Fortinet FortiGate-VM Other Advice

SHUBHAM BHINGARDE - PeerSpot reviewer
Project Engineer at CDAC

The tool improved the security in our company's virtualized environment, as it was helpful in creating an additional layer of security for the organization and for the use of the internet. The tool was the most important product to be implemented in the organization.

To be able for our organization to build our services, we need to operate inside a certain network while ensuring that the outside traffic gets blocked by using the firewall services from the tool, as it helps to create a secure network inside our company. Without the tool in our organization, our network would have been compromised. The aforementioned area consists of details related to how the tool helps with the workload protection aspect.

I recommend the solution to others who plan to use it since it helps in areas where it helps block a particular website with the help of the firewall functionalities that it possesses. The tool also helps block outside traffic, and it is mandatory to implement a firewall as an organization grows for the smooth operations of business.

I rate the tool a ten out of ten.

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RajeshKumar20 - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Engineer at Team Computers

Speaking about how the tool improved security within our company's virtualized environment, I would say that if I go for VPN, data in the cloud, or more number of users, then Palo Alto Networks is the best. If there is a smaller number of users, then Fortinet FortiGate-VM is good.

For an MNC organization, Palo Alto Networks is a good option. For Indian organizations, I recommend Fortinet FortiGate-VM.

A scenario where the solution was essential for cloud workload protection is applicable in a small company with 100 to 200 users of the product. If you need a tool without much of an investment, then it is better to choose Fortinet FortiGate-VM.

The most effective part of the tool that is useful for network threat prevention is Fortinet Secure SD-WAN, which is free of cost and is available with a large number of uplink ports, so the servers can directly have a firewall, which is not something that is possible for Palo Alto Networks.

I recommend the product to those who plan to use it. The product has a lot of customers in India.

If I consider Fortinet FortiGate-VM's growing network demands, I rate the scalability a seven to eight out of ten.

The management and configuration areas in the product are easy.

The product offers a lot of security tools to meet a lot of security needs. Fortinet allows you to add security solutions one by one in your environment.

Depending on the product's capability to deal with network scenarios and the use of internal and external firewalls, I rate the overall tool a ten out of ten.

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Dr. Ravi_Sharma - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Executive Officer at SST Infotech India Pvt Ltd

I rate Fortinet FortiGate-VM nine out of 10. It's a solid product overall, but Fortinet support has a lot of room for improvement. I wouldn't recommend it for an enterprise use case. It might work, but you should test it first. They have various options, so you should pick one that meets your business requirements and your environment.

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Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiGate-VM
April 2024
Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiGate-VM. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2024.
768,246 professionals have used our research since 2012.
AnilKumar35 - PeerSpot reviewer
Director - User Experience Design at HighRadius

I rate the overall tool a nine out of ten.

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Jared Carmouche - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Cyber Security Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

If you're looking for an enterprise-level next-generation firewall, go with FortiGate. It’s hands down the best value for what you pay. Overall, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

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Abdelzaher Ahmed - PeerSpot reviewer
Senior Network Security at Gofaster

I would recommend Fortinet for large-scale companies and Sophos for medium or small enterprises. I would rate it 8 out of 10.

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Victor Akidiva - PeerSpot reviewer
CEO at Semper Systemis Ltd

It's a good solution. It’s worth checking out. It is easy to configure and quite easy to use. Some solutions are built by engineers for engineers. The product is a bit relatively easy to use and work with. Overall, I rate the solution an eight or nine out of ten.

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AV
Cloud Consultant at Tata Consultancy

My advice is if you have to go with the complete stack, go with the complete stack, not the replacement-only product. Don't look at it as a replacement. Choose a platform.

Overall, I would rate it a nine out of ten. The reason is that I have a next-generation firewall. Fortinet FortiGate-VM provides various deployment options, such as physical or virtual devices, and it can be easily integrated with public clouds. Additionally, I can integrate it with other Fortinet products like network access control or zero trust network access in a single step, which is very convenient. Their security stack portfolio works well with my hybrid mesh firewall, and I am satisfied with its integration capabilities.

We have had a very good experience with Fortinet FortiGate-VM. They are usually the first choice for us when it comes to designing. We have certain products for certain purposes, and this one is our preferred choice for firewall purposes.

Moreover, They have hardware appliances that can be deployed on-premise, virtual appliances deployed on the cloud, and a mesh that can form a cluster. It's very good.

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PS
Owner / Principal Consultant at Stratus Concept LLC

I primarily work as a consultant. 

The solution's deployment was on-premises, however, there were VPNs set up for remote access, VPNs set up for site-to-site, and VPNs set up for cloud-based SIEM.

As with any solution, you need to size it. You need to plan what you're going to do and what your expectations are with it before you choose the pure model. After that, proper planning is needed before you try to deploy it so you don't have to back stuff out.

I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten.

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SelormAhiataku - PeerSpot reviewer
System&Network Administrator at Spearhead Networks

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.

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Raphael Haroun  Ikyagh - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Administrator at Letshego

My recommendation is: If you use FortiGate-VM, make sure your infrastructure is good first and that power generation is very stable. 

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MA
Network Engineer at MDS Arabia

When advising the team for cost reduction, I suggest going with the VM if there's no budget. However, if there is a budget, I recommend purchasing the hardware. For all vendors, technically speaking, hardware is considered better than VM. However, for Fortinet, the difference between VM and hardware is mainly budget-related. If the customer has a budget, it's advisable to purchase the hardware. When recommending from the sales team's perspective, if the customer has a budget, they will suggest going with hardware. If there's no budget, the recommendation is to opt for VM, especially if the customer is working with Azure or AWS. The difference between VM and hardware lies primarily in patches, and overall, everything is satisfactory. One aspect worth noting is that during VM deployment, checking connectivity between the hypervisor, distribution switch, and network firewall is required. In contrast, for hardware, once the configuration is complete, connectivity is straightforward.

As for my overall rating of the FortiGate VM solution on a scale from one to ten, with one being the worst and ten being the best, I would rate it as a ten.

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Aung Min Oo - PeerSpot reviewer
Director at Optimity company limited

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.

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LC
Senior Network Engineer at SONDA

I'm working in a Fortinet partner company. I'm a reseller.

I'm dealing with the latest version of the product.

I like the 100F version, and it may be a good option for most clients, however, it might not be right for every company. It's a good idea to figure out what you need before you decide to avoid purchasing something that's not right for your company's needs.

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Mark Moloney - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Network Manager at a non-profit with 51-200 employees

Realize that it is not Cisco, and it doesn't work the same way. You got to pay attention to what you're doing. Those who are super familiar with Cisco got to pay attention to what you're doing because it works differently.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten. It works well. Except for the dual-factor authentication feature, it has all the next-generation features that you need for a standard user.

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OM
Deputy Director at a comms service provider with 11-50 employees

Fortinet FortiGate-VM is purpose-built as a next-generation firewall, excelling in its performance of this specific function. Its designated place in the network aligns perfectly with its capabilities, making it an ideal device for its intended purpose. Overall, I would rate it ten out of ten.

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MT
Network Architect at Bouygues telecom

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.

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AE
Independent Consultant at a educational organization with 201-500 employees

I'm a Fortinet reseller. I'm not sure which version of the solution we're using. We're likely using version seven or six. 

We use cloud and on-premises deployments. 

I'd recommend the solution to other small or medium-sized companies. I would not recommend it to enterprises. 

I would rate the solution eight out of ten. It is unified, and it is easy to integrate into other Fortinet products. 

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TN
Network Administrator Team Lead at a financial services firm with 51-200 employees

I will recommend the solution. If it's a first-time deployment in Azure, they need to understand a couple of things, like the interfaces we need to create. The good thing about FortiGate is that they don't hide how their devices work. You can go to their website and get every instruction that you need at any time. It's straightforward and even has pictures showing you what you should expect. I've done a few changes for the first time, and I didn't have to stress. But you must know the infrastructure well.

On a scale from one to ten, I would five Fortinet FortiGate-VM a ten.

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TP
General Manager at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees

When evaluating the overall solution, it is important to consider both the benefits and drawbacks. Fortinet FortiGate-VM presents a multitude of advantages that make it a fantastic product choice. It offers exceptional stability, a scalable design, and unparalleled support from the manufacturer. It is with great confidence that I wholeheartedly recommend Fortinet as a reliable and valuable solution.

I would recommend this solution to others as long as it's fulfilling the requirements of the customer.

I rate Fortinet FortiGate-VM an eight out of ten.

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YK
Chief Information Security Officer at a consultancy with 1-10 employees

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.

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Jasmit Singh Juneja - PeerSpot reviewer
CEO & Technology Specialist at Karman Infotech Private Limited

There's not much maintenance required. One to two people is required. Patches and upgrades are required and happen automatically if you've configured it that way. It is easy to deploy over the cloud. There are ready appliances to run in a public cloud like Amazon, Microsoft, or Google Cloud.

I recommend the solution. It is fantastic, easy to deploy, and very scalable. It saves a lot of time. Some particular hardware is not available in stock. FortiGate-VM is a good alternative. You could download, configure, and apply it. You could buy it online or from a Fortinet partner. It's quick and easy to set up.

Overall, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

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MA
Cyber Security architect at Avanade

We are implementors. 

We have both virtual and physical servers.

I would advise new users first to ensure they have strong knowledge before attempting an implementation. It has everything a company might need and it is scalable. However, the person doing the implementation itself needs to be skilled. There might be a lot of things going on during implementation that need to be dealt with properly.

I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten.

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GB
Principal Network Engineer at a computer software company with 201-500 employees

I rate FortiGate-VM an eight out of ten. I recommend this solution to others. There's a use case, like any cloud-based firewall. 

We're an MSP, so we sell, configure, and manage these solutions for customers. 

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OT
CIO at Viciunai & Ireland

Overall, I would rate the solution a nine out of ten. 

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BK
Ecommerce Project Manager at Equine World

I would recommend the hardware firewall unless you have specific constraints. If you're installing on a server or desktop, and something happens like a cache issue, you won't have the same backup options as a physical appliance.

With hardware, you can claim a warranty, get a new unit, and easily restore from your existing backup. That wouldn't be as straightforward with a VM.

Over a hundred customers have deployed the physical Fortinet firewall based on my recommendations.

Overall, I would rate the solution a seven out of ten. 

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MR
Manager, Infrastructure Support at Al Jaber Group

I'd rate the solution seven out of ten. I only really use the solution for communication and ordering support.

We don't have a business relationship with Fortigate. We're just a customer.

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AA
IT Support Team Leader at a tech services company with 201-500 employees

FortiGate-VM is a good solution, and I would say one of the best solutions on the market.

I would rate it an eight out of ten. 

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Florian-Buis - PeerSpot reviewer
CEO at Easyteam

Overall, I rate the product a nine out of ten.

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Volodymyr Khorenzhyi - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineer at Thunder Software Technology Co., Ltd.

I rate Fortinet FortiGate-VM an eight out of ten. 

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Tenishan Fernando - PeerSpot reviewer
Solution Architect - Network and Cybersecurity at NCinga

It would be beneficial for Forti to expand its cybersecurity solutions even further. While solutions like FortiSolor exist, there's room to enhance feature sets in line with the increasing requirements of compliance and private security needs. These can effectively address client-side security needs. Comparing Forti's offerings to competitors, certain strengths stand out. There are notable visibility and flexible configuration options. The client-side experience benefits from robust management capabilities accessible through this solution and the troubleshooting becomes seamless because of good visibility and an effective controller. I would rate it an eight out of ten.

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Thabo Molemele - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Administrator at Furnmart

I recommend the solution to others and rate it a nine.

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JK
Principal & CTO at Constructure Technologies at a construction company with 11-50 employees

I would recommend stopping waiting to use Fortinet Fortigate. It's really a great solution and their support is very good. SonicWall has awful support. I can't say more strongly how bad SonicWall has ever been.

With the engineers, everything is difficult to phrase. They don't understand what you're trying to do. They should understand. Their first-level support is terrible. They really don't understand. You can't get to the next level without going through level one. 

Level one is terrible. It's frustrating enough that we just do it ourselves with Google articles because of this.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

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AF
Global sales head at MEPCSA

We're just customers. We don't have a professional relationship with the organization. We're using the latest version of the solution.

I have learned that they have some internal resources available. However, those who are not trained and certified should not be experimenting with it. 

I'd advise other organizations that, if they don't have a proper administrator who can monitor and maintain their appliance, it's better they if don't implement it. It's not like somebody who has a background of software can handle Fortinet. They need to be properly trained and knowledgable.

I'd rate the solution seven out of ten overall.

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SB
Security Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees

Fortinet FortiGate-VM is easy to test due to the available videos and QuickBooks with a lot of information. The solution is presented simply and is more robust in security compared to Palo Alto, which is complicated. For our team, Fortinet FortiGate-VM is the best choice as information is easily available on the internet, and it is open source. Unlike other solutions, we can find everything on how to deploy, manage, and support it. Moreover, we were provided Fortinet FortiGate-VM for free, which helped us develop our skills quickly.

It is a stable and good solution. Those planning to use the solution should go through Fortinet FortiGate-VM's guide and prepare for the integration while having a good design and good view. Also, it is important to plan deployment steps since step-by-step deployment of the solution is needed to avoid any problems. I rate the overall solution a ten out of ten.

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AM
Head of IT at a mining and metals company with 10,001+ employees

We are a customer and an end-user.

I'm not sure which version of the solution we're using.

I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten.

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ST
Technology consultant at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees

I am on the implementation team, meaning that we configure the firewalls for our customers, mostly consisting of the BFSI banks and accounting for 2,000 people who make use of the solution. 

I cannot proffer advice to others who are considering implementation of the solution. All I can say is that it is straightforward and simple, only requiring configuration. 

I rate Fortinet Fortigate-VM as a seven out of ten.

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DP
Team Leader Network & Security at Rogers Capital

Normally I don't really push a virtual appliance. Some customers may be interested in a virtual appliance for scalability. For most of our customers, we are pushing hardware-based solutions and not a virtual appliance.

For example, if we have a customer that has a private data center in Mauritius and wants to have a hybrid solution, let's say to interconnect on the public cloud, and they want to do SD-WAN to secure it from the public to its current on-premises data center, normally we will go with the virtual appliance on the public side. 

I would recommend Fortinet's hardware 100% of the time, especially in comparison to Palo Alto. With the VM, it's a harder question to answer. A better question would be: what do you will prefer for a next-generation firewall? Do you prefer Fortinet? Do you recommend Fortinet or Cisco or Palo Alto? I would say personally I always recommend Fortinet. I will continue to due to the fact that the cost and the integration, and the general user-friendliness, are all impressive.

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten. I'd rate it higher if it had a longer trial, better licensing, and stronger technical support. There are still places for improvement in the solution.

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Juraj Elias - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Core Network Architect at O2 Netwirks

I rate the overall solution a seven out of ten. 

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JB
IT consultant at mLogix Systemhaus
I rate Fortinet FortiGate-VM an eight out of ten. View full review »
OB
Solution Architect at Ambsan

One person is suitable in a 24-hour period for the maintenance of the solution. A three to five administrator maintenance team would be sufficient to cover all the maintenance shifts per week.

I highly recommend Fortinet FortiGate-VM to others.

I rate Fortinet FortiGate-VM a nine out of ten.

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Thabo Molemele - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Administrator at Furnmart

To me, this is one of the best firewalls I've ever used. I would rate this solution as nine out of ten.

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Yasir Obaid - PeerSpot reviewer
Managing Director at Technometrics Limited

POCs are definitely the way to go because cyber-security is still in many cases new for many clients. Cybersecurity is a very wide arena in today's day and age. There is no one single solution, every day someone else is innovating some specialization in some form or another. Clients would like to see a proof of concept before they go on a large full-scale deployment. 

In the next release, I would like to have the possibility of being able to offer cyber-insurance with this because this is something that I think is completely unavailable at the moment here. This would add a whole new dimension. 

I would rate it a seven out of ten. 

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MuhammadHaris - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Lead at Lemon Commuications

We are Fortinet partners. 

The solution is pretty good. 

I would recommend the solution to others. I've had a great experience with the virtual environment. 

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten. 

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KM
Programmer / Analyst at Maridive & Oil Services

I spent many years using Cyber and Sophos. Mainly, I use Sophos, while I use FortiGate-VM in the network background.

I see that Fortinet is a big company. I can't compare the Sophos and Fortinet solutions I'm using, because I'm using Sophos at the front, and behind Sophos, I'm using FortiGate-VM, so I can't give a good comparison or opinion. I've only used FortiGate-VM for one year.

It took nearly one month to complete the FortiGate-VM deployment because the decision came from upper management.

No other users use FortiGate-VM in our organization, because it's a device or appliance that only stands in front of our servers.

We don't have a need for maintenance yet. We've only been using it for one year and it currently needs no maintenance.

I don't know if our organization has plans to increase the usage of FortiGate-VM because this decision will come from upper management.

I'm a good observer and I'm still learning some feature metrics of this solution.

What I'd like to advice people looking into implementing FortiGate-VM is to study the FAQs of other users. You should know the tricks and what exactly is needed in this appliance. This is a very good appliance, but I have less experience with it compared to Sophos which I've used for many years.

I'm rating FortiGate-VM an eight out of ten.

Maybe others rate the vendor a 10 out of 10, but I'm sticking with eight.

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SM
Senior Security Engineer at a energy/utilities company with 1,001-5,000 employees

I was previously a customer. now I am a reseller and Fortinet partner.

We primarily use hardware-based appliances, including the 100 D/E series, 100F, 190 D/E's, ADCs, 600 E's. They are similar to VMs.

We're using the most recent code level at this time. We're one version behind the latest version. We tend to use one version behind the most recent for safety reasons so that we can avoid troublesome bugs or glitches.

Anyone looking to deploy Next-Gen firewalls, in general, should really define their use cases to be able to decide on the proper technology to deploy within the environment. If you're looking to deploy Next-Gen firewalls at all your locations and create point-to-point VPN tunnels, they can get cumbersome and difficult to manage policies. It is also difficult to do network segmentation. With some of the Zero-Trust offerings, you're able to actually move your clients outside of your corporate perimeter, and then isolate those applications based on the user per application, instead of requiring them to dial back via traditional VPN to your data centers, which sometimes isn't the best user experience for your end-users.

I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten.

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GD
Chief Information Officer at LCC Group Inc

We've also recently acquired FortiMail as well.

This solution has the basic functionalities required for a firewall. In fact, in terms of our evaluation, it's basic functionalities are enough for us. If I were to compare it to Palo Alto, it does not necessarily have the full capability of that particular solution. We're not a bank. We don't belong to the banking industry so we don't really need such high caliber firewalls that provide multiple levels of security. It's not required with our industry, so a mid-range firewall like Fortigate is perfect.

If your business is small or even enterprise-level, if it doesn't necessarily need multiple or heavy firewalls, Fortigate will actually work just fine for you.

I'd rate the solution seven out of ten. It perfectly meets our requirements.

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SI
Software Developer/ IT Analyst Individual Contributor at AIICO Capital Limited

We used to be on the cloud, but we phased it out more than a year ago.

I'd recommend the solution. It's one of the best on the market. It's great for financial services institutions. Security is important because of the type of companies that are typically dealing with it.

I'd advise that users use it within a firewall, to create a double layer of protection or something similar.

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten, especially when comparing it to other solutions.

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AZ
Project manager at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees

I would rate Fortinet FortiGate-VM a 10 out of 10. It tops others in terms of performance.

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RD
Chief Technology Officer at cornerstone defense

We're an end-user and a customer.

We have a plug-in with the subscription. We use the current version on their 100Es.

In general, I would advise other users that they need to look at whether they're going to go physical or virtual. I'd advise once they decide that to then look at the maybe lesser known next-generation firewalls that have functionality. The folks that are going to be operating the tool need to look at the user interface to make sure that that it is easy to use. Most users at an enterprise don't even know the firewall's there, let alone what it is, so they're not unique. I think all of the firewalls are pretty decent at not impacting users. The differentiator is which ones are easy to set up, which ones are easy to configure and use and how good they are at reporting.

The other thing I would say is, look at whether or not they integrate into your overall IT management, whether you're using ServiceNow or what you're using for IT management. How do the firewalls integrate with that or not? It's important.

I'd rate the solution at a four out of ten. It does base functions and it's doing that at a pretty high price.

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LM
Systems Engineer at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees

Overall, on a scale from one to ten, I would give this solution a rating of eight.

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Mostafa Edres - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Engineer at Click ITS

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.

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MS
Works at a hospitality company with 10,001+ employees

I rate Fortinet FortiGate-VM a seven out of ten.

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MA
Consultant at a comms service provider with 11-50 employees

My advice would be to look to the anticipated growth of the network before starting the implementation so that you are appropriately sizing the scope and size of the equipment.

Overall, on a scale from one to ten, I would give this solution a rating of seven — it's a solid product. Depending on the solution you need, some of the appliances can be a little cost-prohibitive at the high end, but at the low end, they're very cost-effective. Plus, the interface is simple to use. For the right customer, I think it's a solid play.

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SK
Network Security Engineer at a consumer goods company with 201-500 employees

I would recommend this solution to others. Especially if they are new to these types of solutions, it is easy to understand.

I rate Fortinet FortiGate-VM an eight out of ten.

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ZM
Solutions Architect at a computer software company with 5,001-10,000 employees

With our clients, there is a range of Fortinet FortiGate versions, anything from FortiGate 60E to FortiGate 3700D. 

Management connects to a FortiAnalyzer, and we have application firewalls as well.

We have a centralized data center where we have a combination of customers with on-premises equipment. This includes small devices to secure the customer's environment, and larger devices at the data center, specifically for our customers.

We try to build our services around Fortinet products.

We prefer to work with Fortinet products based on what we have learned from the Gartner Magic Quadrant, and I recommend them.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

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SS
Information Technology Solutions Manager at UBG

FortiGate-VM would be for more like a cloud or on-premise SMB environment. And for anyone wanting to scale-up and get big performance, it should be used as a physical appliance.

I would rate this solution a nine out of 10. 

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VH
Cyber Security Engineer at a healthcare company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Overall, I rate the solution an eight out of ten.

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MG
SecOps Lead at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

We are using the latest version of the solution. 

I'd recommend the solution to others, depending on the business requirements. It's a pretty good solution in general. 

I'd rate the product eight out of ten. 

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RS
Tech Security & Networking Support Lead at a venture capital & private equity firm with 51-200 employees

I would recommend this solution to others. It is a stable firmware, with many releases. It has a lot of features. Apart from the firewall, it comes with antivirus, IPS, and Web Application Firewall.

It has a lot of integration with external connectors, such as Teams, that are protected from threats that come from external sources.

I would rate Fortinet FortiGate-VM an eight out of ten.

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EX
Director at Treasure Technology

We're resellers of both Cisco and Fortigate solutions.

I'd advise other companies or users to give a try. The Virtual Appliance is very easy to set up. In terms of scalability, it's easy enough to expand out, especially if you compare it to the hardware. For the virtual solution, it's easily upgraded. For the physical, you need to do a POC.

It really depends on what kind of distributor a company is working with. Some provide you all the resources. Others don't. I'm not sure how it works with the Cisco Virtual Appliance. For Cisco, I only know about the cloud. 

Normally, I provide my customer with Meraki. I won't provide a Cisco solution, even though Meraki is part of Cisco.

I would rate the solution eight out of ten. There's still room for improvement. There could be a bit better support and not all solution providers offer this kind of Virtual Appliance in my region. Once more people use it, they may begin to improve on it even more.

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JR
Manager-Information Technology at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

We're using the latest version of the solution.

I'd recommend the solution. I'd rate it eight out of ten.

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it_user796206 - PeerSpot reviewer
Managing Partner

Look for the latest OS version, read the release notes and the technical documents for comparison.

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KL
Head of systems and technology at Hotel Zuana Beach Resort

I rate Fortinet FortiGate-VM a ten out of ten.

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SC
Director General CEO at SC Telecom

I rate FortiGate 10 out of 10. 

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VG
Owner at Mindware Computer Solutions

On a scale from one to ten, I would give Fortinet FortiGate-VM an eight.

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MV
Team leader technical support at a manufacturing company with 201-500 employees

I would definitely recommend this solution. I was advised to be very skeptical about the performance statistics as indicated in the documentation, but I didn't find that to be the case. It is very scalable with good performance.

I would rate Fortinet FortiGate-VM an eight out of ten.

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SS
Network Security Engineer at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees

I will say that for low-end firewalls, Fortinet is good compared to the others. The pricing is good, and when you need a new feature, you don't have to buy a new device.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

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EB
Engineering Manager at Primatel Communication Snd Bhd

I rate Fortinet FortiGate-VM eight out of 10. However, based on experience, we usually don't recommend using VM firewalls. We still prefer using a hardware-based firewall when that's appropriate. It depends on your needs and the size of your user base. With FortiGate-VM, you can control the size of your firewall if you're using VMs. But on the other hand, if you are using Microsoft Hyper-V, you need to address all these vulnerabilities of Microsoft. And if you're using VMware, then you need to deal with VMware's vulnerabilities. The hardware version of FortiGate has already been hardened based on FortiGate standards. That's the main difference between the FortiGate appliance and FortiGate-VM.

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Navin Rehnius - PeerSpot reviewer
SOC Analyst at Tata Consultancy Services, Ltd

I recommend this solution and would rate it a seven out of 10. 

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MC
Full support analyst at Gruppen

My sole experience with the solution is in the Azure environments. 

As a Fortinet partner, I make use of many of its products. 

As I feel Fortinet FortiGate-VM to be a good solution, I rate it as a ten out of ten. 

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MA
Information Security Manager at a financial services firm with 501-1,000 employees

Make sure that you're on the latest stable versions when you update code and stuff like that. That's one of the things that we've had some issues with in the past. 

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SE
Network Security Engineer at a tech company with 201-500 employees

Just like with Palo Alto, all products are deployed on the cloud.

We have a large number of customers who are making use of the solution, south of 30. Those in Qatar opt for the solution because of its comparative cost effectiveness. It is not only cheaper but also good.

I rate Fortinet FortiGate-VM as an eight out of ten. 

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Judit Fekete - PeerSpot reviewer
IT Manager at Zipper

We recommend this firewall often and we've actually used many solutions previously. Since we chose this one, we've been overall quite happy with the results. We recommend it largely due to the fact that we use the solution ourselves. 

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten. If it wasn't for the pricing model and the scalability issues, I would rate it higher.

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PB
Manager Information Technology at a media company with 51-200 employees

On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give it a 9. 

FortiGate is a nice and very good product but the implementation and post-implementation of the product are cumbersome. You have to manage four devices instead of two devices if I go for FortiAnalyzer. For a small, entry-level business, Fortinet should give the entire reporting on the UI so that end to end engineers can manage efficiently. So as technology is concerned, I give eight out of 10, but because of reporting, I would give five out of 10. I am just giving an example: if I know everything or you know everything but if you can't explain it, how do other people come to know that you know everything? FortiGate clearly captures each and everything for the backup capture and everything but it doesn't show what it is acquiring. Analytical reports are missing from there.

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LM
CISO at a religious institution with 501-1,000 employees

Overall, on a scale from one to ten, I would give this solution a rating of eight.

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DK
Information Technology Manager and ISMS Auditor at a consultancy with 51-200 employees

We were customers and end-users of the product. That is no longer the case.

We've moved off of the product recently. We wanted a cloud-based option and therefore we switched. 

Overall, I would recommend the solution. I would rate it at a ten out of ten.

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JD
IT Director at a retailer with 1,001-5,000 employees

At this point, aside from technical support, we have no issues with this product. It has everything that we need at the moment, and I cannot think of any other features that should be there.

My advice for anybody who is implementing FortiGate-VM is that they need to understand how their business operates and what their requirements are. They need to understand the technology in terms of security and performance before they purchase any devices.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

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it_user188481 - PeerSpot reviewer
Network Admin at a healthcare company with 501-1,000 employees

It was no different than any other rollout. Do as much configuring before dropping it into your environment (especially if you are using content filtering with multiple groups) and make sure you are able to rollback to the old device, if necessary. 

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NI
Network Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

We used to be just a customer, however, it's my understanding that now the company has partnered with Fortinet.

I'd rate the solution at a ten out of ten.

I always recommend Fortigate to other users. It's quite good. As long as you know, or learn the command line, you're probably going to be okay. Any problems we've had have been relatively insignificant in nature. The features, in general, have been so great. It's really been a very good product.

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JT
Operario de doblez cnc at CIE

The solution is FortiGate 60D and FortiGate-VM is FortiOS 5.2.2. I'm not sure which version of the solution we are currently on.

Our company exports this solution to large customers. We're partners with Fortinet.

We have the solution on a local server.

I'd rate the solution at an eight out of ten.

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it_user1277631 - PeerSpot reviewer
Director of Information Technology at KOTTO A.Ş.

Our customers for this virtual appliance are very happy with their deployments and I recommend it. This is not a perfect solution but we are not seeking one. Every product has room for improvement.

I would rate this solution an eight out of ten.

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MA
Technical Lead at a government with 1,001-5,000 employees

I rate Fortinet FortiGate-VM a nine out of ten.

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AM
Creative Head/Director at a marketing services firm with 1-10 employees

We deployed the solution in a vCenter, using VMware. We do so solely on cloud. 

We have around 10 clients who are making use of on-premises deployment. 

We usually recommend SonicWall and Sophos in place of the solution since, with this IPsec solution, if one configures to an HPE with the IPsec failover, it fails to work. 

I rate Fortinet FortiGate-VM as a seven out of ten. 

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AR
IT Specialist at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

I work with a service provider and he sells service in cloud and FortiGate products, including FortiGate VMs. With this, he sells services, and I work with him on support and initial configurations or deactivations for customers. 

I work with various versions of the solution, the latest being 7.7.

We use a variety of deployments, including on-premise and in public clouds. Not an American public cloud, however. Rather, it's a public cloud here in South America.

I'd rate the solution at a ten out of ten. the product is excellent and I am very happy with it overall.

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TL
Cyber Security Engineer at a tech vendor with 1-10 employees

I would recommend using Fortinet, especially its web security proxy and web security gate because it is quite useful for them.

I would suggest this solution.

I would rate this solution a nine out of ten.

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RV
Network Engineer at a maritime company with 201-500 employees

Overall, this is a good product with good features and priced well compared to others. It is GUI-based and I am happy with the interface. I would recommend it and cannot think of any changes that I would make. The only problem is that new releases tend to be a little buggy.

I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.

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RS
Associate Pre Sales at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees

For firewall devices, Fortinet is very good. They can improve on other solutions, I have used some solutions in the past that did not have a good UI. There are other things that Fortinet as a whole can focus on.

I rate Fortinet FortiGate-VM a nine out of ten.

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MT
Network Enginner at a comms service provider with 10,001+ employees

I like FortiGate-VM for constructing VPNs. It's easy to deploy. I would recommend it. It's quite easy.

I would rate FortiGate-VM a seven out of ten. Not a ten because I think that Cisco is better.

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RA
Senior Network Engineer at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

This is a very easy appliance, and they make it easy to learn. I would rate it as eight out of ten.

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EE
Lead Cybersecurity Analyst at a consultancy with 5,001-10,000 employees

We aren't really a customer or reseller, however, we do occasionally recommend the solution to clients from time to time.

The entity I was recently researching for was looking basically to replace some existing solutions. That was the reason why they were asking me to help them do some research. I, on a normal basis, don't do that much with it anymore. However, because I have access, I've been helping them.

I'm not using the latest version. I may be using the one before that, although I don't know the exact version number.

I would warn other organizations that there are some places where some people run into some roadblocks, and they're not sure what to do. My experience in the past has always been that, at least, the support is actually really good. Therefore, if they're running into a situation that they're not sure about, it's probably better to call and seek professional help, as opposed to trying to force it, because it can get confusing really quick.

I'd rate the solution eight out of ten.

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DS
Systems Engineer at a tech vendor with 5,001-10,000 employees

I'd give this solution a rating of nine out of ten.

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TD
Owner at a financial services firm with 1-10 employees

I would rate Fortinet FortiGate-VM a nine out of ten.

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RL
Chief of Security and Research at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

I'm a customer and an end-user.

We use the on-premises version due to the fact that, in Algeria, we do not use cloud deployments. 

I'd advise potential new users that it's a good edge solution, and not necessarily the best for data centers.

I'm very happy with this product and would rate it at a ten out of ten.

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MM
Network Analyst at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees

We are customers and end-users. We don't have a business relationship with Fortigate.

I would advise potential new users to check the compatibility of the UTM firewall, of the rules of your organization. It's not magic. It's hard work implementing that.

I'd rate the solution at a nine out of ten. We've been pretty happy with its capabilities.

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PB
Director Of Technology at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

Definitely, I would recommend this solution to others.

FortiGate Cloud and FortiGate-VM are the same product.

FortiOS is the operating system on FortiGate.

Fortinet has a very large product portfolio. You have the VM, and you have physical appliances for Firewalls.

I would rate Fortinet FortiGate-VM a nine out of ten.

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it_user795627 - PeerSpot reviewer
Director of Business Development

If you have enough budget and care about performance, Fortinet is a good choice.

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EC
Consultor Infraestructura, Networking y Seguridad en Seti Consulting at SETI CONSULTING

There are around 100 users making use of the solution in our organization. 

The solution is quite good. It is simple and fast. 

I rate Fortinet FortiGate-VM as a nine out of ten. 

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JV
Founder & Managing Director at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

I would recommend this solution. As a piece of tech, as a firewall, it's really good. Local channel support in South Africa is very strong. The functionality of the gate is good. I think it probably surpasses many of its competitors. So I would recommend it. I'm very familiar with the realities of looking at it so I'll be very open with my customers in recommending FortiGate and at the same time explaining the pitfalls to them. 

I would rate this product a seven out of 10. 

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it_user798288 - PeerSpot reviewer
Account Manager at a tech services company

I would recommend a company to use Fortinet, because it is an attractive solution. No bugs with a very easy installation guide, and also the support and the customer care, are very important. 

Fortinet is a nice solution with economic interfaces and a very useful installation guide. Very nice customer care, too, but the price, it is sometimes very expensive.

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LB
Responsable de Ingenieria at a tech services company with 1-10 employees

I recommend it 100%. Go ahead and implement it.

We are implementers of Fortinet among other things (Cisco, Sophos, HPE Networking, VMware, EMC, Zimbra, etc.).

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BB
IT Analyst at Comdados

We like this solution.

I would rate Fortinet FortiGate-VM an eight out of ten.

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it_user378003 - PeerSpot reviewer
Information Technology

This product surely will fit your basic needs at the very least. However, always match up the specifications of the products you will buy to your current and future needs.

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MR
Junior Network Engineer at a tech services company with 11-50 employees

We're partners of Fortinet.

We're using the latest version of the solution.

We have been using the solution while we have been waiting for the hard drive version of the solution, which has been delayed.

I would recommend the solution to other organizations. I'd rate the product eight out of ten.

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it_user769731 - PeerSpot reviewer
Technology Management - Specialist with 501-1,000 employees

Be aware of your own requirements.

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it_user680427 - PeerSpot reviewer
BETHEL SCIENCE AND MATH CONTENT COACH with 51-200 employees

Draw out a plan of what traffic to unconditionally allow (whitelist) and what traffic to restrict under what conditions, before you even unwrap the box.

It has taken me a little while to gain confidence in this product, but I am there now. There were challenges during setup, and many of them were self-inflicted.

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AW
Cyber Security Analyst at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees

I rate FortiGate-VM six out of 10.

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it_user790008 - PeerSpot reviewer
System/Network Administrator with 11-50 employees

Having support from your vendor is nice. Calling Fortinet directly with a support contract, they will help you take care of all your requirements. 

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Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiGate-VM
April 2024
Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiGate-VM. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: April 2024.
768,246 professionals have used our research since 2012.