We use Fortinet FortiGate for gateway security, specifically for VPN access, security control, and filtering of traffic. For net monitoring, it has the capability to put the network traffic over to the analyzer. We use FortiAnalyzer to look at the traffic and to see what's happening, what's hitting our gateway, and what our users are doing. We use filtering rules on top of that.
Fortinet FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall
Fortinet Inc.External reviews
External reviews are not included in the AWS star rating for the product.
A robust and customizable firewall with constant updates
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
Fortinet FortiGate is pretty robust. The updates and firmware releases are pretty timely. They have a good product revision and review system, so they are constantly reviewing their configuration and the different mechanisms that are used on Fortinet FortiGate. They review that periodically and provide new definitions and updates. We have quarterly fixes, updates, and releases, and there are constant new CVEs coming out. They are always keeping ahead of the threat monitoring system that notifies us of the latest landscape, what's new in the phishing landscape, botnets, rootkits, and all of those different malicious tools that are out there. We appreciate the filtering capabilities as well.
It integrates well with the SD-WAN capabilities. It works easily, and the transition was quite simple with literally no downtime.
It is very customizable. We have multiple different subnets going into that FortiGate controller. We have used various models and various designs. We can diversify the number of links coming in either the WAN gateways or the local LANs. We can separate various subnets across the LAN segment. It's quite diverse.
What needs improvement?
We haven't tapped into most of the functionalities that Fortinet FortiGate offers because we're using it just for gateway security. One of the things that I would prefer is a more expansive use of their analyzer. They could do more work on FortiAnalyzer in terms of the data and the information coming from it. I'm not sure if it is because the team managing our analyzer isn't giving us all the information that's required. It could be something based on our own usage of the platform. As we continue to use the appliance, we may learn more about the utility and functionalities that are offered.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for about seven years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Fortinet FortiGate is pretty stable, especially the enterprise version.
The reliability of Fortinet FortiGate is through the roof. We're experiencing 99.999% availability consistently. Fortinet FortiGate only goes offline for maintenance. I have seen it running for two years nonstop without doing a reboot. They're pretty stable and energy-efficient, and I make a lot of headroom for growth, specifying my units at least 40% greater than what I need. They are working within the requirements of their provision, and usually, the published specifications for the units are within the range of their operational usage.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability is all based on our design. Based on our network design, we can select or pick a product from the product listing that can scale with the growth potential of the organization within a specific time period. We tend to do our planning within time spans, such as the next 10 years, 5 years, or whatever the growth prospect is for that period. We put the units in place that can grow along with that growth development timeline.
How are customer service and support?
I would rate Fortinet's support a solid eight because I'm hard on my support. They're responsive to a greater extent. There are lots of things that I want to get done that aren't done on time. However, the local support that we use for Fortinet FortiGate is pretty technically competent and capable of managing the unit and delivering the functionality we need from the device.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
We outsource the management and configuration of Fortinet FortiGate to a third-party SOC center in Ireland. We don't do that ourselves, but we do manage it and go out to the third party to tell them what we want. They will recommend different methodologies, capabilities, or new features that we can implement, such as SD-WAN, and go ahead with it. We don't manage and do the configuration ourselves. My team's role is pretty much just to operate and utilize the service.
They handle the initial setup in the background. I just give them the requirements, and the engineers respond.
What about the implementation team?
We interacted with two engineers, but I'm not sure what the backend team is like.
What was our ROI?
It's very hard to measure return on investment with security because security is so dynamic. Based on our plan, the ROI has been pretty good. Whatever we expected and planned for, as far as usage goes, I can extend and push my Fortinet FortiGate up to maybe three or four quarters past its end of life. It has performed as expected in that concern, giving us good ROI for what we planned.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It was pretty affordable. We did go a little bit above MSRP, but the service pack that was included was quite worth the additional costs.
It is competitively priced compared to other major players in the market. It is significantly cheaper than Check Point, which is a primary competitor. Additionally, its pricing is comparable to that of Cisco's ASA and a few other vendors.
Besides the pricing, we chose Fortinet FortiGate because of the service providers that are here locally and the support for the unit and the product.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Fortinet FortiGate a nine out of ten.
Ransomware protection enhances security across multiple locations
What is our primary use case?
We are using it for security purposes. We have deployed it across multiple locations where we are already using it.
What is most valuable?
The security features are valuable, particularly the ransomware attack protection features. Fortinet FortiGate provides excellent security against ransomware attacks.
What needs improvement?
It contains every feature that is required. The things we require are already sorted out, so there isn't any scope for improvement as far as our requirements go. However, its price can be better.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using it for more than one and a half months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's stable. I would rate it an eight out of ten for stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It's scalable. I would rate it a nine out of ten for scalability.
I am handling all the operations. We have multiple staff members at multiple locations.
How are customer service and support?
Coming from a technical background, there hasn't been any requirement to speak with customer care representatives. The manual provided covers everything comprehensively.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have experience with Sophos, Fortinet FortiGate, and SonicWall.
How was the initial setup?
We purchased it through our vendor. Our company doesn't prefer to make purchases through online shopping platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart.
What was our ROI?
We have seen a return on investment of more than 20%.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It is somewhat expensive compared to other solutions such as Sophos.
What other advice do I have?
I would recommend it to others. I would rate Fortinet FortiGate a nine out of ten. There isn't a need to compare it with anyone else because Fortinet FortiGate is at the top of the market.
A user-friendly firewall with good security features
What is our primary use case?
I was involved in deciding on Fortinet FortiGate, but I am not the one who's using it on a day-to-day basis.
We want to make sure that our on-prem servers are protected. We basically use VPN to configure that on Fortinet FortiGate, so that is the major purpose, and that part is working well.
How has it helped my organization?
We have not had any incidents where our servers got compromised. It's all good.
For security, it has all the required features, such as the web filter and DNS filter. Also, for accessing the network, we have various rules.
What is most valuable?
Our IT staff says that some of the security features are better than Sophos's.
Its usability is good. We can easily navigate the system, and we have a very good user experience. It's easier to understand the software compared to Sophos, which I feel is a little more technical and could be difficult for a first-time user.
What needs improvement?
I want some additional features. For example, I want something to ensure that when we are using Google email or Microsoft email, or Google Workspace, emails can only be accessed on designated machines given to our employees. I would like them to access data from designated machines, not from any machine. It should work for designated mobiles and laptops. I don't know if Fortinet provides something like that out of the box.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have just installed Fortinet FortiGate, and it has been two months since our installation.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Fortinet FortiGate is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Fortinet FortiGate is scalable.
How are customer service and support?
We are going through the vendor for technical support. If we have any issues, we raise a ticket, and they respond immediately.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Previously, we were using another firewall device, Sophos. Compared to that, Fortinet FortiGate provides more features and better security. Fortinet FortiGate supports WAN migration. Fortinet FortiGate is also better in terms of speed. In the dashboard, we can get all the stats reports and logs.
How was the initial setup?
Deployment is not very difficult because they have their migration tool.
What about the implementation team?
We are facing some challenges. We are working with a third-party vendor, not FortiGate directly, for the installation and other things. The problem is that their knowledge is very limited. We are facing some challenges. With Sophos, we could enable multi-factor authentication for VPN users. FortiGate also allows that, as per our initial analysis. The people we are working with are not able to configure MFA. They are having some technical issues. Fortinet needs to ensure that its partners are well-trained.
Only two people were involved in the deployment process. The vendor side had their own technician, and we had one person here.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Cost-wise, there is not much difference from Sophos, but feature-wise, we get more features.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We did some comparisons between Fortinet FortiGate and Sophos. We went with Fortinet FortiGate because of the security features and easy-to-understand console.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten.
Integrates seamlessly with the team for quick threat remediation and cost benefits
What is our primary use case?
We use Fortinet FortiGate to help protect and secure mission-critical data. There are policies and rules that we apply, and there is an intrusion prevention system that notifies if there are critical vulnerabilities on some clients.
What is most valuable?
I assess the security services provided by Fortinet FortiGate, such as URL filtering and DNS filtering, as quite good; they are quite effective. Fortinet FortiGate is rather sustainable; it's a good, stable product that gets faster and uses less power with new versions.
It helps us remediate threats more quickly because we have specialists who can work with it rather effectively. When there is an alert on the Fortinet FortiGate, they work together with our FortiAnalyzer and can quickly remediate the incidents.
What needs improvement?
They should do a better job in testing when they put out a new release because when a new software version is released, it is not always stable or does not always have all the previous features working correctly. They should do more testing or launch a new version later when they have tested it more thoroughly.
They already did a good job in their GUI, but they can make more features available in the GUI that are still only accessible through the command line.
For how long have I used the solution?
My proper experience is only two or three years, but in the company, they have been using it for over 10 years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
In terms of network and security convergence, they are there, but we are not currently using them because in the office itself, we have other brands of switches and access points. It's now not quite stable in the demo lab environment; we are now on the latest version, but in the production environment, we are not. Production is always on a lower version.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable.
How are customer service and support?
I would give Fortinet's technical support an eight out of 10; they are responsive and helpful.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I previously used Sophos before Fortinet FortiGate.
How was the initial setup?
If you first implement Fortinet FortiGate to get it up and running, it takes just a couple of minutes, but to get all the policies configured correctly, it takes a couple of days.
What about the implementation team?
For my company, Exclusive Networks, the whole company had three or four engineers involved.
What was our ROI?
We have seen a return on investment from using Fortinet FortiGate for integration with the SOC team. The automation part is giving us a cost benefit and speed; we can react faster.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price-to-performance ratio from using Fortinet FortiGate is very good; I would give it a nine out of 10. It has helped save on costs due to reduced power consumption.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Performance is the reason I switched from Sophos to Fortinet FortiGate. It has good value for money, ease of use, and a higher security level, with better security solutions. It's more expensive, but it offers a really good total cost of ownership and is still considerably cheaper than Palo Alto.
What other advice do I have?
I would suggest to anyone considering purchasing Fortinet FortiGate's data center firewall to get training to understand very thoroughly how FortiOS works, and if you have several Fortinet FortiGates, to go for a FortiManager with the necessary training.
The users who work with Fortinet FortiGate are only the IT people, around three or four. Locally, we have around 60 end-users for Fortinet FortiGate. The biggest lesson would be that Fortinet FortiGate provides a high level of security at a good total cost of ownership.
I would give Fortinet FortiGate an overall rating of nine.
VPN connections get streamlined as connectivity requirements are met
What is our primary use case?
For FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW), I use it primarily to connect with other companies through IPsec VPN. Any other security measures are on AWS itself, not on FortiGate. I'm someone who's familiar with FortiGate from previous jobs, so I use that, but it's how we're using it right now.
The IPsec feature of FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) is valuable to our company because we need to connect quickly VPN connections with other companies in our networks, and there are many connections in some cases. We need to keep it as secure as possible, maybe one-way connections or particular ports. FortiGate is the best option, at least that I'm familiar with, that can answer all of that in one product that is mostly easy to use.
In our case, the deployment options of FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) are not scalable, but in terms of connectivity to other companies, that's exactly what we needed, and that's exactly what it does perfectly, what is needed.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature for our company using FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) is the IPsec feature, but actually FortiGate is known for good UTM products such as application filter and web filtering. We don't use it here, but in previous companies I used it on a daily basis.
One of the benefits I've realized from using FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) is that it's secure and allows functions such as VPN. You can control Wi-Fi and other things from within, if you have FortiNet devices. It's an easy to use product, yet it allows you all that is needed, or at least all that you can do. Whenever there is a security breach, FortiGate is known to patch it very quickly from what I've seen.
Since FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) was implemented, there was a thought in the company about using the VPN that AWS itself provides, but it's far from being as good as FortiGate.
The process can be improved in terms of explaining exactly how the installation should be done step-by-step on AWS, because there are network considerations such as security groups. From what I could find, I didn't do extensive research, but it didn't seem obvious enough in that case.
What needs improvement?
I do not utilize the intrusion prevention and web filtering features of FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW).
The ability of FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) to inspect SSL encrypted traffic is not applicable in the current position, but in previous companies, it was really seamless whenever we used it. It just worked seamlessly.
I don't recall if we use a centralized management console for FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) in maintaining oversight across distributed networks.
In my opinion, FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) could be better by having specific models for home usage. I'd wish to have a FortiGate in my home, but the licensing isn't something that I want to purchase for home usage.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) almost since day one at this company, which I have been with for three years and something.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I experienced the stability and availability of FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) more in the previous company. In terms of stability, mostly it is okay; however, in some cases, there are features, especially the UI, that tend to have issues. In some cases, you need to restart it, but mostly, it's working flawlessly, especially if you have an HA environment, high availability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
In our case, the deployment options of FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) are not scalable, but in terms of connectivity to other companies, that's exactly what we needed, and that's exactly what it does perfectly, what is needed.
I'm certain that what it allows us in terms of connections to other companies is a straightforward solution that you don't have to use something else. It's easy to configure a new connection, and it works in a few minutes if everything works fine.
How are customer service and support?
In this company, I may have worked with FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) support one time, but in my previous company, I actually worked with them extensively. We had multiple FortiGate devices across multiple offices around the world, and we needed to switch them from one account to another sometimes. So I encountered FortiGate support quite frequently.
I would evaluate the level of support for FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) somewhere between seven and eight. My experience might be outdated because lately, I haven't had much experience with that. In some cases, you need to come prepared because the people there work by the book and ask for particular things. If you don't have them, you cannot proceed, but if you know what they need, after some time, it's pretty easy to get support or whatever you need.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I don't have enough information on other products that I can tell the pros and cons of FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) versus its competitors.
How was the initial setup?
The setup was already done, but from what I read, we considered putting it in another environment that we have, yet we didn't because we didn't actually need the environment at all.
What was our ROI?
I don't know if my company has seen return on the investment from FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW), but I'm certain that what it allows us in terms of connections to other companies is a straightforward solution that you don't have to use something else. It's easy to configure a new connection, and it works in a few minutes if everything works fine.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Pricing isn't something applicable for me regarding FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) because it was already set up once I came to this company.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Since FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) was implemented, there was a thought that crossed in the company about using the VPN that AWS itself provides, but it's far from being as good as FortiGate.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) as a solution a 10 out of 10. I do love FortiGate.
I give it a 10 because, in my experience, FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) is a product that allows you to do many things very easily. If you don't appreciate something about the way it works, you have enough playground to change it to suit your needs.
For someone considering FortiGate Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) for their company, there was a demo online version that they have on their website that is easy to access. You can play with it and see almost all the features in action. That's an easy thing to actually test. Obviously, you cannot connect it to your network and see things live in your case, but it is still a good example of how things work.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Ease of deployment and cost-effective but has occasional support challenges
What is our primary use case?
I use Fortinet FortiGate for security as a firewall.
How has it helped my organization?
Fortinet FortiGate helps improve my organization since it's quick and easy to install, and we don't have to call support frequently.
What is most valuable?
It's very similar to a Cisco firewall, yet they are less expensive. It has all the features the competitors have, including VPN.
Fortinet FortiGate is easy to install and deploy quickly. There's a user-friendly GUI or if you like, CLI, for those who prefer it over CLI you can use that.
What needs improvement?
From a support perspective, I had more issues that I didn't think the person on my case handled the way I was expecting. We called them for a geolocation issue and we didn't get any proper assistance.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used the solution for about seven years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is pretty stable. We once had an issue and we had a workaround from Fortinet FortiGate before they deployed a patch.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Fortinet FortiGate is scalable. On a scale of one to ten for scalability, I would rate it as seven out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
I don't call them frequently, which is a good sign. However, we called them for a geolocation issue and we didn't get any proper assistance. If I had to rate them on a scale, I would rate them eight out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I used Checkpoint and used to love them. However, they are expensive and can be complex. I love Palo Alto. That said, they are not that flexible for me. I also used Cisco.
How was the initial setup?
It was easy to set it up, for the most part. The deployment of Fortinet FortiGate is straightforward. On a scale from one to ten, I'd rate ease of deployment at an eight.
We did switch from a competitor and were able to set it up very quickly.
It takes only two people to deploy.
What was our ROI?
The price is very interesting and it ends up being a very cost-effective solution.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price is the first main difference compared to others. Its prices are very interesting. At the company I work for, people tend to go with Fortinet FortiGate, and it's used especially in my country, as it's a cost-effective solution.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I evaluated and compared Palo Alto and Cisco with Fortinet FortiGate after Checkpoint.
What other advice do I have?
I will recommend Fortinet FortiGate to others, depending on the organization's requirements, needs, and budget.
I would rate Fortinet FortiGate as a seven out of ten simply due to the fact that I'm more of a Cisco person. I prefer Cisco since I've been working with it for a long time.
Integrated tools enhance network control and security management
What is our primary use case?
We are using Fortinet FortiGate to block or deny malware and to administrate the network to control the traffic inside and outside.
How has it helped my organization?
It has significantly contributed to the effective control and monitoring of the network infrastructure. We could see its benefits immediately after the implementation.
What is most valuable?
It is complemented by other equipment, such as the Fortinet switch, and it is integrated with other tools that help to prevent cyberattacks, including a web filter, IPS, and application control.
What needs improvement?
The user interface of the Fortinet FortiGate management console could be more intuitive and user-friendly, and the log analysis and reporting features could be enhanced to provide more flexibility and customizable insights.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have had experience with Fortinet FortiGate for one year so far.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Fortinet FortiGate is very stable. I would rate its stability a ten out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is scalable. I would rate the scalability of Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.
We are a medium-sized organization.
How are customer service and support?
I would rate Fortinet's customer service as very good. They are good because they provide solutions to problems that we encounter and help us make new changes or meet requirements, and they have the ability to work with us to make the changes that we want.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We previously used Sophos for web filtering. We now use Fortinet FortiGate for web filtering as well. We switched from Sophos to Fortinet FortiGate because we chose to adopt a Fortinet ecosystem to achieve better centralized control. We wanted to streamline security management while integrating firewalls, switches, endpoint protections, and wireless.
We used Sophos only for web filtering control applications, but when we switched to Fortinet FortiGate, we achieved better integration with other devices in the security management.
How was the initial setup?
I was involved with the initial setup and deployment of Fortinet FortiGate. It was of medium complexity. It was easy because the tools we were integrating were well-documented, but somewhat difficult due to the learning curve and the need to adapt our legacy system to the new environment.
What about the implementation team?
It took four technical people to deploy Fortinet FortiGate.
Only two people maintain it; for implementation, we used four people, but to maintain it, it is just two.
It doesn't require a lot of maintenance. The job roles of those who maintain it include making changes, adjusting web filter configurations, and switching ports. The people who maintain it are network administrators.
What other advice do I have?
I would advise people considering using Fortinet FortiGate to carefully plan the network structure and train the team; Fortinet is powerful, but its full potential comes with understanding the platform. I would recommend starting small, documenting everything, and using its centralized tools to stay secure and efficient.
Overall, I would rate Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.
Offers good SD-WAN capabilities and integrates easily with Fortinet devices
What is our primary use case?
I use Fortinet FortiGate for SD-WAN, specifically for branches, and for firewall purposes.
Fortinet FortiGate is sold to everyone, including banks, mining companies, and oil companies, as it's one of the most popular SD-WAN products that we sell. These are mainly medium-sized businesses or enterprise businesses because we only sell business-to-business, B2B, and we don't sell to normal clients, only businesses.
How has it helped my organization?
We usually do not have any problems. It's a very easy-to-use product. We also have a SOC or service operations center. They are certified in Fortinet FortiGate.
From the point of view of a reseller, Fortinet FortiGate improves our business because it is one of the products that we sell the most. We also use it on our backend because the devices have many slots and support substantial bandwidth.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiGate are its SD-WAN capabilities, such as dynamic routing, and other features, including security options such as antivirus, IPS, and IDS—all integrated into one device.
Another beneficial aspect of using Fortinet FortiGate is that if you have a LAN network, you can integrate it with FortiSwitch. You can manage everything from Fortinet FortiGate. It is easy to manage and integrate with other Fortinet devices.
What needs improvement?
Fortinet FortiGate is a very good device overall, though it can be improved in certain areas regarding the licenses, particularly the big one called unified threat management, which has many capabilities. The big license options have web filtering, IDS, and a lot of other things, but it's not like they are all good. That's the only thing I would change because the rest is very good.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have about 4 or 5 years of experience with Fortinet FortiGate.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I find Fortinet FortiGate to be quite stable, as I have never heard of any issues where they broke or malfunctioned; they are always working. I would rate the stability of Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I would rate the scalability for Fortinet FortiGate as an eight out of ten
How are customer service and support?
We don't usually use that service. We only engage with Fortinet support when a device is broken and needs RMA, so I am not familiar with their operational teams.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used to use Cisco firewalls and devices, which are also quite good. However, Cisco is more expensive, approximately twice their prices, but they are similar in functionality. With Fortinet, we are partner experts, which is a big advantage, whereas with Cisco, we are premium partners, which is not the biggest status, so if we are going to resell to our clients, we don't have the best discount or prices.
How was the initial setup?
I am not part of the initial setup or deployment process since I work in presales. The setup or deployment is quite easy, as you can do a one-touch deployment that automatically connects to the FortiManager cloud when you connect it to a broadband or dynamic IP, allowing you to start the configuration from that point.
We usually sell it for on-premises setups. It's on the cloud only when the client has virtual machines or their own service. Sometimes they have a service on the cloud like AWS, but it's more difficult to sell now because AWS has an e-commerce option where you can buy FortiGate directly. The only thing you need is someone to manage and configure.
What about the implementation team?
For deployments at one site, it usually requires only one person, and if we are talking about 1 to 50 sites, it still only takes one person because the same template is used for all sites.
In Argentina, we service about 100 locations. There are about 200 companies in Colombia and Brazil.
What was our ROI?
We service about 100 locations with Fortinet FortiGate in Argentina, but if we account for all the company's clients, it can be around 2,000 across Colombia and Brazil, since we have clients in all of these countries.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Fortinet prices are around $600 for the small 40F model, and for licenses, the simplest option is about $300 for a year. They sell licenses that can last for 1, 2, 3, or 5 years.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Before using Fortinet, we evaluated other options such as Versa and Meraki, but Meraki is also from Cisco. Fortinet is better than Versa. One of the main differences between them is that we don't have many partners or distributors for Versa here in Argentina, making it difficult to sell something that you cannot pay for locally. It has been easier in the past to handle payments, but Versa doesn't have many providers or distributors in Latin America, making it a less viable option. Fortinet offers more products that are easier to integrate into our clients' networks, such as firewalls and access points, so that was one of the main reasons we didn't use Versa.
What other advice do I have?
My advice to other businesses or people considering using Fortinet FortiGate is that it is the starting product from Fortinet, and when you start using Fortinet FortiGate, you can then move on to the next products they offer, which are numerous.
We sell the 40F, 60F, 80F, 100F, and 200F models. There are the ones we sell readily from the bottom to the top. Sometimes, we sell bigger ones such as the 300 model.
Overall, I would rate Fortinet FortiGate around a nine out of ten.
Extensive web controls enhance our security posture
What is our primary use case?
We use Fortinet FortiGate for the firewall as well as for the VPN. Any of the users outside the organization use the VPN. Any staff members working outside the office headquarters or our office location use the VPN.
The main aspect that I deal with is URL blocking and web access. I don't work with other aspects of this firewall.
How has it helped my organization?
It has upscaled our security posture, especially regarding external connectivity, because any access or connection from the company has to go through the Fortinet FortiGate firewall. It's doing a pretty good job. We do not have any complaints there.
Anything that we don't want to allow is not coming in. Anything we want to allow is not being blocked. We always have the granular control where we can block malicious IPs or subnets if needed.
Geofencing allows us to limit the countries from which we allow IP connections. There are many features that I may not even know or haven't explored, but in general, Fortinet FortiGate is doing a pretty good job for us.
What is most valuable?
The web controls are what I appreciate about Fortinet FortiGate. We have extensive controls over areas where we could block external-facing IPs, external URLs. We can do geo-fencing with the firewalls, which is a good feature.
What needs improvement?
There are too many updates coming for VPN, and the VPN keeps disconnecting frequently, which I find problematic. It does what it's supposed to do, but I practically face reconnection issues with the VPN.
Regarding the Fortinet FortiGate firewall, I don't have any input. My scope is limited.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for around three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Fortinet FortiGate is stable. We haven't seen any latency issues related to it, though we do experience latency from ISPs.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I would rate the scalability as eight out of ten based purely on my exposure to security controls relating to URL blocking and website access.
How are customer service and support?
I haven't had a chance to work with Fortinet FortiGate technical support, but from my colleagues' experience, they say the Fortinet FortiGate people are easy to reach but hard to schedule time with. It's not as easy as having the Fortinet FortiGate engineer on the call and getting other teams involved; it requires careful arrangements to join in with the Fortinet team. I would give their support a neutral score of maybe five.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I don't know why we switched to Fortinet FortiGate from Juniper; it's a management decision.
How was the initial setup?
I was not involved in the deployment. I think it's not that difficult; there's no complexity involved as long as we are clear on what we want to do.
We have it on both cloud and on-premises.
What was our ROI?
I was not part of the team that implemented it. I don't know how much they invested, but it would be worth the investment.
What other advice do I have?
My overall experience with Fortinet FortiGate rates as eight out of ten.
A solid firewall with straightforward management and robust capabilities
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use Fortinet FortiGate as endpoint firewalls for our campuses. Nothing too extravagant, just providing access out and limiting access to certain applications and restricting unauthorized access from external sources. I have recently been using it also as the controller for the wireless access points.
What is most valuable?
It is pretty straightforward to manage and has robust capabilities. I appreciate that Fortinet FortiGate can be a central controller for other Fortinet products, such as switches and access points. I have used its VPN abilities a little bit, but not a great deal. I appreciate that it has some SD-WAN capabilities, though I've only used that to a limited degree. It is a solid, usable, reliable solution.
What needs improvement?
It's one of the more expensive brands.
FortiManager has not been my favorite. I don't use it and cannot say I really care for FortiManager for managing the firewalls. I primarily just access and manage the firewalls individually. Nothing else particularly comes to mind, as it has been a pretty good experience.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have about four and a half years of experience with Fortinet FortiGate.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability has been very good. I have had very few issues. I had one unit that required some reboots and eventually needed a factory reset. But outside of one issue, I've never had stability issues or problems with them going down or disconnecting or having other issues. They have been very stable and reliable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I have experienced no scalability problems thus far. We expand out with other campuses as needed. If there are any scalability problems, I think that would probably be with making FortiManager a little bit better. Otherwise, scalability is fine.
We are a medium-sized business with 17 campuses. We plan to increase its usage. We'll probably continue with FortiGate for any other campuses that we extend out to, as well as keeping them when we do our hardware refresh.
How are customer service and support?
Fortinet FortiGate has very good support. I've been able to contact them on a couple of things for FortiGate and other products, and I've never had an issue. They've always been polite and helpful and worked to get me to solutions. I've had a good experience with Fortinet support.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We've always had Fortinet FortiGate in place, so I don't have a previous firewall here to compare it to, but it has basically done its job. It's manageable, and it has not created a lot of problems. Only once, I had to call their support to apply a patch update across a couple of them. One of the best features is that it does not require a lot of extra attention for me to fix problems. It's not a problem generator, so that's probably the best quality.
How was the initial setup?
I've set up several Fortinet FortiGate firewalls, and it's a pretty straightforward setup. I haven't ever really had any particular issue with getting them in place.
It's deployed physically at the locations for our campuses. To deploy one, it takes approximately an hour to program and then another hour or so to install. It can get deployed within three hours.
Just one person can manage Fortinet FortiGate; I'm able to manage everything by myself.
What about the implementation team?
The implementation was done by me, one person. Sometimes I need to walk through someone else to physically install it because it might be at a site remote from me. If I'm not physically there, it requires a second person. However, if that was not the case, I could do it as a single person.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
It's one of the more expensive brands.
The 100 series costs around $4,000. They are similar in pricing to what you might get from Cisco solutions and probably other similar ones. They're not more expensive than other similar solutions, but they're certainly not cheaper either.
What other advice do I have?
The advice is to go ahead and try it out and see how it works. The product speaks for itself.
I would rate Fortinet FortiGate a nine out of ten, as I always prefer to leave a little bit of room for improvement.