The right small business firewall depends on five things: office size, internet speed, the number of connected devices, remote access needs and security requirements. A 10-person office on a 200 Mbps line needs something very different from a 70-person company with remote staff and two internet links. Start with the table, then read the model notes below.
| Business need | Firewall to consider |
|---|---|
| Small office with basic network requirements | FortiGate 40F |
| Small office with remote employees | FortiGate 60F |
| Growing office or branch | FortiGate 70F |
| SMB with more demanding network traffic | FortiGate 80F |
| Larger business network | FortiGate 100F |
These are preliminary product positions, not final sizing recommendations. Validate them against inspected throughput, VPN load, device count and licensing before you buy.
5 Best Firewalls for Small Businesses in UAE
All five models run Fortinet’s FortiOS, so the real differences are inspection speed, ports, VPN capacity and form factor. Figures come from Fortinet’s own datasheets and are compared in the table further down.
Fortinet FortiGate 40F – For Small Offices
The FortiGate 40F suits a single-site office with one main internet line and simple rules: staff laptops, phones, a printer and guest Wi-Fi. It packs Fortinet’s firewall and VPN into a compact desktop unit, and with the matching FortiGuard subscriptions adds intrusion prevention and web filtering. Fortinet rates its threat protection at 600 Mbps, which works for offices on a line well below that figure. The limits are its five ports, which leave little room for a separate DMZ or extra network segments, and its 310 Mbps SSL inspection rate, which can become the bottleneck if you inspect encrypted traffic on a faster line.
Fortinet FortiGate 60F – For Small Businesses with Remote Workers
The FortiGate 60F suits offices where more people work from home. Against the 40F, its datasheet roughly doubles SSL inspection (630 versus 310 Mbps), ports (10 versus 5) and client VPN tunnels (500 versus 250), while threat protection rises more modestly, from 600 to 700 Mbps. That makes it a better fit when remote access, separate networks for staff, guests and servers, or encrypted-traffic inspection matter more than raw speed. One caution: Fortinet removed SSL VPN from the 60F in FortiOS 7.6, so plan remote access around IPsec VPN. The Empeller listing is a bundle (BDL), so check which subscriptions and what term it includes.
Fortinet FortiGate 70F – For Growing Businesses
The FortiGate 70F is for offices and branches that are adding devices, cloud applications and users. Its main step up is session capacity: 1.5 million concurrent sessions against 700,000 on the 40F and 60F, with 800 Mbps of threat protection and the same ten GE RJ45 ports as the 60F. Choose it over a smaller model when device count (laptops, phones, cameras, VoIP) is the pressure, not just headline speed. The limits: it is still a desktop unit with copper ports only, and from FortiOS 7.6.3 Fortinet no longer supports SSL VPN tunnel mode on it, so use IPsec for remote staff. Fortinet also publishes lifecycle dates for each model, so confirm support dates before you buy.
Fortinet FortiGate 80F – For Businesses Needing More Network Capacity
The FortiGate 80F is for businesses outgrowing the 70F’s connectivity and VPN capacity. It supports 2,500 client-to-gateway IPsec tunnels (against 500 on the 60F and 70F) and offers 900 Mbps of threat protection. It also adds two shared RJ45/SFP port pairs beside eight GE RJ45 ports, so you can use a fibre uplink. It suits companies with many remote users on IPsec, several network segments or a branch network. What justifies it over a smaller model is tunnel capacity and the SFP option, not inspection speed: threat protection rises only 100 Mbps over the 70F. This listing is also a bundle (BDL), so check its subscription term.
Fortinet FortiGate 100F – For Larger SMB Networks
The FortiGate 100F suits larger SMB networks with several segments, servers, many remote users or a high-availability pair. It is a 1U rack-mount unit with 2x 10GE SFP+ ports, four SFP ports and dedicated HA and management ports. IPsec VPN throughput is 11.5 Gbps and Fortinet lists 16,000 client-to-gateway tunnels. Its NGFW rate is 1.6 Gbps, against 1 Gbps on the 60F to 80F. Its threat protection figure, though, is only 1 Gbps, so the step up is mostly connectivity and VPN scale. For a single office with a sub-gigabit line, no rack and no failover plan, it is unnecessary. Check the model’s lifecycle status with Empeller before buying.
Small Business Firewall Comparison – Which One Should You Choose?
The table lists Fortinet’s published figures for each model. Threat protection throughput is firewall, IPS, application control and malware protection together, measured on Fortinet’s Enterprise Mix traffic with logging enabled. IPsec VPN is AES256-SHA256 at 512-byte packets. These figures show relative capacity, not a staff limit, so don’t read an employee count into them.
| Firewall model | Form factor | Threat protection (NGFW) | IPsec VPN | Connectivity | Ideal use case |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FortiGate 40F | Desktop | 600 Mbps (800 Mbps) | 4.4 Gbps; 200 site-to-site, 250 client tunnels | 5x GE RJ45 | Single small office, simple rules |
| FortiGate 60F | Desktop | 700 Mbps (1 Gbps) | 6.5 Gbps; 200 site-to-site, 500 client tunnels | 10x GE RJ45 | Small office with remote staff and several networks |
| FortiGate 70F | Desktop | 800 Mbps (1 Gbps) | 6.1 Gbps; 200 site-to-site, 500 client tunnels | 10x GE RJ45 | Growing office or branch with many devices |
| FortiGate 80F | Desktop | 900 Mbps (1 Gbps) | 6.5 Gbps; 200 site-to-site, 2,500 client tunnels | 8x GE RJ45 plus 2 shared RJ45/SFP pairs | Many remote users or fibre uplink |
| FortiGate 100F | 1U rack-mount | 1 Gbps (1.6 Gbps) | 11.5 Gbps; 2,500 site-to-site, 16,000 client tunnels | 12x GE RJ45, 4x GE SFP, 4 shared, 2x 10GE SFP+ | Larger SMB, HA pair, multiple segments |
Sources: Fortinet Product Matrix (40F–80F) and the FortiGate 100F series datasheet. Compare model options on the Empeller firewall page.
How to Choose the Right Firewall for Your Small Business
Work through these five points before you compare prices.
- Users and devices. Count staff, guest Wi-Fi users, phones, cameras, IP phones and servers. Devices create sessions, so a quiet 15-person office with 40 connected devices may load a firewall more than its headcount suggests.
- Internet speed and security throughput. Compare your line speed with the threat protection figure, not the headline firewall number. A 5 Gbps firewall rating means little if protected traffic tops out at 600 Mbps once inspection is on.
- Security features. Decide which you need: VPN, intrusion prevention, web filtering, application control and malware protection. Each runs through subscriptions and each costs throughput.
- Future expansion. Allow for more staff, a second branch, more remote workers or a faster line within three to five years. Buying one size up often beats replacing the box in two years.
- Licensing and support. Confirm what subscriptions are included, when they end, what the warranty covers and who gives you support in the UAE.
Example: 15 people versus 70 people. A 15-person office with one internet line and a few remote staff usually needs a compact model, such as a 40F or 60F, with basic web filtering and IPsec VPN. A 70-person company with cloud applications, video calls, guest Wi-Fi, separate server and staff networks and a second branch has more sessions, more VPN users and more segments to protect. It points toward a 70F, 80F or 100F, depending on line speed and how much traffic you inspect. Size by traffic, not headcount alone.
How Much Does a Small Business Firewall Cost in UAE?
Prices vary by model, subscription bundle and term, so we don’t publish fixed figures here. Ask for a quote that splits out these four costs:
- The appliance. The hardware itself, which differs by model and by whether a bundle is included.
- Security subscriptions and renewals. Threat updates, web filtering and support usually renew each year. Without them, the firewall falls back to basic functions.
- Installation and configuration. Policies, VPN setup, network segments and testing, whether done in house or by a partner.
- Support and maintenance. Firmware updates, log review and help when something breaks.
Compare the total over three years, not the first invoice. A cheaper box with expensive renewals, or one too small for your line speed, can cost more by year three.
Where to Buy Business Firewalls in UAE
Before you buy, check that the hardware is genuine, the warranty is valid in the UAE, the security licences can be registered to your company, and someone local can help when it matters. Empeller Systems lists FortiGate models on its Firewalls in UAE page, and licences are confirmed with the sales team before you order.
Not sure which model fits? Send us your office size, internet speed, security needs and budget through the contact page, and we’ll help you choose.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1Which firewall is best for a small office with 10–20 employees?
For a single office with one internet line, the FortiGate 40F or 60F is the usual starting point. Pick the 60F if you have several remote workers or want separate staff, guest and server networks. Check the threat protection figure against your line speed, as well as the model name.
Q2Is FortiGate 40F enough for a small business?
Often, yes, for a small office with simple rules and a line well below its 600 Mbps threat protection rating. It becomes tight with fast internet, heavy encrypted-traffic inspection, or when you need more than five ports.
Q3What is the difference between FortiGate 40F and 60F?
Per Fortinet’s datasheets, the 60F has ten ports against five, roughly double the SSL inspection throughput (630 versus 310 Mbps), 500 client VPN tunnels against 250, and 700 Mbps of threat protection against 600 Mbps.
Q4Do small businesses need a next-generation firewall?
In most cases, yes. A basic firewall only filters by port and address. A next-generation firewall adds intrusion prevention, application control and web filtering, which matter once staff use cloud apps and email from the same network. It needs active subscriptions to stay useful.
Q5Can a firewall protect employees working remotely?
It protects them when they connect through it, using VPN access to your office network, and it applies your security policies to that traffic. It does not secure a laptop on home Wi-Fi by itself, so pair it with endpoint protection and multi-factor authentication.
