SD-WAN & SASE Solutions Comparison: Replacement for EoL Fortinet Fortigate

Your company currently has Fortinet Fortigate appliances for your SD-WAN or firewalls, and those appliances are becoming EoL at the end of 2026 — so should you just buy new Fortinet appliances, or are there better options out there?

In this video, I cover 7 reasons your company might want to consider other SD-WAN and SASE vendors instead of upgrading to the latest Fortinet Fortigate.

Which SD-WAN and SASE vendors should your company be quoting? Ask me today.

About Me

Mike Smith has been helping companies select the best telecom, WAN, security, and cloud services since 1999. He founded AeroCom in 2003, and has been the recipient of numerous business telecommunications industry awards, including being recognized as one of the top 40 business people in tech-heavy Orange County, CA. Follow Mike on YouTube, LinkedIn, Reddit and SpiceWorks.

Transcript

Your company currently has Fortinet Fortigate appliances for your SD-WAN or firewalls, and those appliances are becoming EoL at the end of 2026 or shortly after. As IT, you’re wondering — should you just buy new Fortinet appliances, or are there better options out there?
In this video, I cover the benefits other SD-WAN and SASE vendors can bring to the table compared to Fortinet Fortigate.
Want my recommendations on the best SD-WAN and SASE vendors to quote for your company? Ask me today.

My Recommendation

If you’d like my recommendations on the best SD-WAN and SASE vendors your company should be quoting compared to your Fortinet Fortigate solution, send me an email or give me a call at 714.593.0011. It doesn’t cost you anything to use me, so there’s no excuse not to reach out. I’ve been a broker for all the major vendors in this space for over 20 years, and I will get you better pricing on the solution of your choice than if you call the vendor directly and work with their sales rep. I’ll get you a demo, a quote, and better pricing — join the thousands of other IT professionals who have used me to help their company make a better decision in a fraction of the time. Also don’t forget to subscribe to the YouTube channel and go check out AeroComInc.com — you can read and write reviews on providers, watch videos, and read summaries on them.

Should You Just Buy New Fortinet Appliances?

Fortinet Fortigate is a good, inexpensive solution — there’s nothing wrong with it. But as your appliances reach EoL, it’s worth pausing before automatically upgrading to the next Fortinet model. There are other SD-WAN and SASE vendors out there that may offer benefits Fortinet doesn’t. Here are the reasons you might want to look elsewhere. Keep in mind, no single vendor brings every one of these benefits to the table — but if any of them sound interesting to your company, that’s a sign you should be exploring other options.

1. Stronger Security Track Record

Fortinet Fortigate has had some well-documented issues in the past — malware attacks exploiting vulnerabilities in their software. If your company has dealt with that before and you want a more bulletproof security solution moving forward, that alone might be reason enough to explore other vendors.

2. Lower Latency

If your company is experiencing latency issues today, that may not be Fortinet’s strong suit. Other vendors offer single pass architecture, TCP proxy, or a global private backbone network specifically designed to reduce latency. If performance across your network is a priority, this is worth evaluating closely.

3. Lower Maintenance Appliances

Fortinet Fortigate appliances sometimes require reboots and manual updates at each site. If your company has a lot of locations without on-site technical staff, that creates real friction for your IT team. Other vendors offer fully hands-off appliances at every site — no on-site visits required for updates or maintenance.

4. Cloud-Based Scalability

If your company needs to scale quickly at certain sites, a physical Fortinet appliance can only scale so far before you hit a ceiling on bandwidth and security capacity. A cloud-based firewall or security solution offers unlimited scalability, which may be a better fit if rapid growth is part of your roadmap.

5. Cloud-Based Remote Access

If your company has a lot of remote users connecting through point-to-point VPNs, that setup becomes difficult to manage at scale. A cloud-based security solution with ZTNA — Zero Trust Network Access — lets remote users connect to the network without the complexity of maintaining individual VPN connections for every user.

6. More Advanced AI Detection

AI-driven threat detection has come a long way, and some vendors now offer significantly more advanced AI tools for detecting anomalies on your network than Fortinet currently provides. If your IT team is small and could use extra eyes on the network, this is an area where newer vendors may have an edge.

7. A More Unified, User-Friendly Interface

If you’re not a fan of the Fortinet Fortigate GUI, or you’re managing a lot of sites and need easier centralized tools, some vendors offer a more unified and user-friendly management interface that simplifies day-to-day operations.

So, Should You Stick With Fortinet or Look Elsewhere?

If any of those seven reasons resonate with your company, that’s a good sign you should explore other SD-WAN and SASE vendors before your Fortinet appliances reach EoL — rather than defaulting to the newest Fortinet model. Reach out and I can walk you through which vendors fit your specific requirements.

Want My Recommendations on SD-WAN and SASE Vendors?

Send me an email or give me a call at 714.593.0011. I’ve been a broker for all the major SD-WAN and SASE vendors for over 20 years, so I know the industry inside and out. Based on your company’s requirements, I’ll tell you the small handful of vendors worth exploring, introduce you to the best salespeople, get you a demo, and make sure your company gets significantly better pricing than going direct. I don’t charge you anything for my recommendations — it costs your company $0 to use me. Join the thousands of other companies who have used me to help their company make a better decision in a fraction of the time. Don’t forget to subscribe to the YouTube channel and go check out AeroComInc.com. Thanks for watching — I’ll catch you on the next one.