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Fortinet FortiWLM pros and cons

Vendor: Fortinet

4.2 out of 5

23 reviews
95% willing to recommend

454 followers

Pros & Cons summary

Fortinet FortiWLM enhances application performance using SD-WAN technology, enabling better response times and seamless roaming with Virtual Cell technology. It ensures robust security with firewalls and centralized management via Fortinet Security Fabric. Despite Network-In-Control offering optimal access, licensing is average, and the setup is complex. Additionally, improvement is needed in pricing and technical support, while promoting Virtual Cell and Single Channel Architecture to minimize confusion for tech buyers.

Buyer's Guide

Get pricing advice, tips, use cases and valuable features from real users of this product.

Prominent pros & cons

PROS

Fortinet FortiWLM offers increased application performance by using SD-WAN, which reduces response times across locations.

It provides seamless roaming with Virtual Cell technology, reducing time and issues related to device roaming.

Fortinet FortiWLM is noted for its top-notch security, integrating firewalls, wireless LANs, and user security into a comprehensive architecture.

It features effective network management by allowing users to deploy and control wireless access points through the cloud, ensuring adaptability and ease of management.

The integration of Fortinet FortiWLM with FortiGate firewall enhances overall network security, providing centralized visibility and control over the network infrastructure.

CONS

Licensing is below average due to the need for enterprise licensing and an all-encompassing license for all products.

Promotion and availability of information about Virtual Cell and Single Channel Architecture are limited, which adds to confusion and negative perception.

Technical support is poor, lacking direct troubleshooting personnel from Fortinet.

Initial setup is complex and could be improved.

Pricing is expensive and could be improved to encourage use by small businesses and individuals.

Fortinet FortiWLM Pros review quotes

RW

Network Engineer at a university with 501-1,000 employees

Nov 11, 2018

Having the single pane of glass, by using the Fortinet Security Fabric, allows us to tighten security, and more easily and quickly create additional VLANs to help protect data. Rules in the firewall mean we can protect data and systems so that, should anything go wrong, any security issue is held to an individual device.

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PS

Panduka Samarasinghe Cissp

Security Pre-Sales Engineer - Southern Reigion at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Dec 9, 2018

With Fortinet, there is a feature called Network-In-Control. It's the AP controller that decides what the clients are going to connect to... Even though your phone sees, let's say, two APs, since the wireless controller has visibility into and access across all the APs, it knows the best AP for the client to connect to. This way, the controller makes sure that none of the APs is over-crowded, and the spectrum is used properly.

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PM

PeterMacTaggart

IT and IT Security Consulting at MacTaggart IT Security

Jan 27, 2020

This is the only product on the market currently that supports as many access points for wifi users.

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Fortinet FortiWLM

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Zachary Wheeler

President / CEO at Secure Solutions Center LLC

Apr 5, 2022

For me, the ease of setup and the rugged nature in harsh environments are most valuable. So, durability and ease of use have been its best features.

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AA

Antonio Acevedo Boguer

Works

Nov 6, 2018

Security is the feature we like most from Fortinet. In general, their security architecture is really great, because it involves everything: firewalls, wireless LANs, the user. Everything is really secure.

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RR

IT Infrastructure at 4 Seniors Brasil

Dec 16, 2021

At the moment, particularly with the COVID-19 situation, the most valuable feature is probably the IPsec VPN, which is easy to implement with Fortinet.

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Technical Manager at Orbin

Mar 15, 2023

The Fortinet FortiWLM system can be controlled through the cloud controller, which is convenient when the solution is not installed in our environment, as it allows us to manage the entire WiFi or access points and provides more adaptability.

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PP

Senior Technical Support Executive with 11-50 employees

Jan 22, 2020

The most valuable feature is the ability to connect and broadcast to different networks without using a VLAN or a layer two switch, which allows you to easily create guest networks.

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Senior Network Engineer at a educational organization with 10,001+ employees

Aug 16, 2018

Seamless roaming by leveraging Virtual Cell is a major advantage which reduces roam times and issues related to roaming. Code stability has been excellent and the hardware quality is second to none.

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SS

Sr. Technical Executive at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees

Mar 5, 2020

The product is a stable solution.

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Show 10 more reviews (out of 23)

Fortinet FortiWLM Cons review quotes

PS

Panduka Samarasinghe Cissp

Security Pre-Sales Engineer - Southern Reigion at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Dec 9, 2018

One of the main features that I see as lacking in any of the Fortinet products is the reporting. If you want to have proper, end-to-end reporting, you must purchase the FortiAnalyzer... If Fortinet could offer some better, built-in reporting, that would be a point of improvement.

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PM

PeterMacTaggart

IT and IT Security Consulting at MacTaggart IT Security

Jan 27, 2020

The pricing model can be improved to encourage use by small business and individuals and the hardware could stand to be redesigned.

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Zachary Wheeler

President / CEO at Secure Solutions Center LLC

Apr 5, 2022

They need to do more with their marketing. That's what's wrong with them. Nobody knows they do all this other stuff. I love the product. For an enterprise-level system, you never have to explain why you're recommending Fortinet, whereas you might have to do that if you want to use the Ubiquiti Professional or the new Netgear line, but you don't have to explain Fortinet. It has been remarkable to work with.

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Fortinet FortiWLM

Free Report: Fortinet FortiWLM Reviews and More

Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiWLM. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: November 2024.

816,660 professionals have used our research since 2012.

RR

IT Infrastructure at 4 Seniors Brasil

Dec 16, 2021

The interface could certainly do with some improvement. We have other customers with WiFi networks, and they always use Ubiquiti. With Ubiquiti, it's a much better user interface, and it is much easier to configure.

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Technical Manager at Orbin

Mar 15, 2023

The initial setup is complex and has room for improvement.

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PP

Senior Technical Support Executive with 11-50 employees

Jan 22, 2020

The guest management features need to be improved by adding automation.

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Senior Network Engineer at a educational organization with 10,001+ employees

Aug 16, 2018

There is very little publicly available information about Virtual Cell and Single Channel Architecture. Promotion of the overall technology is limited as well. Being more vocal about a product that has many advantages would go a long way to eliminating a lot of the confusion and negative perception about Virtual Cell and Single Channel Architecture.

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SS

Sr. Technical Executive at a educational organization with 1,001-5,000 employees

Mar 5, 2020

Technical support is very poor. We are not satisfied with the technical support because there is not any direct person from Fortinet for any troubleshooting, which we expected.

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JG

Network Communication Solutions Manager at IT Solutions NV

Nov 3, 2021

When using the FortiGate as the wireless controller, you cannot have automatic user registration, which is something that they should offer.

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Owner at Falco Networks

Jan 24, 2023

I have used Cisco previously and I don't see any specific differences from Fortinet FortiWLM or other vendors.

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Show 10 more reviews (out of 21)

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