Who is the Frankly Independent IT Advisor Program for?

MSP owners, ex-VAR reps, solo IT consultants and fractional CIOs, and in-house IT pros with a side practice. No LLC required, no quotas.

How does the program work?

You bring the relationship by referring, co-managing, or self-sourcing the deal. Frankly handles the architecture review, pricing validation, and vendor management. You get paid on every closed deal, with commission deposited directly and tracked in your partner dashboard.

25–40% of Frankly's gross margin on every closed deal. Pure Referral pays 25–30%, Co-Managed pays 30–35%, and Self-Sourced pays 35–40%.

Are there quotas, territories, or exclusivity clauses?

No. There are no quotas, no territory restrictions, and no exclusivity clauses.

Do I need to become a reseller?

No. Frankly runs the procurement end-to-end so you keep the trusted-advisor role with your client and don't need to set up reseller agreements with distributors.

What support do partners get?

AI architecture reviews, competitive pricing data, independent quote validation, full deal support on co-managed deals, transparent reporting in a partner dashboard, and vendor-neutral recommendations.

AI-Powered Strategy Platform

Your AI-Powered IT Strategy Partner

Frankly's AI automates IT procurement complexity—analyzing industry standards, comparing vendors head-to-head, mapping compliance requirements, calculating ROI, and guiding implementation. From architecture recommendations to strategic justification, we eliminate guesswork and accelerate confident decisions.

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Frankly AIonline

IT Strategy & Pricing Assistant

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5-15%

Average Savings

Clear Roadmaps

Phased guides for every maturity level

6+ Standards

PCI-DSS, HIPAA, SOC2, ISO27001 & more

AI-powered analysis across 100+ vendors & platforms

Check PointPalo Alto NetworksDellProofpointFortinetCrowdStrikeCiscoMicrosoftZscalerAruba / HPEArista

What Frankly's AI Does

From architecture design to investment justification, our AI handles the complexity so you can focus on decisions.

Use Case Playbooks

Discover proven architectures and product stacks tailored to your industry and use case.

Competitive Comparisons

AI-powered head-to-head vendor analysis revealing which solutions excel where.

Compliance Mapping

Automatically identify which solutions address PCI-DSS, HIPAA, SOC2, ISO27001, and more.

ROI Benchmarks

See payback period, annual savings, and 3-year value by organization size and industry.

Implementation Roadmaps

Phased deployment guidance scaled to your organization's maturity level.

Two Ways to Start

Pick your starting point

Whether you have a quote in hand or need a strategy from scratch — Frankly has you covered.

🔍

You have a quote

Sanity Check

Drop in your vendor quote. Frankly AI goes line by line — flagging overpriced SKUs, wrong-sized products, and compliance gaps. You'll know exactly where you stand before you sign anything.

Run My Sanity Check →

Project Review

Tell us about your environment — size, industry, compliance needs. Frankly AI designs your architecture, compares top vendors head-to-head, and delivers a branded report with a full ROI breakdown.

Start My Project Review →

How It Works

Sanity-check your IT spend in 3 steps

No commitment, no pressure. Just honest pricing.

Submit Your Quote

Tell us what you're buying — product names, quantities, and the price you've been quoted by another reseller.

We Price It Out

Our team checks our distributor pricing and comes back with a competitive offer — usually within 24 hours.

Compare & Save

See a side-by-side comparison. If we beat the price, you save. If not, you've confirmed you're getting a fair deal.

Non-Profit Program

Your mission is too important to overpay for technology.

Non-profits, charities, and community organizations deserve the same enterprise-grade IT and cybersecurity — without the enterprise price tag. Frankly has a dedicated program to help mission-driven organizations spend less on technology and more on what truly matters.

We believe the communities you serve deserve an organization that's fully funded, fully protected, and fully focused — not one stretched thin by overpriced vendor quotes.

Learn About Our Non-Profit Program Contact Us

Lowest Possible Pricing

We go the extra mile to get non-profits the absolute best pricing from our distributor network — so every dollar stretches further.

Full IT & Cybersecurity Coverage

From firewalls to cloud security to networking — we help non-profits build secure, reliable infrastructure on a tight budget.

Dedicated Support

Non-profit clients get hands-on help from our team. We understand your constraints and work around them.

For IT Professionals

Earn commissions on IT deals you refer

Join the Frankly Independent IT Advisor Program and get paid 25–40% of gross margin on every closed deal.

Our Partner Program

What We Cover

Products across every IT category

Firewalls

Palo Alto, Fortinet, Check Point

Endpoint Security

CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, Carbon Black

Networking

Cisco, Aruba, Arista

Cloud Security

Zscaler, Prisma, Cloudflare

Backup & Recovery

Veeam, Datto, Acronis

Servers & Storage

Dell, HPE, Lenovo

Collaboration

Microsoft 365, Zoom, Teams

Licensing

Microsoft, VMware, Adobe

Firewall Sizing Guide 2026

Firewall Sizing Guide:
FortiGate vs Palo Alto vs SonicWall

Find the right firewall for your organization in minutes — and get competitive NET pricing that beats your current quote.

Get a Competitive Quote

How to Size a Firewall

Three numbers determine the right firewall model. Here's the math:

Raw Throughput

Internet speed × 1.5

Minimum baseline with no inspection

NGFW Throughput

Internet speed × 2.5

With SSL inspection enabled — use this number

IPS Throughput

Internet speed × 2.0

With intrusion prevention active

Pro tip: Always size to NGFW throughput, not raw firewall throughput. Raw throughput is a marketing number measured with all security features disabled — it's 3–5× higher than what you'll see with SSL inspection on.

Vendor Comparison

How the major firewall vendors stack up in 2026:

Fortinet FortiGate

Recommended

Best overall value — SMB to enterprise

40F · 60F · 100F · 200F · 400F · 600F · 900G

Palo Alto Networks

Enterprise

Best-in-class threat prevention & compliance

PA-410 · PA-440 · PA-450 · PA-1410 · PA-3440

SonicWall

Budget

Best budget option — K-12 & SMB

TZ270 · TZ370 · TZ470 · NSa 2700 · NSa 3700

Check Point

Security

Best for security-first enterprises

Spark 1600 · Spark 1900 · Quantum 6200 · 6800

Sophos XGS

Unified

Best for Sophos endpoint shops

XGS 87 · 107 · 136 · 2300 · 3300 · 4300

Cisco Meraki MX

Cloud

Best cloud-managed multi-site

MX67 · MX75 · MX85 · MX95 · MX250 · MX450

Not sure which model is right?

Use the free AI sizing tool — answer a few questions and get a specific model recommendation in under 2 minutes.

The tool will ask about:

User count & locations

Internet speed

SSL inspection needs

Compliance (PCI/HIPAA)

HA requirements

Current vendor

Click the chat bubble in the bottom right → say "help me size a firewall"

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I size a firewall for my organization?

Start with your internet speed and multiply by 2.5x to get the minimum NGFW throughput you need with SSL inspection enabled. Then factor in your user count, number of sites, VPN requirements, and any compliance needs like PCI-DSS or HIPAA. Size up one tier to account for growth.

What's the difference between firewall throughput and NGFW throughput?

Raw firewall throughput is measured with all security features off — a marketing number. NGFW throughput (with IPS, App Control, and SSL inspection enabled) is what you'll actually see in production. It's typically 3–5x lower than raw throughput. Always size to NGFW throughput.

FortiGate vs Palo Alto — which is better?

FortiGate wins on price/performance for SMB and mid-market. Palo Alto leads on App-ID granularity and compliance posture for highly regulated enterprises. For most organizations under 1,000 users, FortiGate delivers 90% of the security at 40–60% of the Palo Alto cost.

Do I need HA (high availability) for my firewall?

Yes, if downtime costs money. HA means two identical firewall units in active/passive or active/active mode — if one fails, the other takes over instantly. For any business-critical environment, always quote an HA pair.

How much does a firewall cost?

SMB firewalls (FortiGate 60F, SonicWall TZ370) range from $400–$900 hardware only. Mid-market (FortiGate 200F, PA-450) run $2,000–$8,000. Enterprise (FortiGate 600F, PA-1410) are $8,000–$30,000+. Add 20–25% annually for subscription licenses (IPS, App Control, SSL). Frankly quotes NET pricing — typically 15–30% below MSRP.

What is SD-WAN and do I need it?

SD-WAN lets you use multiple internet connections (fiber + 4G/5G) intelligently — routing traffic based on application type, latency, and cost. Fortinet's built-in SD-WAN is included free with FortiGate. If you have multiple sites or want to reduce MPLS costs, SD-WAN is worth enabling.

Ready to get a better price?

Frankly quotes NET pricing — typically 15–30% below MSRP. Submit your current quote and we'll beat it within 48 hours.

Get a Competing Quote