Customer Perspectives

As the digitalization of business unfolds, the cloud plays an increasingly key role in enterprise IT. As a result, organizations must implement innovative approaches to protect their businesses from cyberthreats. While still vitally important, firewalls are only part of the answer. Modern enterprise security must evolve to take account of employees being able to work from nearly any location and the increased use of cloud applications. 

From Firewall Refresh to Security Consolidation

The time had come for one U.K. equipment rental company to review its security posture. Its firewalls had come to the end of their operational lives, and the company was keen to move on from its incumbent vendor, having worked with them for 15 years.

The company had all but decided to select a leading firewall and web security vendor when it came across Fortinet. During a workshop led by Fortinet, the company was impressed by the integrated, platform-based approach to security of the Fortinet Security Fabric. It also became apparent that the company needed to do more than just upgrade its firewalls.

To ensure its security posture is fit to protect its business fully, which includes many mobile workers and increasingly more international expansion, it would need to consolidate onto a single vendor platform and adopt a zero-trust security strategy.

Comprehensive Protection for a Cloud-First World

Having realized the extent of its security needs, the company acquired 2,000 FortiSASE user licenses. FortiSASE, Fortinet's single-vendor secure access service edge, enables secure access from anywhere to the web, the cloud, and enterprise private applications. The solution comprises an AI-powered secure web gateway (SWG), zero-trust network access, cloud access security broker (CASB), and Firewall-as-a-Service, all of which share the same OS and can be managed centrally through a single pane of glass.

In addition, the company has achieved its desired firewall refresh by deploying the FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall, which delivers industry-leading AI/ML-powered security and networking convergence. The firewalls are supported by FortiGuard AI-Powered Security Services, which deliver advanced web security services and protection against network- and file-based threats. Meanwhile, the company uses FortiAnalyzer, a logging and analytics solution, to gain insights into threats and network events.

The company's Fortinet devices are supported by FortiCare Premium Support, which provides 24x7x365 technical support.

An Enhanced Security Posture and a Partner for the Future

Throughout the process, the company was impressed with Fortinet's technical engagement. In particular, the customer valued Fortinet's ability to quickly pivot conversations and bring in technical experts when required. This included running a dedicated fast track for the customer to experience Fortinet solutions and see the technology's power.

Through its partnership with Fortinet, the customer will achieve an enhanced user security posture by implementing the various SASE components. The SWG and CASB, for instance, will ensure that users have secure access to the internet and cloud applications, regardless of where they are working. This is a major advantage, given the size of the company's mobile workforce.

Furthermore, the customer will enhance its security posture by consolidating its existing web proxy solution. The long-term benefit is that the organization can continue to reduce management overhead through vendor consolidation to Fortinet.

In a modern work-from-anywhere world, the ability of users to securely access enterprise resources from any location is vital. Working with Fortinet, the equipment rental company has managed to do just that while also consolidating its technology infrastructure and reducing overhead. The company is also prepared for the future with access to a broad set of network and security technologies seamlessly integrated and automated with the Fortinet Security Fabric.

Find out how the Fortinet Security Fabric platform delivers broad, integrated, and automated protection across an organization's entire digital attack surface to deliver consistent security across all networks, endpoints, and clouds.