Cybersecurity firm Fortinet announced its Secure SD-Branch solution to secure the WAN and access edge and enable security-driven networking for distributed enterprises. Fortinet's Secure SD-Branch solution extends the Fortinet Security Fabric and the benefits of SD-WAN to network access, converging WAN and security into an integrated platform. This convergence increases security and visibility while reducing complexity, improving performance and agility, and lowering overall IT costs at the edges of the network.
The company said that customers are in the midst of a digital transformation, operating hybrid cloud architectures with both remote and local compute, as well as SaaS applications, creating multiple network edges beyond the WAN and access edge. This explosion of edges, which all must be secured, is causing many organizations to struggle to implement adequate security throughout their distributed enterprises.
The complexity of managing these edges – including often complicated and overlapping point products and appliances – adds an additional challenge. The increased number and variety of IoT devices connected to the branch network also introduces opportunities for hackers to target and access sensitive data. Additionally, customers who are adopting SD-WAN are finding that they need tighter integration of their LAN platforms to extend Secure SD-WAN features into the network for improved security and manageability.
As digital transformation continues to radically change how organizations do business, it is essential that all parts of the network are secured and aligned to not jeopardize new digital business opportunities. For the branch to realize its full potential, it needs secure, real-time access to data and resources—wherever they are located.
“To compete in today's digital economy, businesses need to provide high quality cloud connectivity and secure device and user access. Usually companies stitch together network and security solutions, which results in an architecture that is very slow to change and creates operational holes. Fortinet's Secure SD-Branch is the only unified WAN edge, secure WiFi and switching and network access control solution available today, securing the WAN and access edge in an integrated and automated fashion from a single console,” said Rajesh Maurya, Regional Vice President, India & SAARC at Fortinet.
“Many customers upgrading to SD-WAN also prioritize securing the WAN edge. Fortinet's Secure SD-Branch solution offers tighter integration between the WAN and LAN platforms to keep consistent security and management, helping us expand our reach beyond SD-WAN to the access layer,” said Joshua Knight, Vice President and General Manager, Cybersecurity at Dimension Data Americas.
“Organizations looking to deploy SD-WAN should also take a look at SD-Branch to integrate their WAN and LAN platforms. Fortinet delivers a complete approach to SD-Branch by integrating security as well as the wireless network as part of their solution. They're bringing a lot of extra capabilities to the table with security at the forefront,” said Zeus Kerravala, Principal Analyst at ZK Research.
