Fortinet FortiGate Reviews

The main use case for Fortinet FortiGate is to monitor different systems of our customers. The solution handles the security of the company, manages VPNs, handles inside security, and integrates with NAC solutions while integrating every security device inside the company to ensure data protection. We are utilizing Fortinet FortiGate's SD-WAN capabilities. The network performance is handled effectively by the Fortinet FortiGate solution, and depending on the capacity of the solution, it can manage all traffic inside the company.

The main benefits of Fortinet FortiGate are security and the ability to manage all information throughout the company. This includes managing all data inside the company to prevent intrusions from outside.

There is always room for improvement. They could enhance their support in different ways, such as having technical support available during night hours.

I have used the Fortinet FortiGate solution for about seven to eight years.

Fortinet FortiGate is very stable. We have experienced no problems with the hardware, updated software, or management of the solution, with stability over 99%, making it a very good solution for us.

The solution is scalable.

The Fortinet FortiGate service is very good in Chile, making it difficult to improve upon.

Positive

We use both Fortinet solutions and Cisco solutions, depending on customer needs. The primary difference between Fortinet FortiGate and Cisco's firewall is pricing, with Cisco being more expensive.

It is a medium-sized deployment.

The pricing is competitive at this moment, and customers recognize that Fortinet solutions offer good pricing while providing a very good product. The stability is excellent for customers, and the capacity to integrate different solutions of the same brand is also very good.

They use other products to integrate information with different brands, including the NAC solution, which can be used for every brand in the market since it's based on the SNMP protocol.

We are not currently using the Fortinet FortiGate's data center solution. We are not using any AI or machine learning enhanced services at this moment as it's very new in Chile. Overall, I would rate Fortinet FortiGate a nine out of ten.

The main use cases for Fortinet FortiGate are mostly for an industrial company firewall, focusing on firewall, web server, and new-gen, next-gen firewall.

What I appreciate about Fortinet FortiGate is that the UI is easier than what I've previously known from Sophos. Compared to Sophos, I prefer Fortinet, and the system and configuration settings are easier.

The main benefits I have seen from using Fortinet FortiGate for the organization are due to the other branch in another country, as the connection is smoother than the previous firewall.

For Fortinet FortiGate, I am not sure yet what can be improved or enhanced because currently, I am comfortable with this solution.

I have been working with Fortinet FortiGate for less than six months.

I think Fortinet FortiGate is stable because previously it had a hiccup around a bug within the authentication VPN due to the firmware, but after updating, it's easier to control.

In terms of scalability, I find Fortinet FortiGate scalable. There are no issues yet with scalability in Fortinet FortiGate.

Regarding the technical support of Fortinet FortiGate, I have already tried to contact them previously for a problem. I would evaluate the technical support of Fortinet FortiGate as friendly and easily understandable for our problem, as they have a high understanding of the Fortinet FortiGate system.

Positive

I prefer Fortinet FortiGate over Sophos because of the connection system, the web GUI, and I think Fortinet is much more secure than Sophos.

The initial setup of Fortinet FortiGate was easy. The setup needs around a few days to test before deploying to the customer, and while deploying, it's easy to contact customer service to help us with it.

We are utilizing SD-WAN capabilities in Fortinet FortiGate, but not extensively, just a few times. I have not yet seen any impact on the network performance with the SD-WAN, as we're just monitoring it.

My experience with integrating SD-WAN capabilities within Fortinet FortiGate is that the project for SD-WAN is not very long, approximately one month of testing, so for now, the connection is clear with a bit of misconnection. 

I would personally recommend Fortinet FortiGate.

On a scale of one to ten, I rate this solution an eight.

I use Fortinet FortiGate IPS for firewall applications, VPNs, dial-up VPNs, and different types of connectivity, specifically on-site to site VPNs and for securing networks. 

It's not just regular firewall applications; I use it on a ship to manage bandwidth by controlling website access and blocking high bandwidth-demanding applications like gaming.

Fortinet FortiGate IPS allows me to block certain applications, which is valuable in managing bandwidth on a ship. The IPS enables controlling and securing networks. I appreciate FortiGate for its reliable, powerful, and flexible setups. Even smaller boxes perform with great power, which is crucial for my operations. FortiGate's chips make it very fast and integrate virtual firewalls, simplifying complex setups.

Fortinet FortiGate could improve their documentation on forward error correction and failover technologies. 

Additionally, better documentation and applications for SD WAN setups, especially for satellite-based internet like Starlink, would be beneficial. This area is vital, and they have not capitalized on it compared to competitors like Peplink.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate IPS for about five to six years. Before that, I was using WatchGuard.

I would rate the stability as a nine out of ten. There was only one instance where I had to restart FortiGate due to it running out of memory.

FortiGate is easily scalable and I would rate it a nine out of ten. It works well with additional endpoints and global networks.

I have minimal direct experience with Fortinet customer support as I usually find solutions online. However, in my encounters, documentation available is rated an eight out of ten.

Positive

Previously, I used WatchGuard. I switched to Fortinet since WatchGuard was more complicated. Fortinet offered powerful applications and built-in features that made my life easier.

The initial setup was straightforward. Fortinet has thought well of the user experience, making it user-friendly to implement.

I have a few other sites working with me, involving IT technicians to establish connections. It's a collaboration with some remote sites and a handful of people.

FortiGate's ease of implementation relative to WatchGuard saves time and ultimately provides a higher return on investment.

Fortinet is competitively priced. It is neither particularly cheap nor expensive compared to other products like WatchGuard. The pricing and performance are better, making it a viable choice.

I evaluated Peplink for SD WAN solutions that offer more high-tech features than FortiGate.

I would rate FortiGate a nine out of ten overall. To avoid losing market share, Fortinet must focus on satellite-based internet solutions such as Starlink.

We use Fortinet FortiGate to safeguard our online users, who are primarily students, around the clock.

Over the past seven years, we've utilized Fortinet FortiGate to address a wide range of security challenges. Initially, we implemented a firewall to secure our network perimeter. Subsequently, we sought to protect internal network segments. Next, we implemented application-level security measures. And most recently, we've implemented selective service controls to manage access to applications like Google services, WhatsApp, and video conferencing platforms. These measures have addressed evolving security needs over time. Currently, we're focused on enhancing authentication and remote access security. To achieve this, we're implementing security tokens to verify user identities and ensure authorized access.

Fortinet FortiGate enables us to comply with regulatory governance and compliance requirements.

FortiGate is one of the security solutions we have implemented to enhance and protect our network infrastructure, including devices, across the campus for all users. Specifically, FortiGate has shielded us from Internet security threats, application threats, and unwanted websites or access to unauthorized web services. For instance, access to classified websites is restricted based on user permissions. This has resulted in a cleaner network environment, not just from a security standpoint but also in terms of overall network performance. Secondly, FortiGate has significantly alleviated the burden on network administrators and server managers. The product has proven to be highly reliable.

It has effectively reduced our risk of cyberattacks. We have experienced a very small number of incidents, primarily due to configuration loopholes. However, FortiGate has been successful in preventing intrusions from the Internet. It has effectively thwarted hacking attempts, making it a valuable tool for our computer and network security.

We operate in an educational setting and do not rely solely on online connectivity. Therefore, an internet outage would only impact academic activities. While some internet services are utilized within our campus primarily for business purposes, they are not entirely internet-dependent. Consequently, the impact of equipment failure is minimal. In the event of equipment malfunction, we have established contingency plans and alternative facilitating services in place. Additionally, our devices are designed for high availability, with two devices functioning as a backup in case one fails. We have not experienced any device failures to date.

It has streamlined the management of our network and security operations. While the machine itself doesn't provide an out-of-the-box solution, its effectiveness hinges on the expertise and security knowledge of its users. Therefore, engineering and security proficiency are paramount to maximizing the benefits of FortiGate.

FortiGate offers a lot of reporting logs and reports. By continuously monitoring these resources, we can gather sufficient information to take immediate action and implement necessary changes. However, the effectiveness of this approach hinges on having dedicated personnel to review and respond to the provided insights. The device itself cannot act autonomously without human intervention and analysis.

FortiGate has helped us reduce our mean time to remediation by 60 percent. Its user-friendly interface facilitates rapid issue resolution.

Fortinet FortiGate is an extremely user-friendly product. In terms of security, we have not experienced any security flaws or loopholes, and it has proven to be quite stable. Additionally, we have not experienced any downtime, which is of utmost importance.

The log analyzer, for instance, is a product being developed as a common solution for multiple FortiGate devices. Consequently, the log analyzer's functionalities are not fully integrated into the individual FortiGate products. I would prefer to have more detailed logs within the FortiGate products themselves rather than relying on a separate tool.

While Fortinet claims to offer a comprehensive network solution, it falls short in addressing computer application issues, particularly server security. Fortinet's capabilities are primarily focused on network security.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for over seven years.

I rate the stability of Fortinet FortiGate ten out of ten.

Fortinet FortiGate is a fixed configuration that depends on the number of nodes and devices.

The support from Fortinet and its vendors is good.

Positive

The initial deployment can be completed in a few days. Two to three people are involved in the deployment.

In the Asian economy in which we operate, FortiGate is expensive.

I would rate Fortinet FortiGate eight out of ten.

I'm not involved in the operation of industrial devices. We do, however, have devices that are part of laboratories, and they may be flagged during searches because we belong to the education sector. In any case, FortiGate provides protection, and I wouldn't know the extent of visibility there because it's primarily concerned with providing security for those devices. If they are connected to the network, alright.

We have around 1,500 users and over 3,000 devices that utilize FortiGate.

The solution is used as a perimeter firewall, and all traffic is routed through the appliances before accessing the Internet. FortiGate Next Generation Firewall is also used in policy-based routing. The solution has features such as IPS  and web filtering. 

Presently I am carrying out a POC to evaluate where the SD-WAN functionality of the solution can be utilized by our company. 

It's an out-of-the-box solution with impressive ratings. FortiGate Next Generation Firewall has a stateless balance proposition. The updates from the vendor ensure that the product remains up to date in terms of threat intelligence capabilities. 

I personally go through reports on utilizing FortiGate Next Generation Firewall resources, bandwidth and applications that are present in the company's environment. The product has been capable of providing the aforementioned reports for the last 280 days, and such features are highly valuable for reporting purposes. The reports provided by FortiGate Next Generation Firewall also help in analyzing the traffic condition in a network. 

When the SD-WAN is integrated with solutions like Citrix, it can appear complicated, which only tech professionals can implement. The solution should allow more user-friendly integrations or deployment. 

I have been working with FortiGate Next Generation Firewall for five years. 

I would rate the stability an eight out of ten. But recently, we needed to undergo regular patching of the network in our company, but that's probably due to increased hacking activities or attacks. At our company, we are still confident with the solution in spite of the recent breaches. 

The solution is highly scalable. I would rate the scalability a nine out of ten. At our company, we can scale the solution effortlessly for enterprise networks. There are two professional users of FortiGate Next Generation Firewall in our company. The other solutions which are being evaluated in our company are FortiNAC and Fortinet SD-WAN. 

I have received satisfying support for every issue I raised with the team. The support team is responsive and helpful in resolving issues. I would rate the customer support an eight out of ten. 

Positive

Previously, Cyberoam was used in our organization. Our company has also used Check Point to deploy a multi-layered firewall solution. Check Point has numerous partners and offers satisfying support, which makes it a formidable competitor of FortiGate Next Generation Firewall. 

There are various local partners of FortiGate Next Generation Firewall who offer effective support for the solution. 

While integrating FortiGate Next Generation Firewall in our company's infrastructure I faced an error while implementing a secure LDAP server. I had to roll back for the aforementioned issue and review the authentication certificates. 

The learning curve of the solution varies depending on the use cases and the different features the user starts interacting with within a specific environment. The initial setup of the FortiGate Next Generation Firewall can be claimed to be straightforward. I would rate the setup a six out of ten. The deployer's CLI understanding will also be a major factor in the deployment process of the solution. 

The solution's initial setup can be completed in a few days, but much more time is required to learn about the environment, evaluate the policies' interference with the services, and implement optimizations based on the insights. In total, the complete deployment takes a few weeks. 

It's an expensive solution. FortiGate Next Generation Firewall costs our company around $12000 per year. There are no additional costs involved with the product. 

I have confidence in the threat detection capabilities of FortiGate Next Generation Firewall. I haven't witnessed any downtime in the solution, even after using it for multiple years. 

An automation API integration is available with FortiGate Next Generation Firewall. For instance, the solution allows integration with CrowdStrike and Darktrace to enhance the threat intelligence capabilities. I would recommend others to use FortiGate Next Generation Firewall.

It's a reliable solution for real-time threat intelligence. In the security industry, FortiGate Next Generation Firewall is a highly praised product and I am able to embed policies for effective operation. I would rate FortiGate Next Generation Firewall an eight out of ten. 

We use Fortinet FortiGate as our security and routing solution.

We implemented Fortinet FortiGate to enhance our security posture by blocking and restricting access to certain websites and securing our VPN traffic. 

Fortinet FortiGate offers enhanced visibility and segmentation for our industrial devices, a crucial process when some machines utilize systems demanding high-level security.

We have implemented Fortinet Security Fabric on our VM infrastructure, and it has provided great service in helping us meet regulations, governance, and compliance requirements. This is important to us because Fortinet Security Fabric connects to our sandbox, allowing us to scan shares across all clusters and enabling FortiGate to resolve any online issues.

Fortinet FortiGate has enhanced our organization's security by enabling secure VPN access and restricting access to social media sites, thus ensuring that employees can focus on their work. We saw the benefits of FortiGate within weeks of the deployment.

FortiGate helps reduce the risk of cyberattacks that could disrupt our production by isolating the affected traffic and creating a log for us.

It also helps to centralize the management of our network and security operations.

The centralized management allows us to access all of our firewalls and policies using a single interface.

Fortinet provides actionable data to help us make informed decisions about the actions to take. For example, if one of our firewalls goes down, the solution helps us rectify the issue by providing details on the problem and how to address it.

By consolidating the numerous individually connected batches, FortiGate helped us reduce operational expenses associated with the extra costs they incurred.

Fortinet FortiGate has helped us mature our approach to cybersecurity for protecting our industrial equipment. Their knowledge and daily webinars on email security and virus prevention have empowered us to stop attacks and maximize our efficiency.

The most valuable features are SD-WAN, application control, IPS control, and FortiSandbox. These features help reduce our downtime, manage the ISPs, and deploy SLAs for all the website traffic.

The graphical user interface of Fortinet's FortiGate product does not function well with text-based interfaces. This functionality should be improved.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for seven years.

I would rate the stability of Fortinet FortiGate a ten out of ten.

While Fortinet FortiGate firewalls are scalable, upgrading to a new version or adding hardware requires purchasing a new license to migrate the old backup to the new firewall. 

While the technical support team is knowledgeable, their response time to support tickets is concerning. It typically takes them 48-72 hours to respond, which significantly disrupts my work.

Neutral

While we previously used the open-source PSS firewall, it lacked the layered security architecture offered by Fortinet FortiGate.

We migrated to Fortinet FortiGate for its superior control, in-depth scanning, and ability to minimize cybersecurity risks, features not offered by other firewall solutions.

The initial deployment is easy. The solution can be installed by following the on-screen prompts, and the policies can be implemented through the interface dashboard.

Deploying the system takes one full business day. We begin by gathering user requirements from each department, as they have varying policies. The policies are implemented department-first, followed by branches. Finally, VPNs are generated for remote users. Two people are required for the deployment.

The implementation was completed in-house.

Since implementing Fortinet FortiGate, we have observed an increase in user productivity, which translates to a positive return on investment.

While Fortinet FortiGate has a higher price point compared to Sophos XG, its user-friendly interface justifies the cost. Additionally, its fixed pricing structure eliminates concerns about surprise fees.

After evaluating Sophos XG and finding its interface overly complex for our needs, we opted for the user-friendly interface of Fortinet FortiGate.

I would rate Fortinet FortiGate an eight out of ten.

We have one person that deals with maintaining Fortinet FortiGate.

We have 1,100 users in multiple cities and departments using FortiGate.

The Fortinet FortiGate 60F is a good choice for organizations to begin evaluating firewalls.

We are using Fortinet for administration over local users that need to connect with our wireless. We have users that come from different domains, and there are certain limits and restrictions that need to be implemented.

There is not much visible improvement, but it's a stable and reliable environment. We did not see anything critical in the production environment.

Reliability is the best feature. We faced some issues when we were setting it up, but the service, portal, and administration are good.

There is some development gap. We had experienced bugs in their operating system. When we were planning to upgrade it, there was no patch available for a bug, and the support team was saying that they need to work on that. That's the part they should work on.

There are some complex administration tasks in their administration portal. That needs to be improved.

It has been around two years since we set it up.

It's stable.

It's scalable. We have 1,500 to 2,000 people across the world. We have multiple regions and multiple sites.

We contacted them for a few cases. I would rate them a seven out of ten. They could be better at finding solutions.

Neutral

This was the first option, but we'll try Cisco as well for our Wi-Fi setup for the next one to two years. 

It was a management call to go for this. They know what is best for their business.

I was not exactly involved in its initial setup, but at a later stage, I had to jump into that. I was more into Cisco setup.

Overall, the setup was easy. There was a portal, and most of the things were similar to other hardware we use, such as Palo Alto. We found some bugs during the setup, and there was not much support available from the Fortinet support team

In terms of maintenance, there are upgrades available roughly every quarter.

It's worth the money.

The price range is quite acceptable and normal.

It's excellent. The services, administration, and reliability are up to the mark. They just need to improve it a bit. 

I would recommend it if you want to set it up for your business. Overall, I would rate it a nine out of ten.

The primary use case is for security purposes, mainly at the gateway level and for internal security, such as virtual training. We also use it for cybersecurity and internal communication, like having a portal. The main goal of implementing the product is to resolve security problems.

We have seen benefits. Recently, Sophos Firewalls and Palantir have also entered the market. However, FortiGate provides a higher throughput at a lower cost than these features and licensing. Our company acts as an integrator, and we work based on the customer's needs and requirements.

Fortinet FortiGate is easy to use. Anyone can easily maintain the box in small to large organizations. Even if we configure and hand it over to them, they can easily consider and register policies. And it's easy to monitor the end-to-end network through the firewall.

There are mainly two areas of improvement in Fortinet FortiGate— the licensing cost and the timing of upgrading licenses for boxes. FortiGate's renewal cost is quite high, and our customer care team also receives complaints about it. The renewal part of the firewall is expensive. If a customer pays for the license in advance, they may lose their privileges.

For example, if the license of a box expires in one or two months, and the customer wants to upgrade, there are three to four months between the operation and the end of the current license. If I purchase a new license, it will only take effect from that date. So, it fails in the backward fetch, and I am currently busy setting it up. But if the customer is not processing the card for six months, they will not benefit from the system.

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate for two to three years.

I would rate stability a nine out of ten. It's a stable product. For the most part, it's very reliable.

It is also a scalable solution. However, as integrators, the scalability depends on us. There are many options available, and we can choose the size of the box based on our requirements.

The customer service and support are very good. Once we create a ticket, we can contact them using the ticket number, and they will provide the support we need. As for the contact names, there is no rate, but there are more challenges.

Neutral

We have used Sophos Firewall, Check Point Power EOL, and others. But none of them were like FortiGate. When we upgrade the license, it shows another one, two or three years from that date.

There are no challenges in the initial setup. The people required to deploy the situation are based on the customer's expertise. We handle various types of configurations, and sometimes there are additional requirements with load balancers on top of the firewalls. We need to integrate these firewalls with that ALG.

Generally, we consider security as a separate thing. These firewalls and the LOBs will take care of some further issues based on the customer's requirements. For smaller organizations, one person can provide or ensure a sort of service. We will need three more administrators or developers if there is more traffic or high-cost tech.

Generally, most of the customers maintain their solution on-premises, not on the cloud. I am a technical guy. I am involved in deploying the solution to our customers. I take care of the HCLM upgrade, inflation rate consideration, automation, and other technical aspects of the solution.

We evaluate the area first and then proceed with the implementation by creating a DMZ zone and policies such as CRM and CAP.

FortiGate is a bit pricey, but its unique features and specifications make it an excellent option for certain customers.

As an integrator, we have observed that the licensing cost and the upgrade process are important considerations. When we purchase a new license for one or three years and upgrade it to the existing box, the expiry date does not change from the original. It can create a gap of three, eight, or even twelve months for the customer. Consequently, they buy another box instead of going through the ticket process to get it fixed.

We definitely explore the options. We always understand the customer's requirements first and then offer solutions accordingly. We ask what the customer needs and what their budget is. If their budget is INR 10,00,000, and we find a product that matches their requirements, we will offer it. If FortiGate provides the same features and throughput but costs INR 11,00,000, we might still offer it to the customer. However, if FortiGate doesn't match the customer's requirements, we won't suggest it.

So the main differences between products are the features and specifications. If a product has the same throughput and features as another product but costs more, we may not suggest it to the customer.

The challenge is licensing. Hardware-wise, it's supportive, and the support is good. But the licensing and renewal costs should be lowered, and renewing the license and data for the new license is tough. So, only for licensing, we face challenges. I would rate it a seven.

We have many boxes, and we have changed all the boxes to other products because of this licensing factor only. Even for FortiGate, such a thing happens. If I have a hundred boxes and I want to renew the license, they suggest taking new boxes with three or four at least. So that is why customers are not liking FortiGate. They could provide the same license card along with the box, which is why customers are unhappy.

Overall, the product is a four out of ten because scalability, box performance, and support are all great. However, once it's commercially used, you can only use this box; no other options are available.

We can recommend it, but FortiGate's ability to capture the market, fix the order, and meet the requirements or opportunities is also important. As an integrator, we don't have any issues with it.