Fortinet vs WatchGuard is a comparison many organisations will consider when reviewing their firewall and wider network security strategy.
Both are established cyber-security vendors and both can provide effective protection. The more important question is whether your current firewall platform still fits the way your organisation operates today.
Does your Firewall give you all you need?
Networks have changed significantly.
Cloud applications, hybrid-working, distributed offices and increasingly sophisticated cyber threats mean the firewall is no longer simply a device sitting at the edge of the network.
Modern organisations increasingly need networking, access, security and threat intelligence to work together.
For businesses reviewing their existing WatchGuard estate, Fortinet provides an alternative worth considering.
Fortinet vs WatchGuard: What Is the Difference?
One of Fortinet’s most significant architectural differences is its use of purpose-built security processors.
FortiGate appliances use dedicated ASIC Security Processing Units to accelerate network and security functions.
This is particularly relevant as organisations increasingly inspect encrypted traffic and enable additional security controls.
Traditionally, increasing the amount of security inspection can place additional demands on firewall performance. Fortinet’s approach is designed to process these workloads efficiently while maintaining network performance.
Performance considerations are an important consideration when reviewing your existing firewall platform. Rather than simply asking whether a firewall can deliver a particular security feature, businesses should also ask: What happens to performance when those security capabilities are actually switched on?
1. Security Performance Built Around Dedicated Processing
One of Fortinet’s most significant architectural differences is its use of purpose-built security processors.
FortiGate appliances use dedicated ASIC Security Processing Units to accelerate network and security functions.
This is particularly relevant as organisations increasingly inspect encrypted traffic and enable additional security controls.
Traditionally, increasing the amount of security inspection can place additional demands on firewall performance. Fortinet’s approach is designed to process these workloads efficiently while maintaining network performance.
Performance considerations are an important consideration when reviewing your existing firewall platform. Rather than simply asking whether a firewall can deliver a particular security feature, businesses should also ask: What happens to performance when those security capabilities are actually switched on?
2. Networking and Security on One Platform
Another important consideration in the Fortinet vs WatchGuard discussion is consolidation.
Many organisations have gradually accumulated separate technologies for firewall protection, remote access, networking, endpoint protection and cloud security.
Each may work perfectly well individually, but the result can be additional management overhead, different policies and fragmented visibility.
Fortinet takes a platform-based approach.
FortiOS brings networking and security capabilities together, while the wider Fortinet Security Fabric extends protection across areas including endpoints, cloud environments and security operations.
For an internal IT team, fewer disconnected security technologies can mean simpler management and better visibility across the environment.
3. Integrated Secure SD-WAN
Wide area networking has also changed significantly.
Businesses increasingly rely on cloud applications, internet connectivity and multiple locations rather than traditional networks built primarily around a central data centre.
Fortinet Secure SD-WAN combines networking and security within the FortiGate platform.
This allows organisations to intelligently direct application traffic across available connections while applying security controls through the same environment.
For organisations already considering changes to connectivity, branch networking or MPLS, a firewall review can therefore become part of a broader network modernisation programme.
Instead of managing networking and security as separate projects, they can increasingly be considered together.
4. AI-Powered Threat Intelligence
Cyber security platforms are only as effective as their ability to recognise and respond to changing threats.
FortiGuard Labs provides the threat intelligence behind Fortinet’s security technologies, with AI and machine learning used across its security services to identify and respond to malicious activity.
FortiGuard AI-Powered Security Services are integrated across Fortinet technologies including FortiGate, Secure SD-WAN and SASE.
This enables security controls to continuously benefit from updated threat intelligence rather than operating as isolated technologies.
For businesses with limited internal security resources, that intelligence and automation can become increasingly important.
5. Zero Trust and Hybrid Working
Traditional network security was designed around a relatively simple concept.
People inside the corporate network were trusted. People outside it were not.
Hybrid working, cloud applications and distributed infrastructure have made that model increasingly difficult to maintain.
Zero Trust Network Access changes the principle.
Instead of automatically trusting a connection because of where it originates, access can be based on factors such as user identity, device posture and the application being accessed.
Fortinet integrates ZTNA capabilities with FortiGate and FortiClient, helping organisations introduce Zero Trust principles without treating remote access as an entirely separate security environment.
For organisations replacing traditional VPN-based access or supporting increasingly distributed workforces, this can be an important part of a firewall strategy.
6. Reducing Security Complexity
The strongest argument for reviewing a firewall platform is not necessarily an individual feature.
It is complexity.
Over time, many IT environments accumulate different products for different requirements.
Firewalls, VPNs, endpoint technologies, networking tools, cloud security platforms and monitoring solutions may all have been purchased independently.
That can lead to additional licences, multiple management portals and gaps between different areas of responsibility.
Fortinet’s broader strategy is based around bringing more of these capabilities into an integrated platform.
That does not mean every organisation should immediately replace every security product with Fortinet.
It does mean that organisations refreshing their network security should consider whether consolidation could improve visibility, management and resilience.
Should You Replace WatchGuard With Fortinet?
Not necessarily.
Technology should never be replaced simply because another platform has a longer feature list.
If your existing WatchGuard environment is performing well, meeting your security requirements and supporting your wider technology strategy, replacing it may achieve very little.
But there are some situations where it makes sense to review the market.
You may want to consider your options if:
- Your existing firewall estate is approaching renewal or replacement
- Additional security inspection is affecting network performance
- You operate multiple sites or increasingly rely on cloud applications
- Your organisation is considering SD-WAN
- Remote access and Zero Trust are becoming more important
- You are managing an increasing number of separate security technologies
- Your security architecture has grown considerably since your firewalls were originally deployed
The objective should not simply be to replace one firewall with another.
It should be to determine what your network and security architecture needs to look like over the next several years.
A Firewall Review Should Start With the Business
At Amicis Group, we do not believe technology decisions should begin with a predetermined product.
They should begin with the organisation.
We look at how your people work, where your applications and data sit, how your network is structured and where your current security risks and operational challenges exist.
From there, we can assess whether your existing firewall environment remains appropriate or whether a platform such as Fortinet could provide better performance, integration and resilience.
For some organisations, the right decision will be to retain their existing platform.
For others, a firewall refresh can become an opportunity to simplify their security architecture and modernise the wider network.
The important thing is making that decision based on where your organisation is going, rather than simply renewing what is already there.
Considering Fortinet?
Let Amicis Group Help
Amicis Group can review your existing network and firewall environment and help you understand whether Fortinet would provide meaningful advantages for your organisation. Our approach combines network, infrastructure and cyber security expertise, helping businesses consider the wider technology environment rather than evaluating the firewall in isolation.
If your WatchGuard estate is approaching renewal, speak to Amicis Group before simply renewing the existing platform. We can help you assess the options and determine the right approach for your organisation.
✓ Review your current firewall and network environment before renewal.
✓ Compare Fortinet against your existing platform based on security, performance and scalability.
✓ Plan a practical migration path with minimal disruption to your organisation.
