Fortinet FortiGate-VM is used for the firewall. Some clients would like to go for the solution because of pricing. They feel they can run it on their own hardware, cut down costs, and manage it.
Fortinet FortiGate (BYOL) Next-Generation Firewall
Fortinet Inc.External reviews
External reviews are not included in the AWS star rating for the product.
A value-for-money appliance that provides good security and technical support
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
I can vouch for the security aspect of Fortinet FortiGate-VM. It's a value-for-money appliance. Fortinet has always been our number one firewall appliance regarding recommendations to customers. The solution is very secure, and its technical support is on point.
I like Fortinet FortiGate-VM for tutorial purposes. You can set up the solution on your personal computer for apps and teaching.
What needs improvement?
Fortinet FortiGate-VM should improve its asset identification, wherein the device can identify assets on the network, like computers. We should be able to identify a device and the user account used to log on to that device.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Fortinet FortiGate-VM for more than five to six years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Since it is a VM, the solution runs on a client-provided host machine. Most of the time, the host machine gives issues that affect the VM.
I rate the solution a five out of ten for stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Around 20 users are using Fortinet FortiGate-VM in our organization.
I rate the solution an eight out of ten for scalability.
How are customer service and support?
The solution's technical support is responsive, but the only issue is you need to be specific with your problem. If you are not specific with your problem, it will take longer to resolve the issue because of time zone differences. All the engineers would like to know exactly the problem before they offer solutions.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We previously worked with pfSense. We switched to Fortinet FortiGate-VM because pfSense was giving us issues.
How was the initial setup?
Fortinet FortiGate-VM is easy to implement, provided you know your network architecture and the basics.
On a scale from one to ten, where one is complex and ten is easy, I rate the solution's initial setup a nine out of ten.
What about the implementation team?
The solution can be deployed in less than ten minutes.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Fortinet FortiGate-VM is a very expensive solution. It's a value-for-money appliance. You don't have every client going in for the solution unless there are some specific points.
You need to know exactly what you need at the point of purchase. That will guide you in purchasing the required license. If you miss and purchase the wrong license, you can wait and purchase another license during renewal. You can also negotiate with Fortinet to have your license changed to get the feature you want.
On a scale from one to ten, where one is expensive and ten is cheap, I rate the solution's pricing a three out of ten.
What other advice do I have?
We used to troubleshoot for Fortinet FortiGate-VM, but now the new firmware doesn't really give issues. We do maintain the solution by checking on devices and updating the firmware. We have seven engineers in our technical team to deploy and maintain the solution.
I would not recommend Fortinet FortiGate-VM to other users because most users don't have the infrastructure. They will tell you they want to cut down costs. You get them the solution, and at the end of the day, as a technical person, you will be bothered by the solution.
Regarding the upgrade, the only time we've had an issue is when the customer gave the wrong information. The utilization exceeded what they actually needed. Aside from that, Fortinet FortiGate-VM is a good appliance for us.
Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
Provides ease of management and has a simple setup process
What is our primary use case?
The primary use case for Fortinet FortiGate-VM involves formulating policies and services within the environment.
What needs improvement?
They could provide more integration options with different platforms.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Fortinet FortiGate-VM for six months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate the platform's stability an eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have 200 Fortinet FortiGate-VM users in our organization. I rate the scalability a ten out of ten.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup process is simple. It involves defining the parameters for deployment, such as the number of sites, PCs, and Wi-Fi users.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We don't have to pay for the licenses. But we might purchase licenses in the future.
What other advice do I have?
FortiGate improved security within our virtualized environment by providing robust first-line defense capabilities and optimized cost-effectiveness.
It provides an ease of management and configuration as well. I rate it a nine out of ten.
Provides robust web filtering capabilities and has an easy setup process
What needs improvement?
They could simplify the troubleshooting process. Troubleshooting requires expertise, often necessitating the command-line interface (CLI). It could be more advanced and easier to use than other products.
Additionally, they could enhance support capabilities and a facility to communicate efficiently with the team.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Fortinet FortiGate-VM for seven years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The product is stable. However, there are a few areas of improvement. I rate the stability an eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It is best in terms of pricing for small and medium-sized companies, where it stands out as a cost-effective and feature-rich solution. For larger enterprises, we emphasize the potential benefits of complementing FortiGate-VM with additional firewalls, such as Palo Alto, to enhance security and address potential vulnerabilities.
I rate the scalability a nine out of ten.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup process is easy. It can deployed on the cloud and premises based on the client's requirements.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
There are products like Cisco Meraki that are more inexpensive than Fortinet FortiGate-VM. However, it provides better security features. Palo Alto's pricing is similar to that of the FortiGate-VM regarding quality for security features. It is reasonable.
What other advice do I have?
FortiGate VM in a cloud infrastructure provides security benefits. It offers the same robust features and functionality in virtual, on-premise, and traditional data center environments. It protects against external attacks and internal threats through features such as web filtering, secure application filtering, and antivirus capabilities. These functionalities collectively enhance security measures, safeguarding against various potential risks.
It is extensible, as we can add as much functionality as we require. It is simple to add more resources. It has a flexible pay-as-you-go pricing model.
I rate it an eight out of ten.
A flexible and scalable solution that easily integrates with the network infrastructure
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution for our private cloud.
What is most valuable?
We use Fortinet for everything in our organization. Our organization has Fortinet experts. The virtualized network features work fine. The flexibility is fine. It’s easy to integrate the solution with our network infrastructure.
What needs improvement?
We face some issues with the IPsec connection during replication. It must be improved.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using the solution for six months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The stability is fine.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I rate the tool’s scalability an eight out of ten. We have many users in our organization.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup is complex because we use CLI. The solution is cloud-based. We have moved our on-premise VM to a private VM.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
I have used Netgate. I prefer Fortinet FortiGate-VM.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I rate the product a nine out of ten.
An affordable firewall solution with enhanced security
What is our primary use case?
We can control application filtering and UTM with Fortinet FortiGate-VM. We rely on it for configuring IP address filters, VPN settings, and point-to-site connections. We haven't encountered any issues with its use cases as a firewall.
How has it helped my organization?
The tool ensures inbound traffic, specifically on a specific port. We have Fortinet FortiGate-VM as well as F5 for application support.
What is most valuable?
It gives us an enhanced security solution for any kind of alert that we have configured.
What needs improvement?
The price and licensing of the solution can be better.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Fortinet FortiGate-VM for 3 to 4 years. We are using the V7.4 of the solution.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate the solution’s stability a six out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I rate the solution’s scalability an eight out of ten.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We have used Sophos and Palo Alto before. Palo Alto is expensive. Fortinet’s UI is more user-friendly. You can easily understand the source and destination requests.
How was the initial setup?
We have not faced any difficulty. We recently migrated our data center from on-prem to the cloud and then established the firewall.
What was our ROI?
The solution is more reliable for firewalls.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
Has a good interface and helps with network intelligence
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
What needs improvement?
For how long have I used the solution?
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
How was the initial setup?
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
What other advice do I have?
Provides award-winning protection from a broad array of network threats
What is our primary use case?
We use the solution as a firewall.
What is most valuable?
Fortinet is user-friendly.
What needs improvement?
We have lost some information and we do not know how that happened through the solution. That needs improvement.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Fortinet FortiGate-VM for minimum five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Once in a while there are stability issues otherwise the solution is stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Presently, six thousand users are using the solution.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup of Fortinet is easy.
What other advice do I have?
Overall, I would rate the solution a nine out of ten.
A decently stable tool that is available at a reasonable price compared to what its competitors offer
What is our primary use case?
I use the solution in my company mostly as a firewall product.
What is most valuable?
The strong point of the solution is that Fortinet FortiGate-VM is a good tool to spend money on, as its price is not as high as the ones offered by Palo Alto. Compared to Palo Alto's performance, most people like Fortinet FortiGate-VM. In general, Fortinet FortiGate-VM is a tool that is available for a good price, and its performance is comparable to that of Palo Alto and Check Point.
What needs improvement?
I believe that Fortinet FortiGate-VM makes improvements on a quarterly or yearly basis.
In Fortinet FortiGate-VM, the area around the configuration, performance monitoring, and GUI are not as easy as in Palo Alto. Fortinet FortiGate-VM's configuration part, performance monitoring, and GUI are areas where improvements are required.
The scalability feature of the solution has certain shortcomings, making it an area where improvements are required.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Fortinet FortiGate-VM for more than ten years. I work as the solution's system integrator. I use the solution's latest version.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is a very stable solution. Stability-wise, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a six or seven out of ten.
My company deals with customers with various ranges regarding the number of users who use the solution. Some of the customers I deal with and who use the solution have around 500 users.
My company plans to increase the number of users of the solution in our company.
How are customer service and support?
I am not about the online support services offered by Fortinet FortiGate-VM, but our company deals with local support for the solution, which is very good.
I rate the technical support a ten out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
As a system integrator, my company not only provides services for Fortinet FortiGate-VM but also for products like Palo Alto and Check Point.
How was the initial setup?
The product's initial setup phase was easy.
The solution is deployed on an on-premises model.
The product's installation phase takes three hours if our company's customers provide us with all the prerequisites required for the deployment.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Cost-wise, I would describe Fortinet FortiGate-VM as a tool that is available for a good price.
Two years ago, the price for the license of the product was affordable, but I think that in the present time, there has been an increase in the price of the product by around 30 percent, making it an expensive tool in the process. I rate the product price a three on a scale of one to ten, where one is a high price, and ten is a low price.
What other advice do I have?
My team consists of around 15 engineers who help me take care of the technical aspects of the product.
I recommend the product to those who plan to use it. I rate the overall tool an eight and a half to nine out of ten.
The product that is easy to maintain and offers intuitiveness to users
What is our primary use case?
Fortinet FortiGate-VM was used for our company's customers, but presently, most of our clients use Sophos UTM.
My company's clients use Fortinet FortiGate-VM to protect their entire internal network.
What is most valuable?
Fortinet FortiGate-VM has very good features. The most important factor about the product is that it is very intuitive. Fortinet FortiGate-VM is very handy compared to Check Point and Palo Alto.
With Fortinet FortiGate-VM, you get all the tools in the basic package, so there is no need to get a special platform for each component, which makes it much easier to implement.
What needs improvement?
The stability of the product is an area of concern where improvements are required.
The response time of the technical support team is an area of concern where improvements are needed.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Fortinet FortiGate-VM for a few years. My company has a partnership with Fortinet.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Stability-wise, I rate the solution a seven out of ten.
There are certain issues that users may face when they update Fortinet FortiGate-VM due to some bugs.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Considering that the machines work with the same operating system and in the same method in an environment, the use of the scalability feature is very easy.
Scalability-wise, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.
I work with our company's small, medium, and enterprise-sized clients who use the solution.
How are customer service and support?
At times, you can get a quick answer from the support team, but for some cases or issues, it takes a long time for the technical team to respond.
I rate the technical support a seven out of ten.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Neutral
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have experience with Check Point and Palo Alto. The first firewall that my company worked with was Check Point, and we have used it for many years.
How was the initial setup?
The product is easy to implement.
The solution is deployed on the cloud and on an on-premises model.
The complexity of the organization determines the time required to deploy the solution. Basically, it takes three hours to deploy the product, and for a big company, it takes two days.
One good engineer is enough to take care of the deployment phase of the product.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The pricing of the product depends on a company's negotiation skills, and if a company can't get it at a good price, there are other tools that can be purchased from the market.
I rate the product price a seven on a scale of one to ten, where one is a low price, and ten is a high price.
Our company needs to make either a yearly or a three-year payment towards the licensing charges attached to the product. There are no additional costs attached to the solution apart from the tool's licensing charges.
What other advice do I have?
Fortinet FortiGate-VM is a very good product.
The maintenance of the product is very easy. One person is required to take care of the maintenance of the product.
I recommend the product to those who plan to use it. Before buying the product, people should consider the ease of implementation Fortinet FortiGate-VM offers.
Check Point is the best when it comes to monitoring and investigating logs. In general, the most important thing users should consider is that the implementation part should be good, for which Fortinet FortiGate-VM is the best.
I rate the overall tool an eight out of ten.
An expensive solution that is stable and scalable
What needs improvement?
The tool is expensive.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been working with the product for two years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I rate the tool's stability a ten out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Fortinet FortiGate-VM is scalable. We have 15 users.
How was the initial setup?
Fortinet FortiGate-VM's deployment is easy.
What other advice do I have?
I rate Fortinet FortiGate-VM an eight out of ten.