Fortinet FortiGate Cloud Reviews

We are currently only using Fortinet VPN from Fortinet's suite of applications and solutions. During the nearly two years that I've been working here, we've experienced zero incidents with the Fortinet FortiGate Cloud hardware or software. However, our operational system lacks high availability, which became evident during two fires. 

The easy part involves policy creation, which is very straightforward. It helps to keep you in control. 

Fortinet needs to improve the FortiGate Cloud dashboards that provide information about logs. This type of solution presents a lot of technical complexity from a management standpoint, making it somewhat difficult to understand. They need to focus on the EDR parts, the endpoint protection and defense, and response because once the employee or user is inside your company perimeter, they are protected by the firewall. They are exposed to any Wi-Fi threat when they leave the company and are not connected to your VPN. There's a need to improve or invest more in an application that can follow users wherever they go. The protection ends once they leave the premises, leaving them vulnerable to threats encountered elsewhere.

Setting up VPN connections, even though they are meant to be easy to configure, is the most challenging aspect.

Every time you want to improve, there's something new on the market. Every time we give them a chance, they deliver for us.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate Cloud for two to three years. We are using v7.0.14 of the solution.

I have three sites. The largest has almost eighty devices, and we have around 15-20. The total is 116.

We opened a ticket, and FortiGate responded within thirty minutes of calling us about that ticket.

Positive

The initial setup takes 48 hours to complete.

Fortinet FortiGate Cloud supports the entire infrastructure, especially in today's cloud-centric environment, where reliance on such equipment is paramount. Fortinet consistently delivers on what we pay for, ensuring we receive the necessary support for our operations. Therefore, the cost-benefit is quite significant.

When we create a website using Fortinet FortiGate Cloud, we can design it according to our preferences, including integrations, VLANs, and VMCs. Then, we determine how to establish connections, whether site-to-site or site-to-cloud. Once we finalize our plan, we initiate a project and begin coordination efforts, ensuring everyone agrees. Regular meetings help us stay updated on progress and address any issues. Taking a step back during discussions sometimes reveals areas needing improvement in our design, prompting necessary changes. This thorough process, coupled with prior planning and coordination, typically results in a one-week deployment timeline for a website. For instance, if we're setting up a branch in another state, the deployment process begins about two to three months before the restart. Throughout this period, daily meetings help us stay on track and address any challenges promptly.

They need to improve the dashboard. The hardware has technical aspects related to configuring and deploying policies, among other things. However, the analysis of logs needs enhancement, particularly for non-technical users.

Overall, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

We primarily use it for management purposes, especially for overseeing over fifty off-site locations. Its main function involves managing analyzers and other aspects of our network infrastructure.

Using the cloud interface for management is much simpler for us compared to individually connecting to each device using a GUI interface. With the cloud, managing servers is significantly more efficient.

Implementing FortiGate Cloud has simplified and enhanced specific scenarios within our organization. For instance, since many of our remote sites share similar configurations, we group them. This allows us to make changes on a single platform and distribute them uniformly across all devices, rather than applying individual policies to each device separately.

The centralized management and porting capabilities of FortiGate Cloud have significantly impacted our workflow by simplifying tasks. With FortiGate Cloud, there's no need to memorize the IP addresses of each firewall device. Instead, you can manage every firewall efficiently through the platform. It has proven to be highly effective for us. We now invest fewer man-hours in device management, enabling us to enhance productivity and efficiency in our work.

FortiGate Cloud has notably enhanced our ability to respond to security threats. For instance, when one device experienced connectivity issues to the Internet, we swiftly resolved the issue thanks to it. It allows us to monitor the addresses and all of the connected users effectively.

The VPN features are the most valuable. It offers enhanced security compared to our previous setup.

Some of the features offered by Fortinet, such as the FortiAnalyzer, are considered more intuitive. However, these additional features often come at an extra cost for companies to utilize. It would be advantageous if it were more cost-effective.

I have been working with it for approximately six months.

I am satisfied with the stability provided, I would rate it nine out of ten.

I would rate its scalability capabilities seven out of ten. We have around a hundred remote workers spread across various cities, with approximately sixty-eight remote firewalls in use. We plan to deploy VoIP in the future and aim to leverage more VoIP capabilities for our remote operations.

So far, I've had no issues with the tech support team I've worked with previously, so I would rate them a nine out of ten.

Positive

We transitioned from using WatchGuard to Fortinet because we required the advanced capabilities of the NexGen firewalls. When comparing the two, I find WatchGuard to be more straightforward due to its traditional approach, while FortiGate offers advanced security features with its NexGen firewall. In terms of scalability, I would rate FortiGate a six compared to WatchGuard's four.

Initially, I would rate the initial setup around a four out of ten. However, as we've become more familiar with the platform, I would now rate it closer to an eight out of ten. There was just a slight learning curve at the beginning.

The deployment took a couple of months, and the entire process was handled in-house. We managed it independently with a team of about five staff members, handling tasks like imaging, installation, and applying new devices to the firewall software. Maintenance duties are now carried out by two network engineers.

The price was more affordable compared to other models and brands we considered. I would rate it seven out of ten.

We also considered other firewall options, such as Palo Alto and Sophos.

Scalability, ease of use, and management simplicity are the most advantageous aspects compared to other solutions we have. However, the absence of certain features like CLI is a drawback. Overall, I would rate it a six out of ten.

I am a system integrator and I use multiple firewalls, including SonicWall and Fortinet FortiGate Cloud. I'm using multiple brands.

Clients primarily use Fortinet FortiGate Cloud for managing the devices.

The best features in the product offer several advantages. I mainly use it for managing and configuring the appliances, whether it is a switch, firewall, or access point. All these devices can be managed very easily over one place or one point. If I want to change or upgrade a firewall, switch, or access point, it gets pushed very easily. If I want to see if there's a problem with one device, that can be checked. Provisioning can be done very easily.

If I have to add an access point, I simply call my client and let them know that they have it fixed and plugged in, and it will be configured on their network. Zero Touch Provisioning is a key feature. Additionally, if a new internet connection has been added, it can be configured for a particular set of user group or location, so SD-WAN comes into play. Maintaining backups of all those devices is straightforward, and if one fails, I replace it with another device and then it can be put back.

Fortinet FortiGate Cloud is continuously improving, consistently adding and developing products. I don't think there's any scope for improvement as it's got everything. Fortinet stands out. It's more or less the same or slightly better compared to other firewalls such as SonicWall. The scale of operation, availability, and support differentiates it.

The solution is a bit expensive. Pricing is the only concern as it is too expensive.

I've been dealing with Fortinet FortiGate Cloud for about four to five years.

The deployment process is very simple.

The solution is very stable and steady.

Fortinet FortiGate Cloud is very scalable and one of the best in the market. It's highly scalable.

Support from Fortinet is great.

Positive

There are significant savings with this solution that doesn't cause any problems or failures.

The savings amount to approximately 60%.

I'm not too deep into integrations recently; the clients that I've been managing have not been asking for much. They're very happy with what is running and they don't want any changes. They just want the security to be taken care of and things to be functioning without breakdowns. For that, the plans are doing pretty good.

There are no concerns regarding security. It's a very well-designed solution without any problems.

On a scale of 1-10, I rate Fortinet FortiGate Cloud a 9.

We use the solution for routing and cloud security. We have multiple offices nationwide, all connected through the MPRS network, which is terminated at our FortiGate firewall. We consolidate our networks, filter packets, and segment our network through this firewall. My company has around three lakh firewalls. 

Having a built-in SOC solution like an XDR platform within the solution would be convenient for customers. 

I have been using the product since 2019. 

The solution is very stable. I rate it a ten out of ten. We weren't bothered even by a single incident for the past three years. 

I rate the product's scalability a ten out of ten. My company has 1000 users who use it daily. 

I haven't contacted technical support yet. 

The tool's deployment is easy and takes four to five hours to complete. The deployment process has become much simpler with implementing a playbook or checklist. Upon receiving a new device, thorough testing and configuration are conducted.

An integrator helped us with the tool's deployment. 

 Fortinet FortiGate Cloud is cheaper than VMware and Cisco in the Bangladeshi market. Its pricing is reasonable. 

We have a dedicated network team known as NCC. They periodically share network and firewall reports detailing how external threats are being blocked. We have not used any additional security solutions other than the product since 2019. Our workstations utilize Microsoft Defender at the desktop level, while network control is managed by the product at the firewall level.

The main reason we opted for the product is its ability to provide a unified solution across our global operations spanning over eighty countries. Its cost was not our primary concern. 

I rate it a ten out of ten. Due to our experience since 2019 without any incidents, Fortinet FortiGate Cloud proves to be cost-effective and easy to configure, making it a favorable product for all users. It comes with AI analytics features that use predictive analysis to analyze the network traffic. 

I am the only person in my company who manages all the platforms as a platform engineer.

I use the solution in my company for VPN-related purposes. From the client side, the tool is used as a firewall.

The most valuable feature of the solution is that it is a very reliable and stable product in comparison to other solutions in the market. Cisco is also a very stable tool, but one needs some good knowledge to manage the products.

My favorite feature associated with the tool revolves around the area of VPNs. I think because we are using the VPN, it is our favorite feature. The VPN part is very stable. We have not seen any errors in the past six months. Six months ago, we saw one error in the tool, but it was not from our end and was from Fortinet's end, but it was cleared out later.

There is no need for improvements since we have not seen any misconfigurations or any errors from the past six months in the tool.

I think the tool has some limitations when one tries to scale up, making it an area where improvements are required. Someone on our team is managing the scalability of the tool.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate Cloud for a year and a half. I use the tool for a client, and my company acts as an MSP of the product.

The solution's technical support is the best. I rate the technical support a ten out of ten.

Positive

Compared to Cisco, Fortinet is a little bit easier to maintain. In Cisco, we know how to use a console, but Fortinet and Cisco both have different commands to manage over a console. Cisco is also providing a GUI, and Fortinet also has a GUI. With a GUI in place, it is very simple to manage the firewall.

In comparison, Fortinet is a little bit cheaper than Cisco, but it is much more expensive than Sophos or a SonicWall firewall.

The product's initial setup phase is a bit complex. If we are installing the tool on an on-premises or any cloud model, we need good information to install and manage the product. Actually, we have not faced any problems with the installation part in our company, but if someone is installing the tool on the cloud or on an on-premises mode, they need to have a good amount of knowledge to handle it because Fortinet has some good features that a user should know how to install.

The product's installation phase can be handled by one person who handles the firewall functionality. I am only handling the platform, and the one person handling the tool is a firewall expert.

One person is enough to deploy and maintain the tool.

The solution is deployed using Azure's cloud services.

Installing everything and making rules takes around two days.

I think it helps in terms of time-saving because we have not received any misconfiguration or faced any challenges with the tool in the last six months. The tool saves around 10 to 15 percent of the time.

The tool offers good analytics compatibility because we use everything in the product, and we also fix everything with the help of consoles.

It is easy to integrate the tool. If we are facing some issues with the tool's integration features with one solution, then we integrate it with another product. If we have a Fortinet's VPN and firewall or a Sophos firewall, we end up facing some glitches. If we integrate products within Fortinet's umbrella, the integration part is good.

I don't think there is a need for any AI features in the tool.

I rate the tool a nine out of ten.

Fortinet FortiGate Cloud makes it easy to manage different firewalls in different branches or locations from one place. Since it's a central management system, it's easier to troubleshoot and access. We don't need on-premise access; we can just do it from the cloud, which is a good thing. The solution's SD-WAN capabilities enhance our network performance by making it easier to configure, which is also good.

The technical support team does not have enough technicians. Sometimes, the FortiAP causes a lot of problems with the Wi-Fi.

I have been using the solution for two years.

Once we configure the devices, the solution is stable.

I rate the solution's stability an eight out of ten.

The solution provides good scalability.

I rate the solution's scalability a seven out of ten.

Contacting the support team is very time-consuming. The technical support team does not have enough technicians. I once did not get a technician even after being in queue for a couple of hours. Waiting in the queue for a technician is too time-consuming when the business is down.

Positive

I have also used Cisco. Some competitor tools are very expensive.

The solution's initial support is easy.

On a scale from one to ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy, I rate the solution's initial setup a seven out of ten.

The solution's pricing is good compared to that of Cisco and Meraki devices.

I would recommend the solution to other users.

Overall, I rate the solution an eight or nine out of ten.

The tool works well for my company's network security operations and integrates well with Azure's cloud services, specifically in terms of routing and security protocols, since everything in such areas is well-defined and the compatibility is perfect. The tool's operational ability is also good.

The most valuable features of the solution are the sandboxing part, filters, and SD-WAN.

In Fortinet FortiGate Cloud, I am yet to see interoperability with other cloud options like OCI. I have no experience with Google Cloud, but I think Fortinet can look into other cloud providers.

Fortinet's technical team is not very friendly, making it an area where improvements are required.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate Cloud for two years.

On the spin, when you need to scale it up, you can just put in a request with the provider regarding the kind of resources you want to expand. You can also shrink it downwards, which will also save on costs. If there are some interfaces you don't need, you can just shut them off. If there are some parts you don't need, you can just remove them from the tool.

I would say we enjoy some local support around where I am currently. I wouldn't speak for everybody, but currently, where I am located, we enjoy some local support. I only have some concerns about expanding to a bigger Fortinet team in our home country, the United States. Some of the responses from the tool's team are that when it gets to a certain level of escalation, the solution requires that you have everything set in place. Cisco's technical team is very friendly, but I think there's a gap in that area with Fortinet.

It is not much of my concern when it comes to the tool's local support, but I know there are those customers who may not have direct customer support. Fortinet can mimic what Cisco does, and I think that would be a good gesture. The local support that I deal with can be described as a licensed partner of Fortinet. Technically, the support team is good, and they have very good relations with users and even partners. I rate the support a nine out of ten.

Positive

I have experience with the cloud services offered by Microsoft Azure.

The solution can be deployed in less than two minutes. The time needed to configure it depends on the size of your environment, but I would say that the whole process is very fast and easy.

It is possible to save around 40 percent money by using the product in our company.

I would not say that the product is cheaply priced. If I consider the long-term value for the service I receive, the price of the product is excellent. The value of the product can be derived if we compare the cost and the utility value since they are both the aspects in line with what you expect in terms of delivery and performance. In general, the costs should be justifiable enough.

I have yet to utilize one new tool, so I won't be able to speak. I haven't explored any other tools, so I can't do comparisons.

I decided to work with Fortinet FortiGate Cloud and not something else since it had some good ratings on Gartner and PeerSpot, along with some good recommendations from the other users.

The integration of the product with Azure's cloud services is helpful since it facilitates quick deployment. The integration makes the tool very easy and fast to deploy the product on the cloud, unlike the on-premises version, where you need to do all those cabling, powering, and take care of some updates on the different FortiGate elements.

I have worked with the AI features in the product.

Considering my use cases of the product, I have seen benefits in areas like threat analysis and traffic analysis, identification of malware, and getting critical statistics about your network and how people access different sites or resources. The tool works in cooperation with machine learning, and it gives very good feedback in terms of the improvement of the network and what areas need to be brought down or scaled down. It gives you some good feedback that you can act on for the betterment of your network.

I rate the tool an eight out of ten.

My primary use case for this solution is to manage files and analyze reports for a few customers who require these capabilities. We are utilizing the public cloud environment.

The solution has simplified data management and administrative tasks, reducing the need for local servers and making it easier to use. This has significantly improved our operational efficiency.

The product's valuable features include network management and switching devices from anywhere. Additionally, the reporting and analytics parts are very useful for our needs.

The platform's analytics and reporting components could be improved. We seek more detailed reports and analytics to serve our business requirements. 

Additionally, integration with NetFlow Cloud would be beneficial, eliminating the need for separate licensing.

I have used Fortinet FortiGate Cloud for about five to six years.

I rate the product stability a nine out of ten. 

I rate the platform's scalability of this solution an eight out of ten.

The technical support services are good in terms of quality and response time. 

The initial setup was straightforward, taking only a few hours.

The implementation was done in-house.

I rate the product pricing as seven out of ten.

Overall, this solution is very effective for medium-sized companies. It offers valuable features and enhances operational efficiency.

I rate it an eight out of ten.