Fortinet has announced new enhancements to its single-vendor SASE offering. FortiSASE already protects the hybrid workforce via a unified agent and includes SD-WAN integration for the branch, and this news solidifies FortiSASE as a fully comprehensive offering, the company states.
What's new?
SASE for microbranches and Internet of Things (IoT)/operational technology (OT) devices: FortiSASE now includes expanded integrations within the Fortinet WLAN portfolio to further support organisations securing microbranches and related devices.
FortiAP wireless access points intelligently offload traffic from microbranches to a SASE point of presence (POP) for comprehensive security inspection at scale for all devices, including IoT and OT devices.
This integration also means the Fortinet WLAN portfolio can be managed by the same simple, cloud-based management console customers already use for FortiSASE.
All of these updates complement Fortinet's existing support for users at the location and present organisations with a new approach to cloud-based security by extending enterprise-grade protections, such as sandboxing, intrusion prevention system, and URL filtering, to microbranches without additional appliances or services.
Enhanced data loss prevention (DLP) service: As a part of its cloud-delivered security services, FortiSASE includes the FortiGuard powered DLP service to protect sensitive data across the entire hybrid environment.
This service now includes a wider range of data identifiers, file types, and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications, as well as advanced data matching techniques to prevent inadvertent data leaks. By continuously enhancing DLP, Fortinet provides organisations with deep insights into their cloud applications and tools to effectively counter new threats.
End-to-end digital experience monitoring (DEM): Fortinet's DEM offering integrates with FortiSASE to provide insights across users, Fortinet global SASE POPs, and the performance of SaaS applications, including WebEx, Office365, and Dropbox, for comprehensive network and SaaS application monitoring.
Additionally, this integration offers endpoint monitoring to deliver end-to-end visibility that empowers IT teams with the information they need to reduce resolution times and ensure a positive user experience.
A comprehensive SASE solution
Backed by FortiGuard artificial intelligence (AI)-powered security services, Fortinet's SASE solution provides unified security, simplified management, and end-to-end DEM by seamlessly converging cloud-delivered security, including secure web gateway, cloud access security broker, and Firewall-as-a-Service, and networking capabilities via SD-WAN.
It also includes universal zero trust network access (ZTNA) for robust secure access to and from the internet, privately hosted applications, and SaaS applications, the company states.
Fortinet was recently named a Challenger in the 2023 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Single-Vendor SASE. This was the first Magic Quadrant of its kind, and Fortinet was one of only eight vendors named. Additionally, Forrester named Fortinet as a Leader in the Forrester Wave: Zero Trust Edge Solutions, Q3 2023 report, which evaluates the 10 most significant solutions.
Bob Laliberte, Principal Analyst, Enterprise Strategy Group, comments, "Highly distributed application environments and hybrid work initiatives create significant challenges for organisations trying to provide secure connectivity."
"The increased complexity and risk of these environments are driving the need for more comprehensive SASE solutions. Fortinet understands these challenges and has responded by adding new capabilities beyond its unified management for SD-WAN and cloud-delivered security."
"It now offers greater protection to microbranches by integrating with WLAN, as well as adding DEM, and providing enhanced DLP to protect hybrid workers and IoT/OT devices."