Fortinet positioned as a Visionary for Wired and Wireless LAN Access Infrastructure

Fortinet announced its position as a Visionary in the 2020 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Wired and Wireless LAN Access Infrastructure.

• Gartner defines a vendor in the Visionaries Quadrant as one that “demonstrates an ability to increase features in its offering to provide a unique and differentiated approach to the market. A Visionary will have innovated in one or more of the key areas of access layer technologies within the enterprise (for example, security, management or operational efficiency). The ability to apply differentiating functionality across the entire access layer will affect its position.”
• Fortinet believes this placement, coupled with the cybersecurity provider’s legacy as an innovator, is further reinforcement that Fortinet and its Security-driven Networking strategy delivers a unique and differentiated approach to the infrastructure market.
• Fortinet’s Security-driven Networking approach to wired and wireless networking provides customers with a feature-rich offering that is secure by design and not by add-on, integrates into a larger platform to reduce complexity, and increases features without additional licensing to best address IT’s long-term TCO goals.

John Maddison, EVP of Products and CMO at Fortinet said, “LAN Edge connectivity is foundational to digital innovation, but complexity often makes it difficult to support and secure. Fortinet technology simplifies management while increasing the security of the network by tightly integrating an organization’s network infrastructure and security architecture.  We believe that our ability to execute our Security-driven Networking approach enables us to offer customers a simplified, secure, accelerated network and user experience. More, we also believe our Security-driven Networking approach is why Fortinet is placed as one of two companies in the Visionary Quadrant in the 2020 Gartner Wired and Wireless LAN Access Infrastructure Magic Quadrant.”

Highlights

Fortinet’s vision is based upon the key tenets of:

• Reduced Cost: Fortinet LAN Edge solutions reduce overall TCO and eliminates overlays by bundling features into FortiGate Next-generation Firewalls without the need for licenses. No additional license or cost is required to enable LAN Edge management, and even Network Access Control (NAC) features can be enabled and leveraged without the need for additional costly licenses.
• Simplified Management: Fortinet LAN Edge solutions simplify management by utilizing a single management platform for LAN and network security. IT cycles are minimized by having a consolidated location to manage various aspects of the network.
• Reduced Complexity: Fortinet LAN Edge solutions reduce complexity by centralizing LAN management and security functions into the FortiGate Next-generation Firewall. A single view of complex LAN networks makes for easier management with less worry about unintended disruptions​.

Fortinet’s approach enables a unique take on the LAN edge that leverages FortiGate Next-generation Firewall capabilities as a network controller, offering consolidated visibility and centralized management and reporting to ease management and simplify deployment and provisioning.

Fortinet Solves Customers’ Biggest LAN Challenges
Fortinet has been named a Gartner Peer Insights Customers’ Choice for Wired and Wir eless LAN Access Infrastructure  for three years in a row. This Gartner Customers’ Choice recognition is based on the ranking of vendors by verified end-user professionals – both the number of end-user reviews and the vendor’s overall user rating are considered when determining these rankings. Fortinet believes that this additional customer validation further highlights that Fortinet’s simple, secure, and scalable approach to LAN Edge resonates with customers. Building off the power of Security-driven Networking and our FortiGate Next-generation Firewall, Fortinet offers a LAN Edge solution that can scale to any deployment’s needs, from campus to branch to the remote worker.

• Campus Networks: Fortinet’s LAN Edge solution creates a single consolidated configuration reducing the chance for error, and a common platform for day-to-day management of network and security. Security-driven Networking eliminates the need for additional “bolt on” solutions to integrate management and security functions.
• SD-Branch: Security-driven Networking approach to LAN Edge allows consolidation of the three main components of the branch network (SD-WAN, Firewall/Security, and the network layer) into a single standard platform for all branches. This simplifies remote oversight and administration of distributed sites to a single converged solution per site.
• Teleworker: Fortinet’s Security-driven Networking approach to LAN Edge works for remote wireless Access Points as well. Leveraging a central FortiGate at headquarters reduces configuration and management complexity for IT while allowing remote users to have the same experience as connecting at a corporate office.