Fortinet FortiManager can provide visibility for other Fortinet solutions across the company's environments, such as multiple branch offices. You are able to manage all these devices efficiently.

The most valuable feature of Fortinet FortiManager is the ease of manageability and policy-pushing functionality.

Fortinet FortiManager could improve them by adding more portfolio components.

In a future release, it would be beneficial if Fortinet FortiManager could improve by adding more devices able to be managed the solution, including  switching, routing, and wireless,

I have been using Fortinet FortiManager for approximately five years.

The stability is fine but could improve.

I rate the stability of Fortinet FortiManager an eight out of ten.

Fortinet FortiManager is a scalable solution.

I have a considerable number of clients who currently use FortiManager - at present, I can recall more than five. Since effective policy management and centralized upgrades are critical for multi-location management, FortiManager is an essential tool for such purposes. FortiManager is installed in the majority of my clients' locations.

The support of Fortinet FortiManager is good. 

Positive

The initial setup of Fortinet FortiManager is straightforward. We can push out the policies centrally. From a hardware or a component perspective, the implementation is simple.

The initial implementation can be completed in just a few days. However, over the course of a week or a week and a half, we could potentially refine and simplify the process. Nevertheless, it's an ongoing endeavor, as each organization's needs dictate the policies that must be established and maintained.

One person is enough for the deployment of the solution. However, it can depend on the environment. If there are a lot of modifications there might be a need for more people for the deployment. 

Fortinet FortiManager operates on a licensing system that is dependent on the number of devices being managed. Yearly subscription renewal is necessary to continue using the service. Although there is a cost associated with Fortinet FortiManager, its price is undoubtedly justified by the value it provides in terms of the purpose it serves.

Fortinet FortiManager is highly recommended as a crucial component of any comprehensive solution offered to clients. This is especially true for clients operating in multi-location and multi-branch environments, where individually managing, upgrading, and patching each location can be a significant burden. In such scenarios, Fortinet FortiManager can greatly alleviate these challenges and streamlines the management process.

I rate Fortinet FortiManager an eight out of ten.

It is used to manage several firewalls, primarily for setting policies and as a central management point for all the firewalls.

The central management feature is the most valuable to me.

We find that several vulnerabilities are showing up every week, so we have to check every time with the customer to make sure everything is okay and to apply patches when needed. The frequency is a little disarming. So, the product is not very stable. 

I have been working with Fortinet FortiManager for a year. We are currently using the latest release, version 7.

I would rate the stability a four out of ten. 

There is not an issue with the technical team. It's more about the product itself.

The pricing model is affordable. Largely, customers opt for this solution because it has a low price. 

Overall, I would rate the product a five out of ten, mainly because of its stability and also because the technology is not as advanced as some of its competitors, such as Palo Alto and Check Point.

FortiManager is used to facilitate the administration of FortiGate equipment. There are many features to automate processes and make it easier to manage the devices. For example, we can push the same configuration to hundreds or thousands of devices, which helps us maintain a global version of the configuration and status of the devices. We also use scripts and templates to make it even easier.

The ZTP (Zero Touch Provisionning) helps us to reduce the implementation time and TCO of the remote sites.

The main function of FortiManager that makes it valuable to me is automation. I can automate the installation of configurations using different programming languages like Python or HPE, and it's a GUI solution, so it's pretty easy to use, even for basic users. It's also compatible with traditional programming languages, another feature I like about FortiManager.

There are a lot of bugs that need to be fixed, for example, the ZTP. Automating and making it easier to understand devices is necessary, especially in terms of zero-touch provisioning. This mechanism needs more work as there are some bugs and some functions that do not work very well. Today, there are tickets with Fortinet regarding a problem with cluster devices. It means two devices can be configured to work like one device. In general, it is easy to configure manually, but when you want to do it automatically, Forti Manager should help, but today it didn't work.

FortiManager is a good tool, but there is a lack of really advanced documentation. While there are a lot of features available, for example, when working with Fortinet support, it can be challenging to find the right information. I work with Fortinet support every week as we have a partnership in my enterprise. However, for the public, it's not easy to access the kind of documentation we have access to. This level of partnership with Fortinet can be costly to attain for the general public.

Some learning websites and communities are available, but the documentation provided is not as advanced as what we have access to. It's challenging to find confirmation and recommendations for advanced admin settings based on complex configurations. To have access to this kind of information, a partnership or conversation with Fortinet support is required, which can be expensive for most users.
Fortinet need to work on the automation part because they are using now JINJA as programming languge without a real complicator behind to help resolve errors on the code which is very challenging.

I have been using this solution for six years.

The device itself is very stable, but it's not the main number when it comes to using FortiManager to manage other devices. However, when it connects to other devices for the gate or to manage them, some functions don't work. There are some problems, but it's only around 3-5%, while 95% of the time, there are no problems interacting with other devices.

It handles stability very well.

FortiManager's ability to scale is good as it's a virtual machine. You can raise the capacity as you go, and there is no limit for hardware. The basic ones support a lot of devices and offer a good defense. However, you need to raise the level of licensing every time to support more devices. So, in terms of scalability, it's really good.

The level of support for P2 and P1 is wonderful. However, for levels 3 and 4, they have to work on their computer capacity and numbers. I've worked with them many times, and sometimes I have a good engineer but not a good understanding of the program.

By default, when we open a ticket, we only have access to P3 and P4. If we need P2 or P1, we have to ask for it, but not every single ticket requires P2 or P1 priority.

I have had both good and bad experiences with technical support.

Neutral

FortiManager is definitely better than Cisco, and it's easier to use and more stable. I remember finding FortiManager to be much more flexible and stable.

Meraki works very well but is cloud-based and lacks some administrative tasks and functions. FortiManager is better than Meraki for managing devices.

The initial setup is quite simple. Initially, I combined CentOS with other products, which took about five hours. However, It's not complicated at all. Moreover, I train some of our clients on how to use it, and they find it easy to understand. I can easily explain the technical aspects of the initial setup, like scripting, etc.

Fortinet FortiManager can be deployed both cloud-based and on-premise. There are various platforms available for on-premise deployment, such as hardware devices or VMs, that can be started on Hyper-V, NSR, or NSF. Additionally, it can be deployed on cloud-based platforms like Azure, Google Cloud, or Amazon AWS.

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