In today's evolving threat landscape, it's more important than ever for organizations to have a strong understanding of the threats they are up against so they can respond accordingly with the necessary security controls and solutions. However, it's not always easy for organizations to stay abreast of new threat trends due to the resource-intensive nature of threat analysis and the cybersecurity skills gap that has stretched resources thin. As a result, businesses have become increasingly reliant on their security vendors to understand the threat landscape and to convey that knowledge to ensure there are no gaps in their network defenses.

Having a clear understanding of current threats is necessary for both customers and vendors in order to minimize the impact cyberattacks have on organizations, as well as to provide vendors with an opportunity to grow their business by leveraging this intelligence.

At Fortinet, we are committed to helping our partners expand their business and profits while making the digital world more secure. That is why we have created the Network Security Expert (NSE) program. The NSE program is an eight-level certification course designed to educate partners on today's biggest network risks, and show them how they can leverage Fortinet's line of advanced security solutions to mitigate these threats for customers by becoming a certified partner. 

What is the NSE Program?

The NSE program was designed for partners seeking to expand, as well as validate, their knowledge and experience within the network security space. Each self-paced, instructor-led course builds a partners' understanding of current network needs, from foundational to advanced, providing the information necessary to accelerate the sales process.

Over the course of the program, partners demonstrate their understanding and ability through independently moderated exams, experiential exercises, and written evaluations to progress through six levels of proficiency. Here's a brief look at the six levels.

1. Network Security Associate
   This title comprises the first three levels of NSE training (NSE 1, 2, and 3). In these three courses, partners are given a foundational understanding of the modern threat landscape, and the core and advanced Fortinet solutions available to combat these threats.
2. Network Security Professional
   This next level of certification (NSE 4) provides the information necessary to configure, install, and monitor FortiGate Devices.
3. Network Security Analyst
   Candidates at the Network Security Analyst level (NSE 5) demonstrate proficiency using ForitAnalyzer and FortiManager to conduct network analysis and reporting.
4. Network Security Specialist
   This certification (NSE 6) goes beyond expertise of just our next-generation firewall to ensure tactical understanding of the entire Security Fabric, including the various integrated solutions of which it is comprised.
5. Network Security Architect
   This certification (NSE 7) is given to partners who, after having completed the necessary courses and evaluations, demonstrate an advanced ability in deploying, administering, and troubleshooting various Fortinet solutions.
6. Network Security Expert
   This final certification (NSE 8) in the NSE program is given to partners with technical experience who demonstrate comprehensive abilities in network security design and configuration for advanced networks.

How Partners Benefit from NSE

The ability to demonstrate each level of expertise, from threat landscape awareness to advanced design and configuration, offers immense opportunities to partners as they are better equipped to not only understand the needs of customers, but also exactly how to execute on those needs with advanced technologies.

This expertise is proven to help our partners grow their business and increase their revenue. Being NSE certified conveys your level of network security expertise to prospective customers, and has made NSE-compliant partners more revenue than those who are not compliant.

Additionally, each of our partner levels (authorized, silver, gold, and platinum) requires a certain level of NSE compliance to meet and maintain status. Achieving these certifications will ensure that partners are able to access the rewards, benefits, and promotions of the Fortinet Partner Program.

To ensure partners continue to reap the benefits of the Partner Program, and grow while keeping their customers secure, it is important to be aware of NSE compliance deadlines. The next deadline is March 31^stand applies to APAC and EMEA partners. Other regions will face deadlines later in 2018. More information can be found on the Partner Portal.

Final Thoughts

The ultimate goal of the Fortinet Partner Program is to help our partners maximize revenue through the expert deployment of Fortinet's security solutions, while also securing an increasingly threatened digital world. By participating in the NSE program, partners are equipping themselves to meet both of these goals.

For more information on current promotions, events, and product updates contact your Fortinet representative, or refer to the Fortinet Partner Portal.

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