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Fortinet FortiAnalyzer vs Microsoft Purview Audit comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Oct 9, 2024

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

Fortinet FortiAnalyzer
Ranking in Log Management
12th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
7.3
Number of Reviews
107
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Microsoft Purview Audit
Ranking in Log Management
30th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
5.1
Number of Reviews
4
Ranking in other categories
Microsoft Security Suite (29th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of February 2026, in the Log Management category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is 1.7%, down from 2.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Purview Audit is 0.8%, up from 0.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Log Management Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Fortinet FortiAnalyzer1.7%
Microsoft Purview Audit0.8%
Other97.5%
Log Management
 

Featured Reviews

Manikandan Kannan - PeerSpot reviewer
Head of Technology at Techfruits
Simplifying log management by displaying detailed access information
The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is its ability to simplify and display logs clearly, providing details like which IPs are accessing the system, the destination, and the policies applied. This visualization and detail make managing logs more straightforward. In conjunction with our VMware setup, Fortinet FortiAnalyzer enhances organizational efficiency, meeting the standard log retention period for up to a year.
OK
Cloud Solution Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Integrated auditing has strengthened data retention and improved incident investigations
I have seen areas for improvement, specifically in Microsoft Purview Audit or in general about Microsoft. I have had a situation with documentation. I had a customer who wanted to create alerts and they had Microsoft 365 Business Premium. In the documentation, it was noted that this license is enough for creating alerts. When we tried to make them, we noticed they cannot do it with Microsoft 365 E3 because the customer had limited features to manage alerts. The customer had to buy E3. We created Microsoft support requests, and they confirmed that the documentation displayed not the real situation and they have been going to update documentation. The same situation occurred now with implementing Microsoft Purview Audit in the last autumn. eDiscovery was combined with search and content search, and the documentation was not clear at the beginning. It was a little difficult to describe to customers that now it is a part of eDiscovery. Content search is a very simple functionality, while eDiscovery is a little difficult. I am not entirely sure why Microsoft is going in the way of combining these services because they are the same. However, for a customer who has never seen these services, it is difficult to understand quickly. The same situation occurs with litigation holds and some other holds. For any mail, I am trying to keep data. For example, emails are held for a year or two years, ten years, it does not matter. It is difficult to understand where to find this data and where these emails are being held. I need to use eDiscovery to find out all deleted data that was kept somewhere in some hidden folders of the mailbox. Regular customers and regular administrators know that on-premises Exchange, for example, allows them to find the data in some repository and review the list of kept data. However, with this hold, we do not have any functionality to review the list of kept data. It is difficult to understand for customers how to work with this. I had a case where I spent three or four hours working deeply with a customer to explain how to work with eDiscovery, why Content Search is not there when it was before, what is an eDiscovery case, and why we are talking about all of this just to review a list of kept emails. This is difficult.

Quotes from Members

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

Pros

"Many of my clients are financial institutions that transmit files from around the country across a VPN. In a setup like this, it's helpful to have a centralized dashboard to manage firewalls and other security solutions across a distributed environment. You can do all sorts of analysis and configure it to trigger alarms."
"It is a simple and solution."
"The interface is simple and easy to navigate."
"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiAnalyzer are the GUI and there is automation that can be done with playbooks and mini-books."
"Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten since, in our company, we have never experienced the solution crashing or having any other issues."
"I find it easy to deploy Fortinet products, including the firewall, Fortinet FortiAnalyzer, and many other Fortinet products."
"One of the most valuable features is the ability to analyze data in real-time using AR features to pull data from the industrial DB. You can know what is going on and see in milliseconds where the network is underperforming."
"t integrates within FortiGate and you can find the reports there."
"We're easily saving at least one hour per day using this solution."
"The main Microsoft feature is that it offers common integration of services, of data, of identity, meaning user accounts, user access, and privileged access."
"The overall user experience with Microsoft Purview Audit is of higher quality than when it was branded as Compliance Center, and Microsoft consistently updates and evolves functionalities and the overall experience."
"The platform has significantly enhanced our operational insight into the overall Microsoft 365 environment."
 

Cons

"It would be good if the product could provide data about the websites users visit."
"The interface or GUI does not work properly on Microsoft Edge. The behavior or the view is different on Microsoft Edge versus on Chrome or Firefox. When some buttons do not work, I am forced to switch to Firefox."
"The solution costs too much."
"The user interface could be a bit more user-friendly."
"There are a lot of solutions on the market and Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is limited. It cannot be used across multiple vendors. They can improve by advancing their technology."
"The pricing could be better. They could work to make it more competitive on the market."
"The solution should include the ability to customize reports so that customers receive greater value and high level reporting."
"FortiAnalyzer's price could be lower."
"We are still in the early stages of leveraging Microsoft Purview Audit. Currently, it's primarily used for the audit function."
"Areas for product improvement include enhancing customization options and integrating more comprehensive compliance features."
"I had a case where I spent three or four hours working deeply with a customer to explain how to work with eDiscovery, why Content Search is not there when it was before, what is an eDiscovery case, and why we are talking about all of this just to review a list of kept emails."
"We do have a Denial of Access happening."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"I believe that these devices were procured with a five-year maintenance and support license up front. I work at a university, so the vendor provides a considerable higher ed discount."
"The number of licenses required directly corresponds with the number of devices connected."
"In the local market sometimes people are being charged more than other solutions. Although the market is competitive, legitimate suppliers do not receive a large enough discount to pass onto the customers."
"In other countries, the product may seem cheap, but in Vietnam, the costs are high."
"The price of Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is expensive."
"I won't say the solution is too costly since it is available at a fair price."
"When comparing with other solutions such as Checkpoint and Cisco, Fortinet is priced well."
"FortiAnalyzer was in the product itself, but two years ago they split it from Fortinet. We paid the license two years ago."
Information not available
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Financial Services Firm
6%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
6%
Construction Company
6%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business58
Midsize Enterprise20
Large Enterprise31
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiAnalyzer?
The pricing of Fortinet FortiAnalyzer is okay. For smaller companies, the pricing is acceptable.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiAnalyzer?
I don't know what the main room for improvement is for Fortinet FortiAnalyzer, but perhaps I don't have much experience, so I cannot answer this question comprehensively.
What is your primary use case for Fortinet FortiAnalyzer?
I am using Fortinet and Red Hat myself as a consultant. I am dealing with Fortinet products and can provide information about them. I am working with Fortinet products, including firewalls and othe...
What needs improvement with Microsoft Purview Audit?
We are still in the early stages of leveraging Microsoft Purview Audit. Currently, it's primarily used for the audit function. In a year's time, we will be able to provide more clarity and context ...
What is your primary use case for Microsoft Purview Audit?
Microsoft Purview Audit functions as a compliance center. Whenever these systems generate logs, we use Microsoft Purview Audit to capture or retrieve those logs. While there are more tools availabl...
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

General Directorate of Information Technology
Information Not Available
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiAnalyzer vs. Microsoft Purview Audit and other solutions. Updated: February 2026.
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