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Aruba Networks Wireless WAN vs Fortinet FortiWLM comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
5.8
Aruba Networks Wireless WAN reduces LAN costs significantly, achieving up to 50% savings, despite complex ROI calculations and varying priorities.
Sentiment score
1.0
Fortinet FortiWLM offers ROI within 6-12 months, reducing costs and enhancing sales through improved management and security integration.
It delivers everything we need for our wireless network, including security, authentication, and integration with other platforms.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
6.9
Aruba Networks Wireless WAN's support sees mixed reviews; responsiveness varies, with paid support offering faster, direct assistance.
Sentiment score
6.7
Fortinet FortiWLM customer support is generally high-rated, proactive, and effective, though response times and first-level support need improvement.
I would rate the direct support an eight out of ten.
The local support we receive from our distributor is perfect.
If we encounter any bugs, they inform us of the recommended configuration and firmware to resolve our problems.
With active maintenance, we can open tickets and receive professional assistance without issues.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.7
Aruba Networks Wireless WAN is scalable, flexible, and extends networks efficiently, preferred for reliable, expandable wireless solutions despite limitations.
Sentiment score
7.0
Fortinet FortiWLM offers scalable architecture with strong support, excelling in diverse environments, despite occasional scalability limitations in enterprise settings.
Fortinet's solutions are integrated into many standard frameworks, allowing for good scalability and interaction with other vendors' products.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
8.2
Aruba Networks Wireless WAN is highly praised for strong stability, offering reliable performance with minimal bugs, crashes, or downtime.
Sentiment score
8.4
Users praise Fortinet FortiWLM for its stability and reliability, citing minor issues and minimal downtime with high satisfaction.
 

Room For Improvement

Aruba Networks Wireless WAN requires enhancements in setup, integration, scalability, pricing, support, and cloud performance for better user satisfaction.
Fortinet FortiWLM needs improved management, user interface, and integration, with enhancements in reporting, support, and advanced features.
The licensing scheme and price could be improved.
Firmware upgrades and bug improvements need to be tested well.
Regarding the integration with other vendors, we try to buy only products from a single vendor to avoid problems of compatibility from devices of different vendors.
One area that needs improvement is the configuration aspect, which is more challenging compared to other products.
 

Setup Cost

Aruba Networks Wireless WAN pricing is seen as costly but offers competitive features valued over rivals like Cisco for small businesses.
Fortinet FortiWLM is competitively priced, but some find costs high, especially due to mandatory contracts and unbundled pricing.
The price is a little bit expensive.
Fortinet's pricing is different from Aruba, as Aruba has solutions for small business and enterprise in different categories.
While the pricing of Fortinet FortiWLM is a bit high, it remains effective.
The price is competitive.
 

Valuable Features

Aruba Networks Wireless WAN provides easy installation, centralized management, and advanced security, enhancing reliability, scalability, and connectivity.
Fortinet FortiWLM offers centralized, scalable management with high security and integration, praised for ease and cost efficiency.
We are very satisfied with the solution as it delivers everything we need for our wireless network, including security, authentication, and integration with other platforms.
It also has integration capabilities with FortiFirewall which is beneficial for customers.
The solution is controlled from one device and one GUI for all devices.
The tool facilitates network connectivity effectively.
 

Categories and Ranking

Aruba Networks Wireless WAN
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
7.2
Number of Reviews
50
Ranking in other categories
Wireless WAN (5th)
Fortinet FortiWLM
Average Rating
8.4
Reviews Sentiment
6.3
Number of Reviews
28
Ranking in other categories
Wireless LAN (14th)
 

Mindshare comparison

While both are Enterprise Networking solutions, they serve different purposes. Aruba Networks Wireless WAN is designed for Wireless WAN and holds a mindshare of 4.6%, up 1.9% compared to last year.
Fortinet FortiWLM, on the other hand, focuses on Wireless LAN, holds 1.9% mindshare, down 2.1% since last year.
Wireless WAN
Wireless LAN
 

Featured Reviews

Joseph Colly - PeerSpot reviewer
Reasonably priced and offers a good GUI
The product is very scalable. When it comes to some schools, they start with the solution's proof of concept in certain sections. My company aims to improve the throughputs in the schools where the product is installed. If the rest of the School wants the product, it is easy to set up the solution. My company uses Aruba Networks Wireless WAN for schools and warehouses but not in the retail sector. The product offers reliability and uptime twenty-four hours and seven days a week. My company gets notified if the reliability offered by the product goes down. My company also gets notified if we are getting hacked.
Mohammad Talha Talkin Alam - PeerSpot reviewer
Reliable network creation and management with an efficient setup process
My primary use case involves creating SSIDs and defining VLANs within the VLAN using Fortinet FortiWLM. I have been working with Wi-Fi access points for network connectivity I primarily use Fortinet FortiWLM for creating SSIDs and defining VLANs. While there isn't much focus on security, layer…
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
12%
Comms Service Provider
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Educational Organization
6%
Computer Software Company
14%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Healthcare Company
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

Do you recommend Aruba Network Wireless WAN?
I recommend Aruba Networks Wireless WAN. I have been using Aruba for approximately a decade. It has a great centralized management system, which means we don’t need wireless LAN controllers at ever...
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Aruba Networks Wireless WAN?
The price is a little bit expensive. On a scale of one to ten, where ten is the most expensive, I would place them at seven or eight.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiWLM?
Regarding functionality, a lower price for Fortinet FortiWLM would be better, but it's difficult. Regarding the integration with other vendors, we try to buy only products from a single vendor to a...
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiWLM?
I don't know about potential areas for improvement for Fortinet FortiWLM. Regarding functionality, a lower price for Fortinet FortiWLM would be better, but it's difficult. Regarding the integration...
 

Also Known As

No data available
FortiWLM, FortiAP, Fortinet AP/OAP, Meru Wireless LAN
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

The Pittsburgh Golf Club, Rio Rancho Public Schools, Amwaj Rotana - Jumeirah Beach Residence - Dubai, Trevecca Nazarene University
Black Gold Regional Schools, Amadeus Hospitality, Jefferson County, Chunghwa Telecom, City of Boroondara, Dimension Data
Find out what your peers are saying about Ubiquiti Networks, Ruckus, Cambium Networks and others in Wireless WAN. Updated: July 2025.
865,295 professionals have used our research since 2012.