Fortinet FortiManager Reviews

We had clients that wanted to manage multiple devices such as Fortigate firewalls. The customer had an environment with multiple devices or multiple branches. Now, they can centrally manage everything with this one product.

The features are good.

The reporting functionality is centralized. You can see policies and monitor the entire infrastructure. It makes administration very easy.

I cannot comment on what needs to be improved, although there are always potential areas for improvement in every product.

The Fortinet team is always very responsive and resolves issues quickly. For example, sometimes there may be a communication issue. However, other items may be the culprit, such as network connectivity. It depends on the customer's network. 

I've used the solution for two years.

It is a stable solution. 

The solution is scalable. The solution can be scalable or maybe not scalable enough in some use cases. If you are working with a private or public cloud, it is very scalable. If you go for a hardware-based client, you may need to upgrade the hardware to scale. 

Technical support is very good. They could always be better. Sometimes certain issues take more time, especially in terms of escalation. 

The installation is very easy. Documentation is very easy to find on the partner portal.

Configuration can be a big task. It depends on the scope of work. However, a fresh install might take about one hour. 

One person can easily deploy the product. That said, it depends on the environment. For example, if some devices are located in another location, another person may need to be there. You might need some credentials for that location as well.

There is some maintenance for proper monitoring and updating to the latest version of firmware. If you get any error messages or alerts, you'll have to action them. One person can handle maintenance tasks. 

The solution is competitive. It's neither cheap nor expensive. The solution can be paid annually. If you use a cloud, you will have to pay for subscription charges. 

I work as a reseller.

I'd advise the solution to users that have a big organization and if they are using Fortigate Firewalls, It helps centralize anything.

I'd rate the solution nine out of ten. They have so many features. It's very feature-rich. From one central location, you can monitor everything. 

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.

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.

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,

I have been using Fortinet FortiManager for approximately five years.

The stability is fine but could improve.

I rate the stability of Fortinet FortiManager an eight out of ten.

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.

The support of Fortinet FortiManager is good. 

Positive

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.

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. 

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.

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.

We are using a virtual machine for the FortiManager. It's already installed, and we just collected the seven units under the FortiManager. So we don't need to access each device separately. It collects all the FortiGate units in one console. We see the statistics and the status for all machines from the FortiManager. It is easy to control and monitor all the remote devices.

The main benefit of Fortinet FortiManager is the ability to control all the devices from a central location, view their statuses, and manage their configurations and updates from a single management console. 

The price may only be applicable for bigger companies, and there is room for improvement in the FortiManager in license models. In general, the SIM license can be a bit complicated. You have to order licenses for different endpoints and devices, and calculating the costs can be confusing. Simplifying the ordering process for the SIM license would be helpful.

We have been using the SD-WAN solution for almost a year now. It was implemented in 2021. For Fortinet FortiManager, it's been less than a year since we connected after the implementation of the SD-WAN. It's on-premise but as a virtual machine.

We are using the latest version of Fortinet FortiManager because we updated it before and after the installation.

It is a stable solution.

We ordered the product from a local company, which also provided the installation service for the firewall and SD one. We have not yet utilized the Fortinet technical support services.

The initial setup is easy. We did it without any training.

I deployed the solution myself. When I installed it, I made sure that I installed the latest version of FortiManager, and then I added the devices one by one. I provided the credentials for each device, and the information was automatically synchronized with the remote devices. So, I did it one by one. It is installed in the VM environment, so it is not difficult to maintain it.

As we are an oil company, the price was manageable for us because we had a budget for it. But for small businesses, it could be costly.

We use SolarWinds for scenarios like network performance monitoring, configuration management, and IP address management. And for the FortiGate firewalls, we are using Fortinet FortiManager.

We have different modules for SolarWinds, but for FortiGate firewalls, we use FortiManager.

Overall, I will rate it a seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is the worst and ten is the best because the dashboard could use some improvement.

We have over 300 Fortigate sites and we use this solution to manage everything under one interface. 

The scripts are very useful. We can push the TCL and CLI scripts to Fortigate.

The automation is great between Ansible and Fortimanager.

We can integrate the solution with other solutions.

There is one central template that we can use across sites. 

The setup is very simple. 

We can use the solution as a VM. 

We've faced an issue when we need to move devices. Templates need to be recreated instead of having the policies, et cetera, cut and pasted over. Everything should just move over when we need to move devices instead of recreating everything from scratch. 

For the IPSEC tunnels, Fortimanager doesn't have all of the features that are available on Fortigate. 

I've been using the solution for three or four years. 

The stability is very good. We haven't dealt with any issues so far. It's reliable. 

The scalability is okay. There are some restrictions. However, it is pretty good. I'd rate the solution eight out of ten. 

We have three accounts using the product. They range in size.

We have an internal team that can handle tickets. We're limited in opening tickets directly with Fortinet.

In the past, however, I have opened many tickets with Fortinet in the past and found them to be very helpful and responsive. They were good at solving issues. 

We have worked with Palo Alto and Cisco. The way of working with the firewalls is a bit different in Palo Alto's Panorama. With Panorama, we can add policies and prioritize them to override firewall policies (and vice versa). It's very flexible.

The initial setup is very simple. We can create it using a VM. 

Our company has its own physical infrastructure, and we place the virtual infrastructure within that. 

I don't deal with the pricing of the solution.

In general, I would rate the product seven out of ten. It offers good features, however, Palo Alto offers better options.

I utilize Fortinet FortiManager to push commands with scripts. I made different scripts for different use cases.

I appreciate the ability to connect via SSH through Fortinet FortiManager to the FortiGates I manage. This feature allows me to gather information about the interfaces without having to physically connect to the device. This is a convenient aspect that I find valuable.

I have started utilizing the group features, which enable me to manage and update the devices in a structured and organized manner. For example, when installing new firmware or updates of FortiOS, I can divide the devices into different groups and update each group individually. This is a feature I began using around a year ago and has proven to be very useful.

Moreover, I have begun utilizing customized fields, which has added an extra level of convenience to my work. These fields have proven to be quite useful, and I would recommend them to others.

The information extraction through command lines was could improve to some extent. Although there were some command lines available, there were not enough options. For instance, I needed to obtain the management IP address of my two Fortigates, but the Fortinet FortiManager did not provide me with the IP address on the LAN interface. I attempted to find this information through the command line but was unsuccessful. I also searched for articles on the internet, but could not find a solution. This is an aspect that could be improved or potentially there is a method to access this information that I have yet to discover.

I have been using Fortinet FortiManager for approximately three years.

Since I have been using the solution I have not experienced any problems with the stability.

We did not run into any problems with the scalability.

I reach out to the technical support team through a ticket. I was attempting to perform a rather complicated task, which involved pushing the FortiOS onto a FortiGate 30 E device without actually installing it. I had found information online that this was possible, but I encountered issues while trying to do so with two FortiGates.

I was successful in pushing the FortiOS onto the device, but both devices stopped functioning after that. I then asked the technical support team if this was a supported process, to which they responded that while it is possible, it would depend on the model being used. Based on my understanding, it is possible but with some limitations, especially with older models of the Fortinet solutions. This was the nature of my interaction with the technical support team.

Evaluating my experience with the support was decent but not textbook. During the evaluation process, I was asked for a substantial amount of information, some of which I felt was not pertinent. Nevertheless, I obliged and provided all the information requested. The main objective of the evaluation was to gather data from the devices and assess their performance. After the analysis was completed, the evaluators came back with their findings and advised that my current approach with the version or model being utilized within the organization was not recommended.

I rate Fortinet FortiManager a nine out of ten.

We use Fortinet FortiManager to monitor our customer's firewalls.

FortiManager simplifies security policy management for our clients, even though their configurations differ. This is because it allows us to easily copy and administer base policies across all deployments.

The firmware version upgrades are the most valuable feature.

The price always has room for improvement.

I have been using Fortinet FortiManager for a year.

I used the technical support one time and it was a good experience.

Positive

The initial setup is straightforward. 

Compared to Check Point or Cisco, Fortinet FortiManager is more affordable but it is still on the higher end. I would rate the price 8 out of 10 with 10 being the most expensive.

I would rate Fortinet FortiManager 8 out of 10.

I've been working with Fortinet firewalls for over ten years now. Everything works consistently well, including the hardware, software, operating system, and all the features. They're easy to configure, and using firewalls together with FortiManager for central administration and monitoring of all our devices makes everything much simpler.

I recommend Fortinet FortiManager because you can administer the firewalls from one tool.

We use Fortinet FortiManager for centralized management of our Fortinet devices, including switches and firewalls. This single console allows us to manage multiple devices efficiently.

We can push device configurations and policy management through FortiManager.

It has improved our security operations.

FortiManager has automation capabilities that positively impact our operational efficiency.

The most valuable feature is the centralized management console.

Configuring Fortinet without internet access is challenging.

I am currently in the process of integrating Fortinet FortiManager.

Fortinet FortiManager is scalable but scaling is costly.

I am satisfied with the technical support.

Positive

I can complete the deployment myself.

It can be expensive. Some competing solutions in the market, like Sophos and SonicWALL, offer lower costs of up to 40 percent.

I would rate Fortinet FortiManager 8 out of 10.

I recommend it but be aware that Fortinet firewalls managed by FortiManager may require weekly updates due to known bugs on the Fortinet servers.

FortManager is a tool for centrally managing multiple FortiGate firewalls.

Without FortiManager, you cannot manage a complex environment across several sites with multiple firewalls. 

FortiManager could improve by making it easier to port larger policy packages to the FortiGate firewalls. Sometimes, there's an issue when we install a big package of policies. If you have a couple thousand policies for FortiGate firewalls, it can take a few minutes to receive a response from the remote devices. It's only an issue when you're dealing with thousands of policies and installing them on a large number of devices.

We have used FortiManager for about 14 years. 

I rate FortiManager eight out of 10 for scalability. 

I rate Fortinet support nine out of 10.

Positive

I have worked with Cisco and Aruba. We decided to switch to Fortinet a couple of years back because we determined that Fortinet offered the best solution.

Deploying FortiManager is straightforward. The initial installation is simple and can be completed in a few minutes, but configuring the devices and sending the policy packages to the firewalls can take a few hours. We have around seven engineers maintaining this solution. 

I rate FortiManager six out of 10 for affordability. The pricing is decent. It isn't the most expensive solution. 

I rate FortiManager eight out of 10. I recommend it for those who use FortiGate firewalls. It's a management unit for Fortinet solutions, so if you don't use FortiGate, it makes no sense.