An agile, integrated, resilient, and more secure SD-WAN
Modern business requirements for remote work and cloud computing flipped the script on security and access. There are far more users, devices, applications, data, and services residing outside the enterprise perimeter than within.
In fact, Gartner predicts that by 2025, more than 85 percent of enterprises will have more smart edge devices on their network than laptops, tablets, desktops, or smartphones. Further, they predict that by 2026, more than 90 percent of enterprises will have had a security incident related to the edge network.
Security-Driven Networking with SD-Branch
Infrastructure and operations (I&O) leaders in networking and security must rethink old architectures and security paradigms in favor of anywhere, anytime connections – but with a keen eye on securing those connections with consistent and contextual least-privileged access policies for every user and device. And manageability is key.
Creating a user-friendly network edge that is also secure and manageable used to be incompatible. Not anymore. Enter SD-Branch, the next generation of security-driven networking from Fortinet.
Fortinet’s SD-Branch platform unifies WAN, LAN, and WLAN environments and extends to all branch components, from the WAN edge to the branch access layer, to the endpoints – including IoT and OT devices. It extends Fortinet’s Secure SD-WAN capabilities across wired and wireless networks and simplifies branch infrastructure management. The solution is suitable for mid-market and large enterprise businesses alike.
Its benefits include:
- Improved security at the network edge
- Simplified network and security architecture
- Enhanced visibility and management
- Better connectivity, increased resiliency (proven up to 65% reduction in disruptions)
- Improved mean time to resolution (proven up to 50% better MTTR)
- Easy scalability and zero-touch deployment, leading to lower TCO
SD-Branch Key Capabilities
Simplify
SD-Branch allows for the consolidation of circuits, creating a simpler platform that is easier to manage, more secure, and more nimble. And, it can be managed from a single pane of glass.
Secure
SD-Branch covers a network in its entirety, across all devices and locations, from the cloud to every edge to the core. That consolidated approach keeps everything within view, streamlining and strengthening security.
Standardize
SD-Branch allows for real-time security of IoT devices, in addition to the safe onboarding of new, remote devices across the network. With improved visibility, anomalies are more easily detected.
Simplify. Secure. Standardize.
SD-Branch incorporates Fortinet’s FortiGate next-generation firewalls and the broader Fortinet Security Fabric architecture, which includes FortiAP secure wireless access points (APs), FortiSwitches with FortiLink secure Ethernet, and FortiNAC network access control for endpoints and IoT devices. All of this can be easily managed in a single-pane-of-glass view via FortiOS.
Further, Gartner included Fortinet as a Leader in the Magic Quadrant for SD-WAN, placing it highest in that quadrant for ability to execute.
Best of Breed vs. Platform
Network security needs to be managed with a forward-thinking approach to stay ahead of vulnerabilities, ensure reliability and resilience, and manage access across networks experiencing an increasing volume of endpoints.
“By 2024, organizations that adopt a cybersecurity mesh architecture to integrate security tools, so that they work together as an ecosystem, will reduce the financial impact of individual security incidents by 90%, on average,” according to Gartner.
With that in mind, I&O leaders must weigh decisions between the traditional approach of piecemealing a network with “best of breed” products and services or integrating one platform for all network needs.
The benefits of a single platform approach, offered by SD-Branch, include:
- Operational scalability
- Management simplicity
- Cost savings
- Improved experience for end users & IT staff
- Contract uniformity
- Customer service consistency
SD-Branch, SSE, and SASE At Work
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Ideal SD-Branch Transformation Timing
Mergers & Acquisitions | Platform Refresh | Zero Trust Endeavors
