Fortinet again named leader of leaders in Magic Quadrant for UTM

London, 11 August 2014 - For the 6th consecutive year running, security vendor Fortinet has been identified as the clear leader of the Leaders Quadrant in the 2014 Magic Quadrant for Unified Threat Management (UTM) report, by IT research firm Gartner.

Unified Threat Management

The UTM concept was created "to improve security, user experience, network performance, and manageability", but very quickly the financial and operational benefits for organisations using this technology were widely acknowledged by the market, and more and more multifunction firewall-based security appliances started to appear. New acronyms such as NGFW (Next Generation Firewall) have since sprouted, and whilst analysts may try to position UTM and NGFW for different market segments, in actuality - based on the concept and application of the technology - they are effectively the same thing.

About Magic Quadrants

Magic Quadrants are annual reports put together by Gartner, which identifies leading vendors in particular fields, and measures them against a vertical axis “Ability to Execute” and a horizontal axis “Completeness of Vision”. The comparisons are made through interviews and Vendor Briefings, weighing up not just the market share or revenue generated, but also against their vision and development plans for the solution.

Positioning on these reports have become extremely important to vendors as more and more customers have turned to the Gartner Magic Quadrants for an easy comparison guide when making decisions on which solution to choose – so much so that not appearing on an MQ can automatically filter out a vendor as a considered option.

With the term 'Unified Threat Management' rapidly catching on, Gartner acknowledged its "wide recognition" leading it to begrudgingly rename and replace its magic quadrant for 'SMB multifunction firewalls'. First introduced in 2008, the Gartner Magic Quadrant for UTM featured Fortinet on the edge of the Leaders Quadrant, but in 2009 Fortinet was identified as the clear leader in the Leaders Quadrant, and has remained in the top spot for six consecutive years.

It's inevitable that the Gartner Magic Quadrant for UTM, and the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Firewalls will eventually merge, such is the speed of development and its effect on dissolving the wafer thin argument to differentiate the two.

Leadership & Innovation

As entrepreneur and co-founder of Apple Inc, Steve Jobs once famously said, "Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower", and Fortinet is not resting on it's laurels. The FortiGate Connected UTM platform already supports the comprehensive set of security features one would expect from a market leading UTM solution: Firewall, VPN, IPS, Anti-malware, URL and Application control. Taking the concept of UTM to the next level, Fortinet’s commitment to innovation adds Integrated High-Density Switching (including PoE) and Wireless LAN which eliminates the need to deploy standalone switches or wireless controllers, further simplifying network deployment and reducing management costs.

Having 'one platform for all solutions' is a model that many in the UTM Magic Quadrant have tried to follow, particularly the 'Niche' players. Indeed many have taken and adapted open source solutions, or have bought-in technology from other vendors and patched it together to meet the basic UTM definition. However Fortinet's approach of developing their own technology to increase performance and interoperability, such as FortiAsic, FortiOS, and the award-winning FortiGuard Labs Threat Research team, means that no other UTM vendor can match the combination of security performance, functionality and pricing that Fortinet offers to both SMB and Distributed Enterprise.

By setting up the Cyber Defense Consortium earlier this year, Fortinet has also led the way in getting the Information Security industry to speed up the rate of development for solutions to new threats such as Zero day and APT. Through the sharing of key discoveries within a critical timescale, the consortium aims to drive a coordinated industry effort against cybercrime and cyber criminals through deep collaboration on threat intelligence and sharing of preventative measures.

1. Better cross-industry, cross-vendor threat intelligence
2. Better coordination of incident response
3. Better prevention of cyber attacks using advanced malware

“We look forward to combining our threat resources to offer customers innovative ways to more comprehensively combat modern day dynamic, sophisticated threats.” said Ken Xie, Fortinet’s Chairman and CEO.

Trusted Adviser and Partner of Excellence

Named as the UK’s first ever Fortinet Partner of Excellence, and one of only a handful worldwide, Infosec Partners has achieved the highest recognition from one of the foremost leading vendors of network security and network infrastructure. To achieve the award, Infosec Partners had to demonstrate a level of expertise across the entire Fortinet portfolio, including FortiGate, Fortinet’s Unified Threat Management Firewall solution.

A trusted adviser to significant organizations, Infosec Partners has a track record of guiding executive teams with their overall security strategy, either acting as - or assisting incumbent - Chief Information Security Officers. With a ready to mobilize team of technical experts to integrate, configure and deploy all types of Firewall solution, and a commitment to providing vendor-independent advice, Infosec Partners helps organisations choose, implement and manage the best security solutions to fit their needs.

About Fortinet

Fortinet (NASDAQ: FTNT) helps protect networks, users and data from continually evolving threats. As a global leader in high-performance network security, the company enables businesses and governments to consolidate and integrate stand-alone technologies without suffering performance penalties. Unlike costly, inflexible and low-performance alternatives, Fortinet solutions empower customers to embrace new technologies and business opportunities while protecting essential systems and content.

The Fortinet portfolio of products is unrivaled and Infosec Partners utilises this technology suite to provide ultimate protection and certified secure computing environments to some of the world’s largest and most sensitive businesses and also to some of the world's high profile individuals and families.

Press Contact: Virginia Phillips

T: +44 (0)845 257 5903 E: virginia.phillips@infosecpartners.co.uk