of the monitoring and the stability issues.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner.
Head of Technical at a tech services company with 51-200 employees
A firewall solution that enables total integration
Pros and Cons
- "I like how we can achieve total integration."
- "The cloud features can be improved."
What is our primary use case?
Fortinet products are used mostly for internet firewalls. Fortinet's has a great reputation, and all our computer operators are very happy with it. When it comes to firewalls, Fortinet packages are very attractive, which also helps.
What is most valuable?
I like how we can achieve total integration.
What needs improvement?
The cloud features can be improved. The sandboxing part is only available in limited parts of the cloud. If they could expand that, customers would find it slightly better. The price can always be cheaper as well.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Fortinet FortiGate for about five or six years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Fortinet FortiGate is very stable. It's a good product.
How are customer service and technical support?
Technical support was very good.
How was the initial setup?
You need some training, but it's mostly easy. It's a bit of pain, but it's not that difficult, even if you're untrained.
What about the implementation team?
This solution was deployed by a team of four engineers who work under me.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It's expensive, but compared to the competition it's okay. Fortinet's pricing is more attractive than some of its competitors. There's also an annual support license that you can buy with it.
What other advice do I have?
On a scale from one to ten, I would give Fortinet FortiGate a nine.
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: Distributor
Solutions Architect at Focus
It is a good product from a price perspective versus functionality
Pros and Cons
- "It is easy to use and performs very well."
- "There could be more integration between the logging and analytical platforms to make it more seamless and integrated."
What is our primary use case?
My primary use is for border protection for connectivity out onto the Internet. This product has performed exceptionally well.
How has it helped my organization?
It just runs. We have had very few issues with the solution.
What is most valuable?
It is a good product from a price perspective versus functionality. It is easy to use and performs very well.
What needs improvement?
There could be more integration between the logging and analytical platforms to make it more seamless and integrated.
For how long have I used the solution?
More than five years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is a very secure, easily managed product. It keeps up-to-date with all the variabilities.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Price-wise, it's at a good price point for our market.
What other advice do I have?
If someone is considering this solution, they should do their homework to learn about the product. A user should make sure they compare between a short list of products. The choice should be made after considering price, support, ease of access, and evaluation of integration with other products the organization still uses. Due diligence is the key to integrating a solution.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: I am a reseller.
Presales Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Scales well, but the technical support needs to be improved
Pros and Cons
- "This product is definitely scalable."
- "The support is the main thing that needs to be improved."
What is our primary use case?
We are a solution integrator and FortiGate is one of the security products that we implement for our clients.
What needs improvement?
The support is the main thing that needs to be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Fortinet FortiGate for five years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
This product is definitely scalable. Our clients range from small to medium-sized businesses.
How are customer service and technical support?
The technical support needs to be improved, and I would rate them a six out of ten.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is straightforward.
What other advice do I have?
This is a product that I would recommend.
I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Integrator
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Fortinet FortiGate Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
Updated: December 2024
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Download our free Fortinet FortiGate Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
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