We use the solution for SD-WAN customers, deployment, and interface management.
Technical Network Consultant, Sr Network Engineer at a transportation company with 10,001+ employees
Intuitive multi-use solution suitable for large companies with experienced technical staff
Pros and Cons
- "The SD-WAN deployment environment, and the SD-WAN templates are particularly useful. Managing the solution is very intuitive. The initial setup of the solution was very straightforward."
- "The SD-WAN deployment environment, and the SD-WAN templates are particularly useful for us."
- "The interface could be improved. It is split up into different areas, which makes it more difficult to navigate and get the right section of the correct file. The solution is quite expensive, so it would not be suitable for small to medium sized organizations."
- "The solution requires you to have a license for every device, as well as for any advanced features being used, which makes it costly for high-volume users."
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
The SD-WAN deployment environment, and the SD-WAN templates are particularly useful for us. Also, we have found that managing the solution is very intuitive, which is perfect for us.
What needs improvement?
The interface could be improved. It is split up into different areas, which makes it more difficult to navigate and get the right section of the correct file.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using this solution for over two years.
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Fortinet FortiManager
March 2026
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What do I think about the stability of the solution?
We have found the solution to be stable during our time using it.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have found the solution to be easily scalable.
How are customer service and support?
We have direct support, and sometimes issues aren't resolved as quickly as we would like them to be. However, they are always willing to help, and they will escalate issues if they aren't resolved to our liking.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of the solution was very straightforward.
What about the implementation team?
The implementation was carried out in-house.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution requires you to have a license for every device, as well as for any advanced features being used, which makes it costly for high-volume users. However, for a large-scale environment with a lot of customers we have found it to be a worthwhile investment.
What other advice do I have?
This product requires knowledge of firewalls in order for the initial setup to be straightforward, and to ensure the product is effective once installed. We also found that deployment is easy through this solution.
The solution requires updates, during which it needs to communicate with the Fortinet Cloud. However, it can do this automatically, if the firewalls are set up correctly.
The solution is quite expensive, so it would not be suitable for small to medium sized organizations.
I would rate this solution as 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. Partner
Presales Engineer at a computer software company with 201-500 employees
Lacking performance, and more integrated needed but beneficial device management
Pros and Cons
- "The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiManager are the overall management it provides and its ease of use."
- "The solution has to be enhanced to manage new switches."
What is our primary use case?
The solution can be deployed on the cloud or on-premise and it is used for managing network solutions.
What is most valuable?
The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiManager are the overall management it provides and its ease of use.
What needs improvement?
The solution has to be enhanced to manage new switches.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Fortinet FortiManager for approximately two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is highly stable and has good performance.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is best suited for SMPs but not enterprises. If the company has many switches and access points and traffics with customization Fortinet FortiManager is not the correct solution.
The scalability of the solution is good. For example, you can use virtual machines and upgrade the license to scale.
How are customer service and support?
I have not used vendor support.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Fortinet FortiManager can be simple. However, if the company has third-party systems from different vendors it can be complicated.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The price of Fortinet FortiManager is inexpensive.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Aruba is a better solution because it has more power.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Fortinet FortiManager a five out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiManager
March 2026
Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiManager. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2026.
884,976 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Cybersecurity services engineer at Sahara Net
Is stable and easy to implement, but the user interface needs improvement
Pros and Cons
- "Centralized configuration is the most helpful feature. I like the ability to create templates and push them to all the devices at the same time. I also like that I can see the the logs with one device to provide zero touch on all other products."
- "I would like to be able to manage other products such as Endpoint and FortiAnalyzer through FortiManager. That is, the integration with other solutions needs to be improved."
What is our primary use case?
We use FortiManager for centralized management of all Fortinet products. I have done SD-LAN configuration for multiple branches through FortiManager. It was easier for me to do it through this solution and push it to all the the branches.
What is most valuable?
Centralized configuration is the most helpful feature. I like the ability to create templates and push them to all the devices at the same time. I also like that I can see the the logs with one device to provide zero touch on all other products.
What needs improvement?
I would like to be able to manage other products such as Endpoint and FortiAnalyzer through FortiManager. That is, the integration with other solutions needs to be improved.
It would be helpful if we can manage all Fortinet products with a simpler GUI. FortiManager's GUI is complicated in comparison to that of FortiGate.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been working with Fortinet FortiManager for a year and a half.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I would rate FortiManager's stability at nine out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
On a scale from one to ten with one being the worst and ten being the best, FortiManager's scalability would be eight. It is a good solution for medium and enterprise companies.
How are customer service and support?
FortiManager's technical support is great, and I'd give them a ten out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
How was the initial setup?
FortiManager's initial setup is a simple process.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
On a scale from one to ten with one being the highest price and ten being the lowest price, I would rate FortiManager's price at three.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We compared FortiManager with Palo Alto Panorama. The user interface for Panorama is more user-friendly than that of FortiManager. Using certain commands and troubleshooting are also easier with Panorama.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I would give FortiManager a rating of seven 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. Reseller
Security Manager at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
The best stability for application control and inspections
Pros and Cons
- "The solution has the best stability for application control and inspections."
- "The fabric for integrations or connections could be improved."
What is our primary use case?
I am a systems integrator and work with customers to integrate the solution.
What is most valuable?
The solution has the best stability for application control and inspections.
What needs improvement?
The fabric for integrations or connections could be improved. This would make a big difference for some customers.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for more than five years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is very scalable so I rate scalability a ten out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
Support has an overall lack of knowledge. We have opened many tickets for support but they don't even answer them.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Pricing could improve a little bit so I rate it a seven out of ten.
What other advice do I have?
It is important to select the features you need at the outset. Some customers don't do this correctly so their hardware doesn't perform as well. Take into account the applications you want to run on the solution when selecting features.
I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Partner
Network Architect at a computer software company with 11-50 employees
The single-pane device management is great but bugs cause stability issues
Pros and Cons
- "The solution brings device management into one single pane of glass and is a pretty good product."
- "The solution has some bugs."
What is our primary use case?
Our company recommends the solution to customers as a single management platform for multiple Fortinet devices such as FortiAP, FortiSwitch, and FortiGate.
What is most valuable?
The solution brings device management into one single pane of glass and is a pretty good product.
What needs improvement?
The solution has some bugs that we have to fix for customers. We provide feedback about these issues to Fortinet for future development or updates.
More software stability is needed to prevent breakdowns.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for one month.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is pretty stable and integrates well with cloud tools.
More stability and bug fixes are needed to prevent breakdowns.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The solution is pretty scalable and can support 4,000 devices on a single pane.
How are customer service and support?
Technical support could be better because it takes them awhile to handle items. More technical resources and knowledge are needed within the technical support department.
How was the initial setup?
The setup is straightforward.
It is important to design and test systems to ensure they align with best practices in the security domain.
What about the implementation team?
We implement the solution for customers. Deployments are quick and take a couple of minutes to a couple of hours depending on use cases.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing is based on a licensing model by feature.
What other advice do I have?
The solution is used widely and is good for small or medium-sized enterprises. It can be scaled further for larger enterprises.
I recommend the solution and rate it a seven 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. Partner
Consultant at AMH Consulting Group
Easy configuration and scalable with an easy setup
Pros and Cons
- "You can configure it at your ease."
- "If we use the Fortinet FortiManager to replicate the configuration and want to install ten FortiGate on ten sites, you don't have to set configuration on all ten because you can configure one FortiGate and the Fortinet FortiManager will replicate the configuration on all FortiGate devices."
- "You cannot integrate with other solutions."
- "You cannot integrate with other solutions, so they should allow integration with Cisco and Juniper."
What is most valuable?
We use it to manage the FortiGate and install it on several sites. You can see the lock, and if there is a problem inside the network, the FortiGate sends a warning to the Fortinet FortiManager. It allows you to check and know what the problem is. If we use the Fortinet FortiManager to replicate the configuration and want to install ten FortiGate on ten sites, you don't have to set configuration on all ten. You can configure one FortiGate and the Fortinet FortiManager to replicate the configuration on all orders of FortiGate. You can manage the bandwidth and decide to set it. For example, the IT team can use two megabytes, and the commercial team can use one gigabyte. In addition, you can configure it at your ease.
What needs improvement?
You cannot integrate with other solutions, so they should allow integration with Cisco and Juniper. It'd be great if we could log into other provider equipment on Fortinet FortiManager.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using this solution for five years. It is deployed on cloud. We are satisfied with Fortinet FortiManager because it's a very interesting solution.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable but also depends on the type of internet connection that you have. If your internet connection is stable, the Fortinet FortiManager allows different sites to be easily accessible.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is a scalable solution. Our customers are big enterprises and corporate clients.
How are customer service and support?
When you have some problem, they are always available to help.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is easy compared to Cisco Solutions because you just have to click when configuring. Whereas with Cisco, you have to set CMI commands.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I rate this solution a nine out of ten. I do not have specific details about the licensing costs. Compared to competitors like Panorama, Fortinet FortiManager is cheaper.
What other advice do I have?
Companies are interested in this solution. We help about five clients install the solution on their sites.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Reseller
IT infrastructure and Cyber Security Analyst at COOPTEC Soluções em TI
We can create, manage, and deploy multiple scripts to our firewalls
Pros and Cons
- "The firewall configuration has more capabilities than the other firewall management systems that I have worked with."
- "The reporting details have room for improvement."
What is our primary use case?
We use Fortinet FortiManager to manage over 2,000 firewalls. We use the solution for reporting, implementing, and deploying policies and objects to the firewalls.
How has it helped my organization?
Fortinet FortiManager has saved us time by allowing us to create a lot of scripts that can be deployed at the same time to all the firewalls.
What is most valuable?
The firewall configuration has more capabilities than the other firewall management systems that I have worked with.
What needs improvement?
The reporting details have room for improvement.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Fortinet FortiManager for six months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I would rate the stability of Fortinet FortiManager a nine out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I would rate the scalability of Fortinet FortiManager an eight out of ten.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We previously used Sophos Firewall Central Management and transitioned to Fortinet FortiManager, primarily due to its industry reputation.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Fortinet FortiManager is costly.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Fortinet FortiManager a ten out of ten.
I recommend Fortinet FortiManager because it can be used for firewall configuration, reporting, PPMs, and deploying scripts.
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 & Security Engineer at Viroka Technology Private Limited
Affordable solution that makes it easier to push policy
Pros and Cons
- "FortiManager's best feature is the integration of administrator users."
- "FortiManager could be more user-friendly."
What is our primary use case?
I primarily use FortiManager to manage FortiGate in a single console.
How has it helped my organization?
FortiManager has made it easier to push policy and has saved us money by providing free training.
What is most valuable?
FortiManager's best feature is the integration of administrator users.
What needs improvement?
FortiManager could be more user-friendly.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've been using FortiManager for over three years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I haven't seen any performance or stability issues with FortiManager.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The on-prem version of FortiManager is not very scalable.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was complicated.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
FortiManager isn't expensive, but its cost is dependent on which services are required. It has no extra or hidden fees.
What other advice do I have?
I would give FortiManager a rating of nine 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. partner
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Updated: March 2026
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