We primarily use the solution for managing firewalls.
CSO at Nologin
Good centralization and management with great reliabilty
Pros and Cons
- "It is stable."
- "The solution should be more open to other products."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
We enjoy the centralization of all roles and objects and so on.
As a manager, you can manage 50 or 40 firewalls with only one product.
The initial setup is easy.
It is stable.
What needs improvement?
The solution should be more open to other products. FortiManager must be able to manage other products from other vendors. While it's perfect for other Forti products, it's not ideal for everything.
This is not available to work with many other vendors in the cloud. In the end, you want only one view of your own security view of everything, which is impossible with FortiManager.
Of course, this is the case with Palo Alto as well.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for seven or eight years.
Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiManager
July 2025

Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiManager. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: July 2025.
861,524 professionals have used our research since 2012.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a stable, reliable product. The solution has good performance. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The product is likely scalable, however, we haven't pushed it.
We have no experience with many numbers, such as 200 or 600 devices. We scale up to 60 firewalls.
How are customer service and support?
Forti support is quite good.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We work with Fortinet and Palo Alto.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was not complex. However, we did the initial setup seven years ago.
What other advice do I have?
We are Fortinet partners at this moment.
I'm not sure of the exact version we are on. I'm more on the sales side.
We manage from Spain many firewalls around the world, and at this moment, it's very necessary to have FortiManager. It's just too bad we can't manage other vendors.
I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten. I'd rate it higher if it offered more outside-brand integrations.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

Security Network Architect at Inmac
Helps automate configuration deployment, allowing us to plan and schedule configurations
Pros and Cons
- "FortiManager helps automate configuration deployment, allowing us to plan and schedule configurations."
- "FortiManager needs to handle different firewall versions more efficiently."
What is our primary use case?
I primarily use FortiManager to manage FortiGate firewalls. I started working with Fortinet in 2016, managing configurations to be pushed from FortiManager to firewalls and centralizing configurations to minimize errors.
How has it helped my organization?
It has simplified our work by allowing centralized configurations and minimizing errors, providing visibility into configurations, and scheduling configuration deployments.
What is most valuable?
FortiManager helps automate configuration deployment, allowing us to plan and schedule configurations. It works with proper encrypted protocols, ensuring security. FortiManager's documentation and diagrams are user-friendly, making it easy to understand the configuration process.
What needs improvement?
FortiManager needs to handle different firewall versions more efficiently. If FortiGate devices have different versions, managing them is challenging. There's also a need to upgrade firewalls or change chassis to adapt to FortiManager's version requirements.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used the solution since 2016, which totals approximately nine years of experience.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
FortiGate is very stable. Currently, Fortinet's configuration and operation are stable, and I rarely experience problems.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
FortiManager is scalable, but after several years, it may become limited due to versioning issues. This requires chassis updates to support newer versions.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
In the past, I worked with Alcatel Lucent and had partnerships involving FortiGate.
How was the initial setup?
It is easy to set up on-premises or on a virtual machine. Be cautious about versions to avoid compatibility problems.
What was our ROI?
The return on investment is high. It saves time, money, and resources, providing visibility into configurations.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
FortiGate offers the same features as Palo Alto yet at a more reasonable price. The ROI justifies the investment.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I have experience with FortiAnalyzer and other components but have not explored other firewall solutions like Palo Alto.
What other advice do I have?
I rate the overall solution eight out of ten.
One should be cautious about hardware and version compatibility. FortiManager is an efficient and cost-effective firewall management solution.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Last updated: Nov 28, 2024
Flag as inappropriateBuyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiManager
July 2025

Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiManager. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: July 2025.
861,524 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Network & Security Team Head at Amiral
Good support, stable, and easy to install and manage
Pros and Cons
- "It's very easy to install, and it's easy to discover and communicate with your device."
- "It requires a lot of resources. This is the main challenge."
What is our primary use case?
I use this solution to manage my VDOMs and FortiGate policies.
What is most valuable?
It's very easy to install, and it's easy to discover and communicate with your device.
We can manage VDOM, backup and restore configurations, and FortiGate. We have ten FortiGate firewalls.
What needs improvement?
It requires a lot of resources. This is the main challenge.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using this solution for more than ten years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's stable. I didn't have any issues with its stability or availability. It's good.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It's scalable. I'd rate it a nine out of ten in terms of scalability.
How are customer service and support?
Fortinet's support is very good. Sometimes, Fortinet's support is better than Cisco's support. They are more talented. I'd rate their support a nine out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We had Panorama from Palo Alto. We switched because most of our devices are from Fortinet. FortiManager is also easy to install and set up.
How was the initial setup?
It's very easy to install. This is the main reason why we are using it. It's easy to set up and manage. The only thing I am not happy with is the sizing of the RAM and hardware. The implementation took about two months because we have a big network.
What about the implementation team?
It was implemented in-house. We have a team of three engineers dedicated to installation and maintenance.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
If you compare Fortinet and Palo Alto, Fortinet is cheaper, but if you compare Cisco and Fortinet, sometimes Cisco is cheaper because Cisco gives us more discounts because of the size. Cisco isn't cheap, but sometimes, we get a big discount from them.
Its licensing is monthly. I'd rate it a seven out of ten in terms of pricing.
What other advice do I have?
I'd recommend having a demo of FortiManager before deciding on it. I had a demo to understand how this device will match my profile and my requirements. The demo answered all my questions.
Overall, I'd rate Fortinet FortiManager a nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Network Specialist at a manufacturing company with 10,001+ employees
We can set unified policies from a central dashboard, reducing human error
Pros and Cons
- "FortiManager enables us to set unified firewall policies from one centralized dashboard, reducing human error. If you do not have a central dashboard, there's a chance you might set a policy on one firewall and forget to do it for another."
- "The SD-WAN solution is difficult to manage on FortiManager because you need to share some configurations on the firewall side. Sometimes you lose all connectivity with the firewall, so it is challenging to apply the default configuration to the SD-WAN solution."
What is our primary use case?
We use FortiManager to manage the roles and policies for all of our edge firewalls.
How has it helped my organization?
FortiManager enables us to set unified firewall policies from one centralized dashboard, reducing human error. If you do not have a central dashboard, there's a chance you might set a policy on one firewall and forget to do it for another.
What needs improvement?
The SD-WAN solution is difficult to manage on FortiManager because you need to share some configurations on the firewall side. Sometimes you lose all connectivity with the firewall, so it is challenging to apply the default configuration to the SD-WAN solution.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have used FortiManager for around two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate FortiManager nine out of 10 for stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I rate FortiManager eight out of 10 for scalability. It's easy to scale, but you may run into some issues. We have around 4,000 users at my company.
How are customer service and support?
I rate Fortinet support six out of 10. The response time could be better.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
How was the initial setup?
Deploying FortiManager is easy, but you may need to reconfigure and restart the appliance during the setup if it loses the connection. This happened once, but it has been working fine since then.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I rate FortiManager eight out of 10 for affordability. All of the features are included with the basic license. It isn't like other solutions where you need to pay for SD-WAN or additional bandwidth.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Fortinet FortiManager eight out of 10.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Senior System Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees
Good management, easy to deploy policies, and very reliable
Pros and Cons
- "It is easy to deploy to licenses."
- "The documentation could be better."
What is our primary use case?
We primarily use the solution for management and analysis. We use it for the management of two or three firewalls and the deployment of policies.
What is most valuable?
This is quite a convenient solution. We can manage a number of items. The wireless management is easy.
The VPN is easy. I have the ability to do the proper configuration of each of the firewalls.
It is easy to deploy to licenses.
The initial setup is very simple.
The product is stable.
It is scalable.
The functionality is very high.
We have found the pricing reasonable.
What needs improvement?
I'm still exploring the solution. I have not come across any missing features.
The documentation could be better. Sometimes information seems lacking, however, maybe I'm not sure where to look for the information I need.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using the solution for about six months now.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable and reliable. I'd rate it ten out of ten. It is extremely reliable with no bugs or glitches.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is a scalable solution. I'd rate it eight out of ten. I haven't tried to scale to any great extent.
We have around five users that are administrating the solution at the moment.
How are customer service and support?
We have never dealt with technical support yet.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We did use the Cisco FTD Manager. Fortinet is easy to use and deploy. It's also easy to manage. It's a full-fledged integrated solution, unlike Cisco. Cisco also took longer in terms of committing policies.
How was the initial setup?
The setup process is simple and straightforward. It is not complex.
What about the implementation team?
We handled the setup in-house ourselves without any outside help.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is pretty good. I'd rate the affordability nine out of ten. Compared to Cisco and Palo Alto, it's reasonable.
What other advice do I have?
I'd rate the solution eight out of ten. It's a very good solution. I'm still working on learning the solution.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
IT Manager at TiThink
Simple to use with easy management and good reliability
Pros and Cons
- "It can scale well."
- "The price is a bit too high."
What is our primary use case?
We have two branches and find that this solution makes it easy to implement the same configuration in different firewalls. You don't have to log onto any of the equipment with the VPN of the customer. It is the easiest way to manage a network.
What is most valuable?
This tool is simple to use. It makes management very easy.
It helps with the underly IT. Things go more smoothly since everything is managed in one place.
The solution is stable.
It can scale well.
The product does help save a lot of time thanks to its efficient management capabilities.
What needs improvement?
The price is a bit too high. Aside from the price, I do not have any complaints about the product.
It would be ideal if they could bundle the product with others. Right now, you have all of these Forti products and you have to pay for a license for FortiGate and then have other licenses for the Analyzer and Cloud, for example. Instead of paying separately and having all of these licenses, it would be nice to centralize everything and maybe reduce the price for a bundle.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used the solution for around seven months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It has good stability. The product is reliable. I'd rate it nine out of ten in terms of reliability. There are no bugs or glitches and it doesn't crash or freeze.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability is great. I would rate it nine out of ten. It expands easily.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We did not previously use any different products.
How was the initial setup?
The implementation is simple. It doesn't require an installation. All the products work on the same cloud. You just have to add it to the equation.
We have seven engineers working on it to support it. They are available for any maintenance requirements.
What was our ROI?
We have seen a bit of ROI in that we save time providing the service to clients.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is pretty high.
What other advice do I have?
I'm using the latest version of the solution.
It's a good solution. I'd suggest others to go ahead and try it without any hesitation.
I'd rate the product nine out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Microsoft Azure
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Network engineers at a government with 501-1,000 employees
Easy to set up with good central management and helpful support
Pros and Cons
- "Stability is good within the product."
- "I prefer configuring rules and the VPN on the standalone device, not on the manager."
What is our primary use case?
We have 20 Forti Firewalls, including FortiManager.
We use it for firewall management as we have many objects. In FortiManager, we use one type of object and implementation, the different firewalls.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature is having one object on all networks, which allows for implementation only once. We can have that object on one firewall or many, and we don't have to do everything one by one.
It's easy to set up the solution.
Stability is good within the product.
It is scalable.
Technical support is helpful and knowledgeable.
The central management is great.
It's very transparent. If I am troubleshooting for people who have a problem connecting to the network, then I can just open FortiManager and see all of the history of the connection. It makes it easy if I have to adjust a configuration.
What needs improvement?
The rules need to be more flexible. I prefer configuring rules and the VPN on the standalone device, not on the manager.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've used the solution for three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's quite stable. It's reliable, and the performance is good. There are no bugs or glitches. It doesn't crash or freeze.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have found the product to be scalable. It's not a problem if you want to expand it.
For example, if you want to add another 10 or 15 firewalls, will it have any problems
How are customer service and support?
We have technical support in my local language. The person who assists us is senior and he's a master of FortiManager. He knows many options for configurations.
Their technical support is very responsive. They are very knowledgeable.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
It's easy to set up the product. It's an easy deployment. If I have a new box, we just have to create a template, and I add a new FortiGate to FortiManager, and implementation becomes only standard configuration via FortiManager. We do any password policy, proxy pack, and other features we implement, we do so through FortiManager. Other updates, for example, a hostname or object, is from FortiManager. However, if I create any specific rule on a specific VPN, we configure that on the device.
I'd rate the solution four out of five in terms of ease of implementation.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We bought FortiManager as an option as we bought maybe five firewalls plus a license to FortiManager. The implementation site gave me only one price, which included both solutions. It was basically a package. It's moderately priced. I'd rate it a three out of five in terms of affordability.
What other advice do I have?
We had average security knowledge about management, and we started with a demo project. It was from Fortigate Support. They gave me two or three months free to try out FortiManager. I'd advise people to take the time to test it and see how it works.
I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
Senior Client Manager at GBM
Straightforward setup, and simple policy and management
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiManager is the ease of manageability and policy-pushing functionality."
- "Fortinet FortiManager could improve them by adding more portfolio components."
What is our primary use case?
Fortinet FortiManager can provide visibility for other Fortinet solutions across the company's environments, such as multiple branch offices. You are able to manage all these devices efficiently.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiManager is the ease of manageability and policy-pushing functionality.
What needs improvement?
Fortinet FortiManager could improve them by adding more portfolio components.
In a future release, it would be beneficial if Fortinet FortiManager could improve by adding more devices able to be managed the solution, including switching, routing, and wireless,
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Fortinet FortiManager for approximately five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is fine but could improve.
I rate the stability of Fortinet FortiManager an eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Fortinet FortiManager is a scalable solution.
I have a considerable number of clients who currently use FortiManager - at present, I can recall more than five. Since effective policy management and centralized upgrades are critical for multi-location management, FortiManager is an essential tool for such purposes. FortiManager is installed in the majority of my clients' locations.
How are customer service and support?
The support of Fortinet FortiManager is good.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Fortinet FortiManager is straightforward. We can push out the policies centrally. From a hardware or a component perspective, the implementation is simple.
The initial implementation can be completed in just a few days. However, over the course of a week or a week and a half, we could potentially refine and simplify the process. Nevertheless, it's an ongoing endeavor, as each organization's needs dictate the policies that must be established and maintained.
What about the implementation team?
One person is enough for the deployment of the solution. However, it can depend on the environment. If there are a lot of modifications there might be a need for more people for the deployment.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Fortinet FortiManager operates on a licensing system that is dependent on the number of devices being managed. Yearly subscription renewal is necessary to continue using the service. Although there is a cost associated with Fortinet FortiManager, its price is undoubtedly justified by the value it provides in terms of the purpose it serves.
What other advice do I have?
Fortinet FortiManager is highly recommended as a crucial component of any comprehensive solution offered to clients. This is especially true for clients operating in multi-location and multi-branch environments, where individually managing, upgrading, and patching each location can be a significant burden. In such scenarios, Fortinet FortiManager can greatly alleviate these challenges and streamlines the management process.
I rate Fortinet FortiManager an eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
On-premises
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Integrator

Buyer's Guide
Download our free Fortinet FortiManager Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
Updated: July 2025
Product Categories
Network Management ApplicationsPopular Comparisons
Cisco DNA Center
DX Spectrum
Aruba Airwave
HPE Intelligent Management Center
OpenText Network Node Manager
Junos Space Network Director
SolarWinds Network Topology Mapper
Buyer's Guide
Download our free Fortinet FortiManager Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros
sharing their opinions.
Quick Links
Learn More: Questions:
- What is your opinion on Fortinet FortiManager vs AlgoSec? Are they complementary?
- Which Network Management System is better, IBM Netcool or HP Node Manager?
- When evaluating Network Management Applications, what aspect do you think is the most important to look for?
- Which Network Analyzer and Network Configuration Manager do you recommend?
- Which device do you recommend to use for traffic shaping & bandwidth optimization between P2P links?
- Installing the new IBM Tivoli "NOI" Application
- How has the Facebook outage (October 2021) happened? Could it have been prevented?
- Why is Network Management Applications important for companies?