Principal & CTO at Constructure Technologies at a construction company with 11-50 employees
Real User
Geofencing capabilities help us to reduce threats, and the support is good
Pros and Cons
  • "The most valuable feature is geofencing, where we can block all access from all non-domestic locations."
  • "In the next releases, it would be nice to see central cloud management."

What is our primary use case?

We use FortiGate as an edge security device. We are system integrators and we use this product ourselves, as well as implement it for our clients.

How has it helped my organization?

The geofencing and blocking capabilities for all non-domestic countries lower the attack surface by approximately 85%.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable feature is geofencing, where we can block all access from all non-domestic locations.

What needs improvement?

In the next releases, it would be nice to see central cloud management.

They have an on-premises solution that you can deploy for fleet management or for multiple site management, but it seems like a cloud solution would be a little bit easier.

Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiGate-VM
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiGate-VM. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
765,386 professionals have used our research since 2012.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using FortiGate for the past two years.

We are using the latest version.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

This is a very stable solution.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

So far, this product has scaled very well. We have approximately 100 deployed, as edge devices. Currently, it is our only edge device and we plan to continue rolling it out in the future.

How are customer service and support?

Their technical support is great.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We used Cisco ASAs exclusively before changing exclusively to FortiGate.

We decided to change to FortiGate because the entitlement was too difficult on Cisco.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward and it takes approximately two hours to deploy.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Licensing is pretty standard. It's approximately 15% of the total cost per year as a subscription cost.

The subscription cost also includes support for entitlement, which was not the case with Cisco. That was the deciding factor. We changed our whole install base because of that.

There are no additional costs other than the standard licensing fees.

What other advice do I have?

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.

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
PeerSpot user
Global sales head at MEPCSA
Real User
Good monitoring and competitive pricing but needs integration with the exchange
Pros and Cons
  • "We are able to closely monitor the usages of individual users and see their usage habits and other items, including the data itself, which gives us quite a bit of visibility."
  • "The one thing that could be improved is the integration with the exchange. The gateway level controls can be enhanced a bit more. For example, it's still little here and there. You do get malicious attacks and suspicious emails like spam. It's not like Sophos where we got a lot of spam email, and yet, it's still relatively vulnerable. It can be upgraded, maybe with a fifth-generation firmware that it is ready for unknown threats."

What is our primary use case?

The solution is mainly used for remote connectivity and endpoint and gateway network security.

What is most valuable?

The most valuable aspect of the solution is the V-Scanner which is the monitoring software. That's something that I love. 

We are able to closely monitor the usages of individual users and see their usage habits and other items, including the data itself, which gives us quite a bit of visibility.

What needs improvement?

I think one thing we couldn't find in the software console was all of our logs. In the logs themselves, for example, we couldn't find if a user was accessing all of the VPN. We don't get to know or we don't have a report that shows on what date or for how long and from what time he user has logged on. We don't have that particular feature or that kind of visibility. That could be improved. Reporting, therefore, in general, could be improved.

The one thing that could be improved is the integration with the exchange. The gateway level controls can be enhanced a bit more. For example, it's still little here and there. You do get malicious attacks and suspicious emails like spam. It's not like Sophos where we got a lot of spam email, and yet, it's still relatively vulnerable. It can be upgraded, maybe with a fifth-generation firmware that it is ready for unknown threats. 

Especially after this pandemic situation, it requires a little more enhancement. For an SME level organization, it's okay, but when it comes to corporate and banking enterprises it still requires a lot of enhancement. Comparing it to Palo Alto, for example, it's still very behind the curve.

For how long have I used the solution?

We've been using the solution for two years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is very stable. It's reliable, for the most part.

It's stable, comparatively, to the fifth generation UDL appliances or other software that is available in the market. It's quite stable for the integration. It still requires more of a formal enhancement for speedy patches and speedy updates.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution has a moderate amount of scalability potential. I wouldn't say it's the best, however, it is possible to scale it if you need to.

We have about 25-30 people on the VM currently.

How are customer service and technical support?

We've never had to contact Fortigate's technical support, so I can't speak to their quality of service. If we have any issues on the solution, we tend to handle the problem internally.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We used to have Sophos and we shifted to Fortinet about two years ago.

The integration of the active directory with Sophos was not up to spec. We decided to drop it and instead went ahead with Fortinet.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup was a bit difficult. It's not perfectly straightforward. This may have been due to the fact that we were using ISA, which is pretty determined, and we had to migrate from ISA to Sophos and from Sophos to Fortinet. It was a little difficult, but not that complex.

For us, the implementation took about two weeks.

Each quarter we have a managed service contract with the integrator and they do any preventative maintenance every quarter. We have four visits in a year that we have agreed upon. Every quarter they come to us and they do some penetration testing and see the usability features and give us a report.

What about the implementation team?

We outsourced the implementation to an integrator that handled the setup for us. They also handle quarterly maintenance for us.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing of the solution is moderate. It's competitive, although I wouldn't consider it a cheap solution per se.

Aside from the licensing, there are some add-ons that need to be added that we personally haven't added. There are features such as content filtering, etc., that we haven't opted for. However, users can add them on if they need to for an additional cost.

What other advice do I have?

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.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

On-premises
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
Buyer's Guide
Fortinet FortiGate-VM
March 2024
Learn what your peers think about Fortinet FortiGate-VM. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: March 2024.
765,386 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Security Engineer at a computer software company with 51-200 employees
Real User
Top 10
An easily deployable solution that can function as a firewall for multiple servers
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution's initial setup process was very easy."
  • "Sizing can be challenging for customers interested in using Fortinet FortiGate-VM."

What is our primary use case?

Fortinet FortiGate-VM is used as a firewall for multiple servers.

What needs improvement?

Price is okay and can be considered in the middle range, provided we compare it with other solutions. So, the solution can be made cheaper.

Fortinet FortiGate-VM should have a public forum where engineers can ask and answer questions. This would make it easy for anyone to search for incidents and find solutions quickly without needing to ask for support. The forum should contain a lot of information to help users troubleshoot issues on their own.

The solution's support can be considered a bit slow since it takes some time to resolve issues. So, support needs to be improved.

Sizing can be challenging for customers interested in using Fortinet FortiGate-VM. They often ask for guidance on how to size the virtual machine for their needs properly.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Fortinet FortiGate-VM for three years. Also, my company is an integrator for the solution, and I am using its first version since we did not have to update it.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Stability-wise, I rate the solution a ten out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I never had any problem with the solution's scalability. The solution's final customer can comment on its scalability.

In general, its scalability is good. Scalability-wise, I rate the solution a nine out of ten.

How are customer service and support?

The technical support is okay. I rate the technical support an eight out of ten. Sometimes we need to find information quickly, and it can take time to open a ticket and go through the procedures of providing logs. But the support team is good. However, if we compare it to open-source solutions, developers can find information quickly over platforms like Slack. Network or site engineers need to open a ticket, and some of these tickets are not open-source. If we compare it to development engineers who can find answers quickly by searching on Google, there is a difference in the speed of finding solutions.

How would you rate customer service and support?

Positive

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I don't have experience working with solutions deployed on the cloud, but I have experience with products deployed on-premises, like Veeam, which was deployed on the server, and VMware. I have worked with Palo Alto, which is a complicated solution.

How was the initial setup?

The solution's initial setup process was very easy. The solution was deployed on the private cloud. The deployment process can be carried out in two weeks, and only three engineers are required. Maintenance can be carried out efficiently.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

On a scale of one to ten, where ten is very expensive, I rate the solution around two or three. I think the solution's prices are okay, considering the services and features they offer.

What other advice do I have?

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.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Private Cloud
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Integrator
PeerSpot user
Head of IT at a mining and metals company with 10,001+ employees
Real User
Easy to maintain, simple to set up, and offers good stability
Pros and Cons
  • "The solution can scale well."
  • "Price-wise, it could be slightly better, however, if you compared it to other makes and models of equal category, it is generally cheaper."

What is our primary use case?

We primarily use the solution for our internal worldwide corporate network.

How has it helped my organization?

It's allowed us to have fewer personnel requirements in relation to maintenance. 

What is most valuable?

The maintenance part is definitely quite easy. We do not require any additional manpower to maintain this. It's quite simple and it has the least required manpower over it based on an individual unit.

The initial setup is pretty simple. 

The solution can scale well.

The stability is quite good.

What needs improvement?

Right now, we are totally satisfied with this solution. There are several units worldwide. We have only one unit at our Kolkata location, and we are satisfied as of now in terms of its capabilities.

Price-wise, it could be slightly better, however, if you compared it to other makes and models of equal category, it is generally cheaper.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used the solution over the last seven months. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The stability has been good. Its performance is reliable. There are no bugs or glitches. it doesn't crash or freeze. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The scalability is there. When taking into consideration our business environment right now, I find that this is capable of handling all the requirements until the end of 2022.

Right now in the Kolkata office, we are around a hundred people - and that is in the Kolkata office only. If you talk about India, then we have around 250.

We do not plan to increase usage at this time. However, in the future, scaling may be required. 

How are customer service and support?

I've never directly dealt with technical support and therefore cannot speak to how helpful or responsive they are.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We did previously use a different solution, however, the main office makes the decisions around product changes. They may have chosen this product as it is less expensive. 

We had been using a British Telecom hybrid VPN solution. In April, we stopped that and migrated to this new SD-WAN connectivity solution based on the Fortinet firewall. 

How was the initial setup?

The implementation process was not complex or difficult. It was straightforward. 

The deployment takes around two to three hours.

Maintenance aspects are handled by the vendor. 

What about the implementation team?

The implementation was done by our vendor as well as our internal team.

What was our ROI?

We won't have a sense of an ROI until we've used the solution for another year and a half. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The pricing is pretty reasonable when compared to other solutions of the same caliber.

We pay a yearly licensing fee. I do not know the exact costs, however, as that is handled by the team in Luxembourg.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

We don't make product decisions. Decisions of that scale come from Luxembourg. 

What other advice do I have?

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.

Which deployment model are you using for this solution?

Hybrid Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
PeerSpot user
PeerSpot user
Technology consultant at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees
Real User
Good antivirus solution that can handle much traffic, but lacks GUI features
Pros and Cons
  • "In spite of the solution being inexpensive, it has everything one would need."
  • "There are certain GUI features that should be present but are not."

What is our primary use case?

The version I am using, 6.2.8., is not the latest. It's a somewhat older version and has not yet been upgraded. 

We have configured our use cases to be those of a banking environment. We have enabled the use of the firewall solution for our 300 branches. 

What is most valuable?

The solution has pretty awesome features. It supports at least 300 of our branches. We have yet to come across any issues concerning the 300 branches we have configured, a high number which equates many connections. This means that the solution can handle that much traffic. This is a feature of the firewall that we appreciate, as well as that of antivirus. In spite of the solution being inexpensive, it has everything one would need. 

What needs improvement?


There are certain GUI features that should be present but are not, although these we can address through the command-line interface. We have to make use of this to create certain policies or change the interface layer. These configuration restrictions should be addressed. 

Moreover, the reporting should be upgraded, as there are only a small number of reports available. We also encounter issues on the logging pages. GUI does not allow for live logging and the command-line interface must be used in its stead. The need to rely on CLI should be done away with entirely. 

While we consider the solution to be user-friendly, certain improvements should be made in this respect. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using Fortinet Fortigate-VM for the past two years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

The solution is extremely reliable. As mentioned, it is being used in 300 branches and no issues have arisen.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

The solution is scalable, although I have not attempted to undertake further plugins or additions. 

How are customer service and technical support?

We have had no issues with the technical support. We have found them to be good, very knowledgeable and helpful. 

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Other solutions I have used in the past include Check Point and Palo Alto.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is straightforward, although the configurations can occasionally become involved. 

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

At present, the SD-WAN licenses are on an annual basis. 

We have no specific complaints about the licensing prices. 

What other advice do I have?

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.

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
PeerSpot user
Team Leader Network & Security at Rogers Capital
Real User
User friendly with good documentation and a quick deployment
Pros and Cons
  • "The VM it's very quick for deployment. If we need to have a POC for a customer, if we don't have any hardware physically at our premises, at our store, in our office, we can download the VM from Fortinet and install all the VM to their environment in order to run it. If we have a customer that says "let's start tomorrow" we are able to do that in a way that's not possible with a hardware version."
  • "The licensing needs to be improved. We need longer licensing periods, especially for POCs and trials. It should be for six months. Right now, it's too short of a timeframe."

What is most valuable?

The virtual and hardware versions of the solution are mostly the same. 

The VM it's very quick for deployment. If we need to have a POC for a customer, if we don't have any hardware physically at our premises, at our store, in our office, we can download the VM from Fortinet and install all the VM to their environment in order to run it. If we have a customer that says "let's start tomorrow" we are able to do that in a way that's not possible with a hardware version.

Normally Fortinet is very flexible that it supports almost all environments. 

The solution is user friendly.

The cost of the solution is pretty fair.

The documentation is very good.

The SD-WAN is very good, as compared to, for example, Citrix SD-WAN which has an overall lack of security and needs to leverage other devices, like Palo Alto, to cover this.

What needs improvement?

The licensing needs to be improved. We need longer licensing periods, especially for POCs and trials. It should be for six months. Right now, it's too short of a timeframe. 

Overall as I say, the features-wise and performance-wise the VM and hardware versions are the same. The main difference is that the hardware-based option ins is more powerful compared to the VM version. 

Their technical support is not helpful and I try to avoid using it.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using the solution for ten years. It's been a decade now.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We do occasionally get bugs on the solution, and when that happens, we do need to go to technical support to get the issue resolved.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Let's say tomorrow we want to upgrade in terms of memory, in terms of processor. If we are VM  based we are using files and by default, we have some spec which is set to the VM. If tomorrow we need more capacity for this logging, we can just upgrade it. We take an analyzer like G1 or G5 and we upload the license, and it will upgrade automatically. 

It's so much easier as compared to hardware, due to the fact that, with hardware, you need to change everything completely. 

We have nine people on our team working with the solution regularly.

How are customer service and technical support?

The support for Fortinet is not very good, and so I tend not to contact them if I can avoid it. They are not good in their general response time. Some team members are quite technical, however, that's not everyone, and you aren't guaranteed to get someone who knows what they are talking about. Sometimes their answers are irrelevant as if they aren't even replying to your actual questions. Other times they tell you what you need is not possible.   

Fortinet has forums for users, and if you go there, you'll see that there are a lot of others saying they are unhappy with support as well. While I'm a big fan of Fortinet, I do not like their support.

We only really use it now if we have an issue with a bug and there's no workaround except to go right to them. Otherwise, we don't contact them.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The cost of the solution is good.

What other advice do I have?

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.

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
PeerSpot user
Juraj Elias - PeerSpot reviewer
Chief Core Network Architect at O2 Netwirks
Real User
Useful in infrastructures and firewalls but improvement is needed in cloud-nativeness and pricing
Pros and Cons
  • "The tool's most valuable feature is its ability to deploy it on live physical hardware. Specifically, when providing firewall services for clients, we can leverage such hardware appliances to support multiple customers on the same hardware."
  • "The product needs to focus on cloud-nativeness and pricing."

What is our primary use case?

My company functions as a mobile operator and supports business customers. We use the solution for our infrastructure and firewalls. 

What is most valuable?

The tool's most valuable feature is its ability to deploy it on live physical hardware. Specifically, when providing firewall services for clients, we can leverage such hardware appliances to support multiple customers on the same hardware.

What needs improvement?

The product needs to focus on cloud-nativeness and pricing. 

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using the product for six to seven years. 

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Fortinet FortiGate-VM is a good solution in terms of stability. I rate it a seven out of ten. 

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I rate the tool's scalability a ten out of ten. 

How are customer service and support?

The tool's technical support is good. 

How was the initial setup?

We rely on automation for deployment, making it easy for us. We clone the existing infrastructure for additional customers. Our challenging aspect is coordinating with clients to set up the infrastructure. Understanding the existing infrastructure of business customers, especially their premises and specific requirements, is a crucial step.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I rate Fortinet FortiGate-VM's pricing a six out of ten. 

What other advice do I have?

I rate the overall solution a seven out of ten. 

Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer: Partner
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IT consultant at mLogix Systemhaus
Consultant
Top 20
Has a good interface and helps with network intelligence
Pros and Cons
  • "The platform has a good user interface."
  • "Data backup functionality could be included in the product."

What is our primary use case?

We use the product for VPN services, network intelligence, and Unified Threat Management (UTM).

What is most valuable?

The platform has a good user interface.

What needs improvement?

Data backup functionality could be included in the product.

For how long have I used the solution?

We have been using Fortinet FortiGate-VM as a partner for ten years.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

I rate the product's stability a nine out of ten.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

I rate Fortinet FortiGate's scalability a seven out of ten.

How was the initial setup?

The initial setup is complex. I rate the process a five out of ten.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

I rate the product's pricing an eight out of ten.

What other advice do I have?

I rate Fortinet FortiGate-VM an 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
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Buyer's Guide
Download our free Fortinet FortiGate-VM Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.
Updated: March 2024
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Buyer's Guide
Download our free Fortinet FortiGate-VM Report and get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions.