Fortinet: FortiGate Review

Fortinet FortiGate is a next-generation firewall (NGFW) that enables security-driven networking, consolidates security capabilities, and provides a high level of protection against web-based network threats.

The security capabilities include an intrusion prevention system (IPS), web and video filtering, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) inspection, and automated threat protection.

As a 2021 firewall market leader with a share of 40%, FortiGate provides enterprise cybersecurity to every edge at every scale:

Fortinet and the Cybersecurity Market

Fortinet is an American multinational cybersecurity solutions company based in Sunnyvale, California. It was founded in 2000 by Ken Xie and went public in November 2009. 

With a mission to secure people, devices, and data everywhere, Fortinet secures the largest enterprises, government organizations, and service providers around the world. The company develops and sells several cybersecurity solutions, including physical firewalls, intrusion prevention systems, antivirus software, and endpoint security components. 

Fortinet delivers several cybersecurity products and solutions to empower customers with intelligent, seamless protection over the expanding attack surface and to give customers the power to take on ever-increasing performance requirements of the limitless network.

The global cybersecurity market size was valued at $167.13 billion in 2020 and $179.96 billion in 2021. Based on a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.9% from 2021 to 2028 the market size is projected be $372.04 billion in 2028.

According to Canalys estimates in June 2020, Fortinet became the third-leading vendor with a 5.9% cybersecurity market share. As of December 31, 2021, the market cap of Fortinet is $58.2 billion, with strong growth in annual billings and profitability of 19.5%.

FortiGate Features

FortiGate NGFW has features that enable organizations to build high-performance, security-driven, and ultra-scalable networks:

• Full visibility and protection: FortiGate with SSL inspection (including TLS 1.3) and automated threat protection provides complete visibility to stop ransomware, command-and-control attacks, and other hidden threats.
• FortiGuard security services: FortiGate combines and concurrently runs IPS, web and video filtering, and DNS (Domain Name System) security services to reduce costs and manage risks.
• Natively integrated proxy: FortiGate adds FortiClient and delivers seamless user experience and security to the hybrid workforce with zero-trust network access (ZTNA).
• Hyperscale security: FortiGate builds ultra-scalable security-driven networks to meet escalating business demands.
• Security fabric integration: To build a consistent and coordinated end-to-end security posture FortiGate shares actionable threat intelligence across the entire attack surface.
• Automation-driven network management: FortiGate builds large-scale and efficient operations with an easy-to-use centralized management console that supports automation-driven network management.

FortiGate Use Cases

Southern Bank

Southern Bank relies on Fortinet to protect it from external and internal cybersecurity threats. After the deployment of Fortinet NGFW the bank immediately benefited from higher visibility into threats and insights into employee network traffic.

“We made a good choice with Fortinet, because it is obvious to me that we are now seeing a lot more activity. It makes me wonder about all the things that we may have missed in the past,” says Julie Marvin, SVP and information security officer at Southern Bank.

Propato

Propato chose a FortiGate secure SD-WAN solution to keep itself running by increasing connection capacity remotely and improving connectivity stability. The company added the FortiAnalyzer tool to enhance the monitoring and reporting of cybersecurity threats, and a FortiClient VPN implementation to access corporate resources remotely.

“By implementing FortiGate secure SD-WAN, the internet connection became seamless, as this technology helps solve connectivity automatically and smartly. Fortinet offers a reliable, easy to use, and evolving solution,” says Diego Piccolotto, systems and technology manager at Propato.

UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP)

The UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP) meets digital innovation commitments with Fortinet solutions and Fortinet Professional Services. With FortiGate secure SD-WAN and a centralized management and analytics platform, Fortinet provided the overall architecture and design of a new security-driven network, replacing legacy wide-area connections.

“Fortinet’s solutions have allowed us to be able to put our patients first as always and focus on satisfying their needs,” says Mubaraka Ibrahim, IT director at MOHAP.

Differentiators

Some of the key areas of differentiation for FortiGate are given below.

• FortiGate has a full range of threat-protection capabilities including firewall, intrusion prevention, antivirus, SSL inspection, and application control.
• FortiGate delivers fast threat-protection speeds that are critical.
• With FortiGate, multi-vector attacks can be defeated more effectively as information gets shared across the network.
• Fortinet publishes full SSL inspection performance against industry-mandated ciphers, providing greater visibility and predictability into how the FortiGate NGFW performs.
• With the FortiGate, Fortinet offers enterprise-level threat-protection architecture within the confines of a compact 3U form factor, supporting data-center consolidation and footprint reduction.
• FortiGate delivers value beyond its NGFW functionality.

FortiGate Reviews

FortiGate NGFW reviews are positive overall. According to the G2 reviews and Peerspot reviews, FortiGate NGFW achieves overall ratings of 4.7 and 4.2 out of 5. And based on the TrustRadius reviews and ratings, FortiGate NGFW achieves an overall rating of 8.8 out of 10.

According to reviews at Gartner Peer Insights, FortiGate NGFW scores 4.6 out of 5, with an 88% recommendation. Reviewers there also rate FortiGate NGFW on several customer experience criteria, including:

• Evaluation & Contracting 4.5 out of 5
• Integration & Deployment 4.5 out of 5
• Service & Support 4.4 out of 5
• Product Capabilities 4.6 out of 5

FortiGate Pricing

Fortinet’s FortiGate pricing starts at $250 for home office use and can cost up to $300,000 for large enterprise appliances. Although, Fortinet’s total cost of ownership (TCO) per protected Mbps was the lowest, at $2, compared with other NGFW vendors.

Fortinet FortiGate’s pricing is based on the security demands from seven categories, including Chassis, Ultra High-End, High-End, Mid-Range, Entry-Level, Virtual Machine, and Data Center Firewall.

Conclusions

Fortinet’s FortiGate meets the performance requirements of highly scalable, hybrid IT architectures, enabling organizations to reduce complexity and manage security risks.

Moreover, Fortinet training and certification helps users quickly understand and adapt to the platform.

Fortinet is a cybersecurity company leading the market with many trusted products and services. Companies interested in implementing a NGFW should take advantage of the free online demos, resource center, and free trials offered by Fortinet.