Fortinet Delivers Unmatched Flexibility and Simplicity with New Enhancements to Its Unified SASE Solution

Rhea-AI Summary

Fortinet (NASDAQ: FTNT) has announced significant enhancements to its unified SASE solution, introducing sovereign SASE and generative AI capabilities. The company's unified SASE offers complete integration between Secure SD-WAN and cloud-delivered security service edge (SSE) under a single console. Key updates include:

1. Sovereign SASE: Allows organizations to maintain local control over inspection and logs, ensuring data privacy and compliance.

2. FortiAI for SD-WAN: A GenAI assistant to manage and orchestrate SD-WAN infrastructure, accelerating deployment and management.

3. Remote browser isolation (RBI) natively configured within the FortiSASE cloud-based management console.

4. Improved network performance for on-demand full mesh networks and self-healing features.

5. Native SCIM support for streamlined management and operations.

These updates reinforce Fortinet's position as a leader in SASE innovation and its commitment to providing flexible, comprehensive security solutions.

Positive

• Introduction of sovereign SASE for enhanced data privacy and compliance
• Integration of FortiAI for SD-WAN to improve management and deployment efficiency
• Addition of remote browser isolation (RBI) for better protection against web-borne attacks
• Improved network performance for on-demand full mesh networks
• Native SCIM support for streamlined management and operations
• Named a Challenger in the 2024 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Single-Vendor SASE
• Recognized as a Leader in the 2023 Gartner Magic Quadrant for SD-WAN

Negative

• None.

Insights

Cybersecurity Analyst

Fortinet's latest enhancements to its Unified SASE solution mark a significant step forward in the cybersecurity landscape. The introduction of sovereign SASE addresses growing concerns about data sovereignty, particularly important for industries handling sensitive information. This move could potentially expand Fortinet's market share in highly regulated sectors.

The integration of GenAI into Fortinet Secure SD-WAN is a game-changer. By streamlining Day 0 to Day 2 operations, it could significantly reduce deployment times and operational costs for enterprises. However, the true test will be in its real-world performance and the accuracy of its AI-driven decisions.

Fortinet's recognition in Gartner's Magic Quadrant reports for SASE, SD-WAN and SSE underscores its strong market position. The continuous monthly updates demonstrate a commitment to innovation, which is important in the fast-evolving cybersecurity field. Overall, these enhancements position Fortinet competitively in the SASE market, potentially driving growth in enterprise adoption and revenue.

Network Security Expert

Fortinet's unified SASE approach addresses a critical pain point in the industry - the fragmentation of SASE solutions. By offering a single operating system, management console and data lake, Fortinet simplifies complex network security architectures. This could lead to reduced operational overhead and improved security posture for organizations.

The addition of remote browser isolation (RBI) natively within the FortiSASE console is a significant security enhancement. It provides an extra layer of protection against web-based threats, which are increasingly sophisticated. The self-healing features in Fortinet Secure SD-WAN also stand out, potentially reducing network downtime and improving overall reliability.

However, the true differentiator is the flexibility offered by Sovereign SASE. This feature allows organizations to maintain control over their data routing and inspection, addressing compliance requirements in various jurisdictions. This could be a major selling point for Fortinet, especially in regions with strict data sovereignty laws.

AI and Machine Learning Specialist

The integration of GenAI into Fortinet's SD-WAN solution represents a significant leap in network management automation. By leveraging AI for configuration assistance, consultation and troubleshooting, Fortinet is addressing the growing skills gap in cybersecurity. This could potentially reduce human error and accelerate problem resolution.

However, the effectiveness of GenAI in cybersecurity contexts remains to be fully proven. The quality of AI-generated recommendations will heavily depend on the training data and the specific implementation. It will be important to monitor how this AI integration performs in real-world scenarios, especially in terms of accuracy and adaptability to new threats.

The monthly update cycle for the SASE solution is commendable, allowing for rapid integration of new AI capabilities. This agile approach to development could give Fortinet an edge in keeping pace with evolving AI technologies and cybersecurity threats. However, it also raises questions about the stability and testing of these frequent updates in critical security infrastructure.

New sovereign SASE offering and intelligent Generative AI integration showcase company’s commitment to SASE innovation

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Aug. 27, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

John Maddison, Chief Marketing Officer at Fortinet
“Many vendors today are packaging up fragmented SASE capabilities and calling it ‘unified SASE.’ Fortinet is the only vendor with a unified SASE solution united by one data lake, one operating system, and AI-driven security that also offers customers unparalleled deployment flexibility. Not only are we offering a truly integrated solution, but we’re also adding more flexibility and simplicity with the introduction of sovereign SASE and new generative AI features.”

News Summary
Fortinet^® (NASDAQ: FTNT), the global cybersecurity leader driving the convergence of networking and security, today announced the addition of sovereign SASE and generative AI (GenAI) capabilities to its robust unified SASE solution. Fortinet Unified SASE provides complete integration between Fortinet’s Secure SD-WAN solution and cloud-delivered security service edge (SSE) under a single console for seamless management, visibility, and security. The new updates announced today further the company’s vision of delivering a comprehensive and highly flexible unified SASE solution to customers.

Hybrid Networks Require a Truly Unified SASE Solution
Most SASE solutions available today are fragmented, meaning they require many management consoles and agents while providing limited visibility and security enforcement. This complexity is expensive to maintain and creates gaps in security. Fortinet is unique in its ability to create a unified SASE solution that is powered by a single operating system, management console, endpoint agent, and data lake while truly integrating SD-WAN and SSE. Fortinet Unified SASE provides all core SASE features, the industry’s most flexible connectivity (including access points and switches), and intelligent AI integrations with unified management, end-to-end digital experience monitoring (DEM), and consistent security policy enforcement with zero trust, both on-premises and in the cloud.

The Importance of Flexible Connectivity: Sovereign SASE
According to Gartner^®, “Buyers are increasingly demanding more options for data and cloud sovereignty, including where traffic is routed, where it is inspected, and where logs are stored.” This is especially true for organizations operating in highly regulated verticals with sensitive data like finance, government, and healthcare. New Fortinet Sovereign SASE provides a comprehensive SASE delivery option that enables organizations to maintain local control over inspection and logs. This ensures robust data privacy and compliance while offering enhanced security and flexibility to large enterprises and service providers.

With Fortinet Sovereign SASE, customers can determine how their data is routed and where security inspections occur, whether to a data center owned by Fortinet, a partner, or the customer, while ensuring their traffic is protected by Fortinet’s full security stack.

FortiAI for SD-WAN Brings the Power of GenAI to Unified SASE
GenAI has emerged as a critical tool to support IT and cybersecurity staff and enable them to make better decisions faster. FortiAI, Fortinet’s GenAI assistant, is now available for Fortinet Secure SD-WAN to manage and orchestrate the entire SD-WAN infrastructure. This integration accelerates and enhances Day 0 through Day 2 operations, including visual and configuration assistance, consultation, and troubleshooting. Customers can now deploy and manage their SD-WAN solutions quicker and more efficiently than ever before.

Continuous Innovation Delivers Advanced Features to Fortinet Unified SASE
Fortinet is committed to continuous SASE innovation and releases monthly updates so organizations can address their changing needs and stay one step ahead of attackers. Recent Fortinet Unified SASE updates include:

• Remote browser isolation (RBI) can now be configured natively within the FortiSASE cloud-based management console so organizations can isolate user web browsing traffic to protect their sensitive data from web-borne attacks.
• Fortinet Secure SD-WAN now promotes better network performance for on-demand full mesh networks and self-healing features that rectify issues in real time when building autonomous SD-WAN networks.
• Native SCIM support within Fortinet Unified SASE streamlines management and operations by making users and groups created on the identity provider directly available in the SASE portal. This reduces the need for coordination between separate IT teams, simplifying administrative tasks and enhancing efficiency.
• Universal ZTNA updates include access support to any application from any location and an application catalog that automates configurations for all ZTNA application integrations, eliminating the need to individually configure destinations.

We believe this dedication to innovation is why Fortinet was recently named a Challenger in the 2024 Gartner Magic Quadrant™ for Single-Vendor SASE for the second year in a row, a Leader in the 2023 Gartner Magic Quadrant for SD-WAN for the fourth year in a row, and a Challenger in the 2024 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Security Service Edge.

Learn More at the Fortinet Unified SASE Summit
As a part of our commitment to SASE evolution, Fortinet is hosting a Unified SASE Summit on October 10, “SASE Meets AI: Transform a Secure Hybrid World.” Attendees will get an exclusive look at the future of SASE and how it’s reshaping hybrid work security with insights from Fortinet customers and Google Cloud. Additionally, attendees will also gain insights from Gartner experts.

Additional Resources

• Learn more about the many benefits of Fortinet Unified SASE.
• Read more about and register for the upcoming Unified SASE Summit, “SASE Meets AI:
  Transform a Secure Hybrid World.”
• Learn about Fortinet’s free cybersecurity training, which includes broad cyber awareness and product training. As part of the Fortinet Training Advancement Agenda (TAA), the Fortinet Training Institute also provides training and certification through the Network Security Expert (NSE) Certification, Academic Partner, and Education Outreach programs.
• Learn about FortiGuard Labs threat intelligence and research and outbreak alerts, which provide timely steps to mitigate breaking cybersecurity attacks.
• Follow Fortinet on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. Subscribe to Fortinet on our blog or YouTube.
  

GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally, Magic Quadrant is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Single-Vendor SASE, By Andrew Lerner, Jonathan Forest, Neil MacDonald, Nat Smith, Charlie Winckless, 3 July 2024.

Gartner, Magic Quadrant for SD-WAN, Jonathan Forest, Naresh Singh, Andrew Lerner, Karen Brown, 27 September 2023.

Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Security Service Edge, Charlie Winckless, Thomas Lintemuth, Dale Koeppen, 15 April 2024.

About Fortinet
Fortinet (NASDAQ: FTNT) is a driving force in the evolution of cybersecurity and the convergence of networking and security. Our mission is to secure people, devices, and data everywhere, and today we deliver cybersecurity everywhere you need it with the largest integrated portfolio of over 50 enterprise-grade products. Well over half a million customers trust Fortinet's solutions, which are among the most deployed, most patented, and most validated in the industry. The Fortinet Training Institute, one of the largest and broadest training programs in the industry, is dedicated to making cybersecurity training and new career opportunities available to everyone. Collaboration with esteemed organizations from both the public and private sectors, including CERTs, government entities, and academia, is a fundamental aspect of Fortinet’s commitment to enhance cyber resilience globally. FortiGuard Labs, Fortinet’s elite threat intelligence and research organization, develops and utilizes leading-edge machine learning and AI technologies to provide customers with timely and consistently top-rated protection and actionable threat intelligence. Learn more at https://www.fortinet.com, the Fortinet Blog, and FortiGuard Labs.

Copyright © 2024 Fortinet, Inc. All rights reserved. The symbols ® and ™ denote respectively federally registered trademarks and common law trademarks of Fortinet, Inc., its subsidiaries and affiliates. Fortinet’s trademarks include, but are not limited to, the following: Fortinet, the Fortinet logo, FortiGate, FortiOS, FortiGuard, FortiCare, FortiAnalyzer, FortiManager, FortiASIC, FortiClient, FortiCloud, FortiMail, FortiSandbox, FortiADC, FortiAI, FortiAIOps, FortiAntenna, FortiAP, FortiAPCam, FortiAuthenticator, FortiCache, FortiCall, FortiCam, FortiCamera, FortiCarrier, FortiCASB, FortiCentral, FortiConnect, FortiController, FortiConverter, FortiCWP, FortiDB, FortiDDoS, FortiDeceptor, FortiDeploy, FortiDevSec, FortiEdge, FortiEDR, FortiExplorer, FortiExtender, FortiFirewall, FortiFone, FortiGSLB, FortiHypervisor, FortiInsight, FortiIsolator, FortiLAN, FortiLink, FortiMoM, FortiMonitor, FortiNAC, FortiNDR, FortiPenTest, FortiPhish, FortiPlanner, FortiPolicy, FortiPortal, FortiPresence, FortiProxy, FortiRecon, FortiRecorder, FortiSASE, FortiSDNConnector, FortiSIEM, FortiSMS, FortiSOAR, FortiSwitch, FortiTester, FortiToken, FortiTrust, FortiVoice, FortiWAN, FortiWeb, FortiWiFi, FortiWLC, FortiWLM and FortiXDR. Other trademarks belong to their respective owners. Fortinet has not independently verified statements or certifications herein attributed to third parties and Fortinet does not independently endorse such statements. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, nothing herein constitutes a warranty, guarantee, contract, binding specification or other binding commitment by Fortinet or any indication of intent related to a binding commitment, and performance and other specification information herein may be unique to certain environments.

Media Contact:	Investor Contact:	Analyst Contact:
Travis Anderson Fortinet, Inc. 408-235-7700 pr@fortinet.com	Aaron Ovadia Fortinet, Inc. 408-235-7700 investors@fortinet.com	Brian Greenberg Fortinet, Inc. 408-235-7700 analystrelations@fortinet.com

FAQ

What new features has Fortinet (FTNT) added to its unified SASE solution?

Fortinet has added sovereign SASE for local control over data inspection and logs, and FortiAI for SD-WAN, a generative AI assistant for managing SD-WAN infrastructure. They've also introduced remote browser isolation, improved network performance, and native SCIM support.

How does Fortinet's (FTNT) sovereign SASE benefit organizations?

Fortinet's sovereign SASE allows organizations to maintain local control over inspection and logs, ensuring data privacy and compliance. This is particularly beneficial for highly regulated industries like finance, government, and healthcare.

What is FortiAI for SD-WAN and how does it enhance Fortinet's (FTNT) SASE solution?

FortiAI for SD-WAN is a generative AI assistant that helps manage and orchestrate SD-WAN infrastructure. It accelerates and enhances Day 0 through Day 2 operations, including visual and configuration assistance, consultation, and troubleshooting, allowing for quicker and more efficient deployment and management of SD-WAN solutions.

How has Fortinet (FTNT) been recognized in recent Gartner Magic Quadrant reports?

Fortinet has been named a Challenger in the 2024 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Single-Vendor SASE for the second year in a row, a Leader in the 2023 Gartner Magic Quadrant for SD-WAN for the fourth year in a row, and a Challenger in the 2024 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Security Service Edge.