HPE Aruba + Fortigate 200G vs UniFi U7 Pro XGS + Enterprise Fortress Gateway
I work in education sector, and we are upgrading our current infrastructure, right now we have different brands switch and ruckus APs, moving forward I have 2 options, either go with HPE Aruba (core switch, access switch, APs) and with fortigate 200G or go with Unifi core and access switch, APs (U7 pro xgs) and firewall (Enterprise Fortress Gateway).
We are looking for 2 core switch, 8 acccess switch, 2 POE wifi switch, 40 APs.
The price difference is huge with Unifi (excluding support) costing around 60K CAD less for 7 year term.
Is it worth spending so much money on aruba and fortigate?
It's my first big project in my career and I dont wanna make wrong decision. I dont have and IT expert in my team, I am kinda one man show.
Any suggestions or ideas are welcomed.