BT has announced a new service where its global network is complemented by Fortinet’s SD-WAN security. This will allow users to take advantage of the extensive capabilities offered by SD-WAN without having to worry about its security.
BT has offered an SD-WAN product for some time and says that while its use brings flexibility and cost benefits for creating a hybrid network, it also increases the attack surface. The company believes that traditional edge security is therefore no longer sufficient.
SD-WAN plus security
BT has therefore joined forces with Fortinet to add its security services to BT’s SD-WAN product. The idea is that companies can go to one supplier for both the firewall and the extra security on top of it. All contact will be through BT. Its experts support customers throughout the service lifecycle with constant monitoring, management and optimisation.
Four advantages
Central management of the entire infrastructure makes it easy for users to add new devices and infrastructures to their network. In addition, BT identifies four benefits of integrating Fortinet Secure SD-WAN. The first is improved performance and user experience through the ability to prioritise business-critical traffic and real-time services. The central management console makes complete management of the network easy, whether it’s managing locations, troubleshooting or continuing to deploy Secure SD-WAN. Furthermore, the protection and availability of the network is ensured by integrating SD-WAN and security within one solution. Finally, the combination of two products should provide a better return on investment.
Partners for over ten years
This is not the first collaboration between BT and Fortinet. The two companies have been partners in developing and implementing network solutions for businesses for over ten years. Together they aim to provide businesses and their employees with secure access to applications and workloads and to extend SASE-based zero trust security mechanisms to the edge.
Tip: Fortinet and Linksys collaborate to secure home offices