Fortinet FortiNAC vs Sophos Network Access Control comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Fortinet FortiNAC and Sophos Network Access Control based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Network Access Control (NAC) solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
To learn more, read our detailed Fortinet FortiNAC vs. Sophos Network Access Control Report (Updated: March 2024).
763,955 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiNAC are user device management and there are plenty of policies.""The device fingerprinting feature allowed for easy creation and enforcement of access policies.""The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiNAC is compliance, which we can do with the clients and the endpoints on the network.""The most valuable feature of the solution is having visibility over the IoT devices on the network.""With FortiNAC, we don't need to configure the mass client site or access points. For example, we don't need to configure the switching site for a client's site. With Persistent Agent, it makes it much easier.""The product's most valuable feature is its ability to protect devices connected to network service.""Fortinet FortiNAC is a stable solution.""The features are more expandable."

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"The wifi control is fantastic and makes it very easy to administer.""I found all Sophos Network Access Control features valuable, but IP blocking is the most useful.""Sophos Network Access Control has a useful interface, and I like its dashboard, which is very useful for us to check everything.""The initial setup is very easy.""The solution offers very good visibility.""The pricing is very reasonable and you can negotiate on the price.""Sophos' technical support is great, very fast and responsive, and they always know how to fix the problem.""The most valuable features of Sophos Network Access Control are the quick response times to threats and reliable security."

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Cons
"The automation in Fortinet FortiNAC could improve.""This solution could be more agile.""The response and resolution time for technical support issues need to be improved.""The GUI in Fortinet FortiNAC could improve.""I would like to be able to compare the configuration backup before and after.""Admin UI could be better matched and easier to use; it cannot work as a RADIUS server.""The reporting capability needs to be improved.""Its technical support needs improvement."

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"Sophos Network Access Control needs improvement regarding its slow interface, loading time, and reporting.""The solution can improve the for applying policies. They can be complex depending don't the group they are applied to.""I would like to see mobile administration capabilities in the next release so that we can administer the device from a mobile device.""It would be good if Sophos Network Access Control had better integration with other devices.""What needs to be improved on is the fact that Sophos consumes a lot of processor resources and, once it starts scanning, the RAM utilization is very high.""Sophos Network Access Control requires a lot of resources to work, which is an area for improvement. Pricing could also be improved because it's costly.""I would like more details on the incoming connection, like what is the download speed and how it fluctuates. If Sophos can give that information, it would be really good.""There is room for improvement in pricing."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "It's a subscription-based license, which is based on the usage and number of concurrent users."
  • "The licensing fees are a little bit high."
  • "The pricing is similar to that of other solutions."
  • "The price of the license required is based on how many users are going to be using the solution. If you want more users you can upgrade your license."
  • "For the projects that we do the Fortinet FortiNAC is affordable."
  • "It's a pricey solution."
  • "The solution is expensive. However, it is not as expensive as other solutions, such as Cisco ISE."
  • "The price of Fortinet FortiNAC is less than Cisco's solution. However, the price could improve by being reduced."
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  • "Sophos Network Access Control is costly but has a similar price range as CrowdStrike and Check Point. The product can get more market share if Sophos can play around with Sophos Network Access Control pricing and improve it."
  • "I rate the price of Sophos Network Access Control a five out of ten."
  • "Sophos Network Access Control is very cheap compared to other solutions like Cisco, Barracuda, and Palo Alto."
  • "It provides a moderate pricing option for all of its features and benefits."
  • "It is quite expensive."
  • "Sophos Network Access Control is an expensive solution."
  • More Sophos Network Access Control Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:I've done quite a lot of work with ClearPass, and not a lot with FortiNAC/Bradford. ClearPass incorporates a number of different functions including ClearPass Guest for creating complex wireless… more »
    Top Answer:Cisco ISE uses AI endpoint analytics to identify new devices based on their behavior. It will also notify you if someone plugs in with a device that is not allowed and will block it. The user… more »
    Top Answer:The most valuable aspect of Fortinet FortiNAC is the control it offers.
    Top Answer:Sophos Network Access Control has a useful interface, and I like its dashboard, which is very useful for us to check everything.
    Top Answer:I last used Sophos Network Access Control for user access control. I expected the solution to combine all of the network devices in our organization. We sometimes have problems with the solution's… more »
    Ranking
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    7,918
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    Average Words per Review
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    Rating
    7.9
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    2,039
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    Average Words per Review
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    Rating
    8.6
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    FortiNAC, Bradford Networks, Bradford Networks Sentry, Network Sentry Family
    Learn More
    Overview

    Fortinet's FortiNAC is a network access control solution that provides visibility, control, and automated response for everything that connects to the network, enhancing the security fabric. FortiNAC protects against Internet of Things (IoT) threats, extends control to third-party devices, and orchestrates automated responses to a variety of networking events.

    Using many information and behavior sources, FortiNAC delivers extensive profiling of even headless devices on your network, allowing you to precisely identify what's on your network.

    You can change the configurations of switches and wireless equipment from more than 70 vendors to implement micro-segmentation regulations. You can also extend the security fabric's reach in diverse contexts.

    With FortiNac, you can respond in seconds to events in your network to stop attacks from spreading. When the relevant behavior is seen, FortiNAC offers a rich and customized set of automation policies that can rapidly trigger configuration changes.

    Fortinet FortiNAC Features

    Fortinet FortiNAC has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

    • Agent or agentless (automated) scanning of the network for device detection and classification
    • Generates a list of all the devices on the network.
    • Evaluates the risk of each network endpoint.
    • Consolidates the architecture to make deployment and management easier
    • Gives wide support for third-party network devices to maintain compatibility with current network infrastructure,
    • Automates the process of onboarding a large number of endpoints, users, and visitors.
    • Enables network segmentation and enforces dynamic network access restriction.
    • Reduces the time it takes to contain a problem from days to seconds.
    • Reduces investigation time by reporting events to SIEM with detailed contextual data.

    Fortinet FortiNAC Benefits

    There are many benefits to implementing DX Spectrum. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

    • Automatic response: FortiNAC will continuously monitor the network, analyzing endpoints to ensure they meet their profile. FortiNAC will rescan devices to verify that MAC-address spoofing does not compromise the security of your network access. FortiNAC can also keep an eye out for unusual traffic patterns. The FortiGate appliances are used in conjunction with this passive anomaly detection. When a compromised or vulnerable endpoint is identified as a threat, FortiNAC initiates a real-time automatic response to confine the endpoint.

    • Total device visibility: FortiNAC monitors the entire network and provides total visibility. FortiNAC searches your network for users, applications, and devices. FortiNAC may then profile each element based on observed attributes and reactions, as well as drawing on FortiGuard's IoT Services, a cloud-based database for identification look-ups, using up to 21 distinct techniques.
    • Dynamic network management: Once the devices and users have been identified, FortiNAC allows for extensive network segmentation to allow devices and users access to critical resources while preventing unauthorized access. FortiNAC employs dynamic role-based network access control to conceptually establish network segments by grouping similar applications and data together to restrict access to a certain set of users and/or devices. If a device is compromised in this way, its capacity to travel through the network and target other assets is constrained. FortiNAC assists in the protection of sensitive data and assets while maintaining compliance with internal, industry, and government standards and directives. Assuring the integrity of devices before they join the network reduces the chance of malware spreading.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Fortinet FortiNAC stands out among its competitors for a number of reasons. Two major ones are its robust network segmentation and its device visibility. PeerSpot users take note of the advantages of these features in their reviews:

    A Senior Proposal Manager at a tech services company writes of the solution, “The network segmentation is the most important part of the solution. The integration with the Zero Trust Access solution is a crucial part of segmenting your network.”

    Eranjaya K., Security Engineer at Eguardian lanka, notes, “We use Fortinet FortiNAC to receive excellent visibility of our network for traffic and what devices are connected to prevent attacks.” He adds, “I have found Fortinet FortiNAC to be scalable.”

    Sophos NAC Provides comprehensive, easy-to-deploy network access control that protects enterprise networks from the threats posed by non-compliant, compromised, or misconfigured endpoint computers. The software solution is vendor-neutral and works with existing network infrastructure and security applications. Computers are permitted or denied access to the network, based on a centrally defined, policy-driven assessment - and isolated, quarantined for remediation, automatically remediated, or sent alerts. Administrators can define and manage policies uniquely for managed and guest computers, including checking their security status and ensuring that no unwanted applications are run.
    Sample Customers
    Isavia, Pepperdine University, Medical University of South Carolina, Columbia University Medical Center, Utah Valley University
    Rushmoor Borough Council
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Comms Service Provider24%
    Financial Services Firm16%
    Computer Software Company16%
    Manufacturing Company12%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Educational Organization32%
    Computer Software Company12%
    Comms Service Provider6%
    Government5%
    REVIEWERS
    Financial Services Firm43%
    Manufacturing Company29%
    University14%
    Energy/Utilities Company14%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company14%
    Government10%
    Real Estate/Law Firm8%
    Comms Service Provider8%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business52%
    Midsize Enterprise24%
    Large Enterprise24%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business19%
    Midsize Enterprise43%
    Large Enterprise38%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business75%
    Midsize Enterprise13%
    Large Enterprise13%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business25%
    Midsize Enterprise20%
    Large Enterprise54%
    Buyer's Guide
    Fortinet FortiNAC vs. Sophos Network Access Control
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiNAC vs. Sophos Network Access Control and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    763,955 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Fortinet FortiNAC is ranked 4th in Network Access Control (NAC) with 23 reviews while Sophos Network Access Control is ranked 7th in Network Access Control (NAC) with 9 reviews. Fortinet FortiNAC is rated 7.6, while Sophos Network Access Control is rated 8.6. The top reviewer of Fortinet FortiNAC writes "Easy to use and monitors the antivirus performance". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Sophos Network Access Control writes "Reliable with good security capabilities and an easy setup". Fortinet FortiNAC is most compared with Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine), Aruba ClearPass, Forescout Platform, Fortinet FortiAuthenticator and F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM), whereas Sophos Network Access Control is most compared with Cisco ISE (Identity Services Engine), Aruba ClearPass, F5 BIG-IP Access Policy Manager (APM), Ruckus Cloudpath and Forescout Platform. See our Fortinet FortiNAC vs. Sophos Network Access Control report.

    See our list of best Network Access Control (NAC) vendors.

    We monitor all Network Access Control (NAC) reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.