Fortinet FortiClient and Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway compete in the endpoint security and VPN solutions category. Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway seems to have the upper hand due to its robust cloud infrastructure and scalability, which are appealing to cloud-centric organizations.
Features: Fortinet FortiClient offers antivirus, web filtering, and VPN capabilities, excelling in integration with FortiGate firewalls for comprehensive security. It is user-friendly and easy to configure and deploy. Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway provides high performance, multiple encryption methods, and seamless integration with other Azure services.
Room for Improvement: Fortinet FortiClient could enhance its web filtering usability, multifactor authentication, and advanced AI integrations. Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway needs improvements in stability and usability, particularly concerning the complex setup process and high pricing. Enhanced monitoring and faster connectivity could benefit users.
Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Fortinet FortiClient is primarily used in on-premises and hybrid cloud environments, with mixed reviews on technical support. It is easy to integrate on-site. Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway is mainly deployed in public and hybrid cloud environments with generally positive customer service feedback, though some users experience delays.
Pricing and ROI: Fortinet FortiClient offers competitively priced bundles and free basic versions, with significant ROI reported through secure remote work and FortiGate integration. Microsoft Azure VPN Gateway's pricing varies with usage, economical for Azure connections but potentially costly due to additional charges. ROI is strong in cloud deployments, but pricing remains a concern for smaller enterprises.
The VPN performance has a substantial impact on our remote workforce.
The solution provides significant cost savings, transitioning expenses from CapEx to OpEx.
They initiate the troubleshooting process quickly and resolve issues in a timely manner.
They provide very good support, and an issue I had was resolved quickly over the phone.
Technical support can be logged on Fortinet's support portal.
Prioritization of tasks can also be challenging, impacting the timely resolution of problems.
In a recent incident, I had an issue with the SharePoint API. It relates to documentation, specifically the lack of up-to-date documentation because Microsoft is moving away from the traditional SharePoint REST API to Microsoft Graph.
I hope Fortinet will start an insider developer program where professionals can provide feedback on new releases to ensure improvements.
We can add more licenses and Fortinet tokens, demonstrating excellent scalability.
We can recommend FortiClient for small organizations with 50 to 60 users as well as for larger enterprises due to its extensive features.
The process was very efficient to scale the solution, which supports a high level of scalability.
Its stability level is excellent.
The overall stability of Fortinet FortiClient rates at nine out of ten.
Azure VPN Gateway is very stable due to reliance on Microsoft's own network.
FortiClient needs improvement in restricting user information and ensuring more secure customer data to better protect source code and reduce the risk of security breaches.
There are advanced features like Zero Trust that I currently do not use but could be beneficial for security.
Fortinet frequently releases updates without thorough testing.
The instructions on how to integrate P2N and P2S type networks into Azure VPN Gateway could be improved, though it is a constantly evolving process.
FortiClient is a value-for-money product and is not considered expensive compared to similar products on the market.
Justifying the price to clients can be difficult.
FortiClient is included in a package with the UTM features, so there is no separate cost for it.
The pricing is somewhat high but acceptable, considering it replaces the need for physical network equipment, leading to cost savings.
The price of Azure VPN Gateway should be rated five from a purely invoice aspect.
The most valuable feature of FortiClient is its high security level.
We appreciate its VPN capabilities and the features that offer extra security functionalities like antivirus and malware scanning.
I strongly recommend this solution, especially for Fortinet customers who use FortiGate or other Fortinet products, as they can easily integrate these features and exchange information seamlessly.
It simplifies the process of deploying a VPN connection, replacing all the physical network elements with a software appliance.
The primary function of Azure VPN Gateway allows for designing subnets from existing networks, whether they are physical or virtual networks within Azure or other cloud instances.
FortiClient is a fabric agent that delivers endpoint protection, endpoint compliance, and secure access in a single, lightweight, lightweight client, providing visibility, information, and control to your endpoints. In addition, it enables secure, remote connectivity to the security fabric. It also integrates network and endpoint with segmentation and automation. FortiClient enables unified endpoint awareness by sharing endpoint telemetry with the security fabric. It is compatible with third-party EDR (endpoint detection and response and anti-malware solutions.
The FortiClient fabric agent can:
• Report on the status of a device, including firmware version and applications running.
• Send all suspicious files to a fabric sandbox.
• Enforce USB control, application control, URL filtering, and firmware upgrade policies.
• Provide application firewall service and malware protection.
• Enable devices to connect securely to the security fabric over either ZTNA tunnels or VPN (IPsec or SSL), both encrypted. The connection to the security fabric can be either a SASE service or a FortiGate next-generation firewall.
You can purchase FortiClient with one of three levels of capability:
Zero Trust security - The ZTNA edition enables both VPN and ZTNA encrypted tunnels, as well as USB device control and URL filtering.
Endpoint security - The EPP/APT edition adds AI-based NGAV (next-generation antivirus), application firewall, endpoint quarantine, and support for cloud sandbox.
Cloud-based endpoint security
Benefits and Features
• Fabric agent leverages integrations and provides telemetry information to the rest of the Fortinet security fabric.
• SAAS control and web/content filtering
• Dynamic access control helps with automation and simplifies compliance.
• Software inventory management enables visibility as well as management of licenses.
• Automated response detects and isolates any endpoints that may be compromised.
• ZTNA delivers better remote access and consistent application access policies
• Managed endpoint security services remotely assist with setup, configuration, deployment, vulnerability monitoring, and overall monitoring of endpoint security.
Reviews from Real Users:
PeerSpot users like that FortiClient is easy to use and integrates well with other solutions. They also appreciate the richness of its features and find it to be inexpensive in comparison to other products that require separate purchases for separate features.
A VPN gateway is a specific type of virtual network gateway that is used to send encrypted traffic between an Azure virtual network and an on-premises location over the public Internet. You can also use a VPN gateway to send encrypted traffic between Azure virtual networks over the Microsoft network. Each virtual network can have only one VPN gateway. However, you can create multiple connections to the same VPN gateway. When you create multiple connections to the same VPN gateway, all VPN tunnels share the available gateway bandwidth.
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