FortiMonitor vs NETSCOUT Network &amp; Application Observability comparison

FortiMonitor vs. NETSCOUT Network & Application Observability

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Review summaries and opinions

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

Categories and Ranking

FortiMonitor

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

32nd

Average Rating

8.4

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

IT Infrastructure Monitoring (41st), IT Alerting and Incident Management (18th), Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM) (10th)

NETSCOUT Network & Applicat...

Ranking in Network Monitoring Software

10th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.8

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

No ranking in other categories

Featured Reviews

reviewer2677554

Network Engineer III at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Managing diverse networks with detailed alerts enhances device oversight

FortiManager is very helpful in managing our networks. We use it to manage 20 farms and various networks with hundreds of devices. The version we are using provides more detail than the older dashboard. We appreciate the alerting capabilities, which are integrated with SolarWinds to notify our team via SMS.

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Hasan Toffaha

Newwork And Collaboration Supervisor at Nafeza

Monitoring has improved bandwidth insights and application diagnosis but setup and costs still need work

They need room for improvement about the spare parts. There are shortages in Egypt in their stock. We tried to make RMA for specific parts, and it took a long time. Comparing this to a vendor like Cisco, who provides any component next business day, NETSCOUT nGeniusONE took a long time. This needs more improvement. I believe it is expensive. They need to reduce its budget a little bit. Comparing to other solutions, it is very expensive.

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Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"The product's initial setup phase is easy."

"Overall, I would recommend FortiMonitor to others."

"The most valuable feature of this solution is what the devices are used for. We have big backups for our Cradlepoint solutions, but FortiMonitor is a great routing device and we love working with them."

"It provides the best firewall features."

"FortiMonitor has a very intuitive dashboard, which makes it particularly helpful for analyzing traffic, alerts, and other information."

"The solution helps to see client infrastructure. It has many boxes and blinks green or red when the station goes up or down. We have different domains for the device groups that we monitor."

"The tool continuously improves, adapting to support new vendors and technologies. Importantly, it automates the process, triggering alerts when devices require attention, and eliminating the need for manual intervention."

"The most valuable feature of FortiMonitor is user monitoring, as we are able to see if the user is following the policy or not from their system, and additionally the solution integrates well with Fortinet FortiGate and has centralized management."

More FortiMonitor pros

"The most valuable features of this solution are monitoring and maintaining traffic queuing, as well as seeing who is using the bandwidth."

"Because we are doing proactive monitoring instead of reactive, the end users don't even see that there is something wrong."

"Before we were pretty weak in network KPIs; the solution transforms packet wire data into real-time data that is actionable, helps us with faster detection of issues, allows us to create alerts, provides the right people in our company with the right information in a single pane of glass view, and gives us increased visibility while conducting an IT deployment."

"When it's implemented properly, and the training is there to use the interface and have it work in your company, and people understand it, it can be very effective."

"We have cut back on our troubleshooting, by isolating certain trouble areas."

"With the Vprobes, we quickly identified issues on the application servers, which we normally couldn't, where it usually would be a full circle round between our NOC and server people."

"It is a scalable product."

"The fact that it's able to capture and store packets from the wires is very useful for troubleshooting with our vendors, when issues do come up. It's valuable that we have that overall data for them."

More NETSCOUT Network & Application Observability pros

Cons

"Sometimes, during high CPU usage, we cannot access FortiMonitor and must refresh it."

"FortiMonitor could improve by having compatibility with other operating systems, such as Linux."

"There are areas for improvement that FortiManager is addressing."

"The solution's initial setup process is time-consuming."

"The tool's price in Vietnam is high, making it an area of concern where improvements can be made."

"Sometimes, we get corruption when upgrading from firmware to the new generation, causing a lot of issues."

"I think the current features are really good for me, nothing else comes to mind right now. Maybe some small improvements could be made in the customization and configuration part of the UI to make it easier or more intuitive. Customizable UI options, like we saw in the demo, could be helpful for everyone. But in our operational environment, having clear health status and system details is crucial for us system engineers. One feature I'd really like to see is a credential management system. It would help us keep track of who's logged in and how many times, which is important due to user restrictions. Sometimes, we need to manage logins more efficiently, like logging off other users to free up credentials. So having a feature like that would be really helpful."

"FortiMonitor needs to improve its alert system."

More FortiMonitor cons

"Between the host analysis and session analysis, there is a limitation of one hour. This can hinder us if a situation occurred ten hours ago."

"NETSCOUT nGeniusONE is a complex product since it deals in areas like network packet brokers and packet analysis, making the tool complicated for end users."

"I would like to see improvement in the user experience. It's hard to manage it. We need a dedicated, highly-qualified person, compared to similar tools. Obviously, it's in a higher bracket, salary-wise. That's something the NETSCOUT team needs to focus on. It's a completely niche-skill technology, where we need to have the skills to manage, maintain, and deploy it."

"This is a typical thing, but every time they do a major code upgrade, we get hit with some nasty bugs. Some of them literally stop the whole platform from collecting traffic data. They should really do more Q&A on the software stability before release."

"The technology goes end-of-life on us every year, which is why I am looking forward to vSTREAM."

"Our biggest area of concern right now, supporting the applications, is that while NETSCOUT does a good job of monitoring the network and the applications, we need more visibility into system health and performance monitoring."

"I was upset when they sold the product to NETSCOUT."

"The product was lacking for awhile when they did the Arbor acquisition. I was waiting to see more security stuff, which they did eventually add, and is now impressive."

More NETSCOUT Network & Application Observability cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"FortiMonitor's price is very high."

"The price of FortiMonitor is approximately $200 annually for 225 users. The price is competitive."

"The tool's pricing model in Vietnam is a bit high. I rate the product price as an eight out of ten."

"In terms of licensing, while it may not be the most expensive option on the market, it's relatively cost-effective. You can obtain licenses at a lower cost, with the calculation being straightforward. For example, if you onboard around 5,000 devices, you'll need approximately 5,000 licenses, as each device typically counts as one license."

"On a scale from one to ten, I rate the pricing a nine since it is a good solution that is available at a cheap price."

"We have a large customer base for Fortinet, and the additional buying power got us really great discounts."

"Compared to other solutions, FortiMonitor is a very expensive solution."

"There are additional costs needed for certain functionality, such as scalability."

"It can be scalable. It just costs too much. With a company as big as ours, it gets too expensive to accommodate every single site."

"It was pretty modest because you could get it in different ways. I think the six licenses, at that time, were about $1,000 each. But then again, I work for a school and educators tend to get discounts on things. So maybe it cost us about five or six hundred a copy."

"The scalability is good, but it comes at a cost. E.g., if you need 100 InfiniStream because you are sending gigs or terabytes of data to one InfiniStream, then you will have to purchase another InfiniStream, which are not cheap."

"The price is a little high."

"The scalability becomes very expensive quickly."

"Make sure you get the low down on your licensing and understand the licensing requirements before making a purchase, especially when it comes to an upgrade. Make sure that it suits your needs before you commit to it. For example, we purchased ATA at version 6.2.1. At that time, the licensing covered everything we need. NETSCOUT comes out with 6.2.2, stating that in order to upgrade, you had to purchase CyberStream licensing. Now that requires some additional funding from both a capital investment and a maintenance cost. That's something that should have been said, "Well, if you want these additional features, you will need to purchase these CyberStreams." Otherwise, we should be allowed to continue on the basic operations as it is now through the newer releases without being stuck."

"I rate the price of NETSCOUT nGeniusONE a four out of five."

"Licensing is quite expensive."

More NETSCOUT Network & Application Observability pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Financial Services Firm

10%

Comms Service Provider

Healthcare Company

Construction Company

Outsourcing Company

11%

Financial Services Firm

11%

Construction Company

10%

Manufacturing Company

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	9
Midsize Enterprise	2
Large Enterprise	5

By reviewers
Company Size	Count
Small Business	19
Midsize Enterprise	7
Large Enterprise	52

Questions from the Community

What is the best network monitoring software for large enterprises?

I have a clear bias because I work for Panopta. We aren't a fit for everyone, but I can confirm that Panopta is a lot less work to stand up and maintain. It's also a lot easier to use and onboard n...

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for FortiMonitor?

FortiMonitor does save time but not significantly on costs, as there are still expenses related to procurement, installation, and licensing.

What needs improvement with FortiMonitor?

There are areas for improvement that FortiManager is addressing. We have not yet upgraded to the latest software versions, being a full revision behind, but we plan to update soon since the current...

Which is the best DDoS protection solution for a big ISP for monitoring and mitigating?

I would say if it’s an ISP that will build a scrubbing center, Netscout/Arbor is a good solution. In all other solutions, Imperva is a great choice.

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for NETSCOUT nGeniusONE?

Regarding its high price, I give NETSCOUT nGeniusONE a seven.

What needs improvement with NETSCOUT nGeniusONE?

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Product Reports

Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM)

Download FortiMonitor product report

NETSCOUT Network & Application Observability

Download NETSCOUT Network & Application Observability product report

NETSCOUT Network & Application Observability report

Also Known As

Panopta

NETSCOUT nGenius, NETSCOUT nGeniusONE, NETSCOUT nGeniusPULSE, NETSCOUT vSTREAM, NETSCOUT InfiniStreamNG, Iris Session Analyzer, ClearSight Analyzer

Overview

FortiMonitor excels in user monitoring and network operations, with its central management and intuitive dashboard. Known for reducing administrative costs and enhancing security awareness, it also provides seamless integration with other devices.

FortiMonitor supports dual-factor authentication, alert systems, and system health monitoring, proving essential for technical teams managing infrastructures and FortiGate activities. Despite its benefits, there are areas like compatibility and pricing where improvements are sought. It offers high-level monitoring, customizable dashboards, and alert capabilities which are critical in busy environments, especially for detecting harmful activities and ensuring efficient CPU utilization.

What features enhance FortiMonitor's efficiency?

User Monitoring: Monitors end users and logs effectively.
Traffic Analysis: Offers comprehensive insights into network traffic.
Dual-factor Authentication: Enhances security with two-step verification.
Centralized Management: Streamlines operations with an intuitive dashboard.
Proactive Alerts: Provides redundancy and instant notifications for potential issues.
Seamless Integration: Easily integrates with other devices for continuity.

What benefits and ROI should be evaluated?

Cost Reduction: Lowers administrative costs significantly.
Security Awareness: Improves security management efficiency.
Data Continuity: Ensures continuous operations with automated vendor configuration.
Efficiency Gains: Adapts to new vendors and enhances CPU utilization.

FortiMonitor is widely implemented in industries for end-user monitoring, security tracking, and infrastructure management. It's crucial for environments needing high-level monitoring and identifying hardware problems, where proactive management and customizable dashboards are key to maintaining operations.

Fortinet

NETSCOUT Network & Application Observability enhances network operations by offering powerful packet analysis and real-time insights. It transforms raw data into intelligence and simplifies troubleshooting, ensuring effective monitoring across diverse platforms.

NETSCOUT Network & Application Observability delivers comprehensive visibility and interoperability with a single pane of glass to aid in quick troubleshooting and traffic monitoring. It provides real-time insights and metrics that enhance network evaluations, helping transform raw data into actionable intelligence for better performance monitoring across diverse environments. However, it faces challenges like complexity, non-intuitive dashboard setup, and high server requirements. Enhancements in data analysis, visualization, and security features, along with improved integration with other products and detailed alerts, are needed.

What are the key features of NETSCOUT Network & Application Observability?

Packet Analysis: Provides robust packet capture and analysis for deep insights.
Single Pane of Glass: Simplifies traffic monitoring and dependency mapping.
Real-Time Insights: Offers instant, actionable information for troubleshooting.
Application Performance Metrics: Evaluates performance across network applications.
Interoperability: Ensures seamless operation across various network environments.

What benefits do users highlight?

Actionable Intelligence: Transforms raw data for strategic decisions.
Enhanced Monitoring: Facilitates efficient network operation monitoring.
Proactive Alerting: Supports real-time issue identification and response.
Bandwidth Management: Optimizes resource usage for cost efficiency.
Application Management: Monitors application performance for better user experience.

NETSCOUT Network & Application Observability is widely implemented in industries such as telecom and banking for network troubleshooting and application performance management. It helps in monitoring infrastructure, capturing unknown traffic, and managing bandwidth. The tool supports security alerts, real-time communications analysis, and proactive monitoring of remote sites, aiding in efficient network operations and enhanced end-user experience.

NETSCOUT

Sample Customers

SONY, GoDaddy, HCL, ING, ARMOR, billboard

Cerner Corporation

FortiMonitor vs. NETSCOUT Network & Application Observability