Fortinet, Inc. (Fortinet) provides integrated and automated cybersecurity solutions.
The company’s integrated platform, the Fortinet Security Fabric, spans secure networking, unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven security operations (SecOps).
As of December 31, 2024, the company’s end-customers were located in over 100 countries and included enterprises across a wide variety of market verticals, including financial services, retail, healthcare and op...
Fortinet, Inc. (Fortinet) provides integrated and automated cybersecurity solutions.
The company’s integrated platform, the Fortinet Security Fabric, spans secure networking, unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven security operations (SecOps).
As of December 31, 2024, the company’s end-customers were located in over 100 countries and included enterprises across a wide variety of market verticals, including financial services, retail, healthcare and operational technology (OT) market verticals, communication and security service providers, and government organizations. As of December 31, 2024, the company’s customers included approximately 80% of the Fortune 100 companies and approximately 72% of the Global 2000 companies.
As of December 31, 2024, the company held 1,034 U.S. patents and 1,378 global patents and the company has been recognized in over 140 enterprise analyst reports demonstrating both the company’s vision and execution across security and networking products.
FortiOS: FortiOS enables the convergence of security and networking to enforce consistent security policies across form factors and edges. As the foundation of the Fortinet Security Fabric, FortiOS empowers organizations to unify management and analytics for comprehensive network visibility and control at scale. To further validate the company’s strategy, FortiOS has been recognized across five Gartner Magic Quadrants, including Firewall, Software-Defined Wide-Area Network (SD-WAN), Security Service Edge (SSE), SASE Platforms and Wired and Wireless Local Area Network (LAN).
FortiASIC: The company’s Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC)-based security processing units (SPUs) increase the speed, scale, efficiency and value of the company’s solutions while improving user experience, reducing footprint and power requirements. From branch and campus to data center solutions, SPU-powered Fortinet appliances deliver superior Security Compute Ratings versus industry alternatives.
FortiCloud: The company’s organically built global cloud infrastructure, powered by FortiStack which is its secure software as a service (SaaS) platform operating as a private cloud service provider and leveraging software and hardware to optimize and secure all layers, provides customers with global reach, flexible connectivity, and cost savings.
FortiAI: The company’s AI innovations encompass generative AI (GenAI), big data AI for threat intelligence to process and analyze trillions of events using AI/Machine Learning (ML), network operations AI for self-healing networks and automated network orchestration, automation and response, and AI for Large Language Model (LLM) leakage to protection against data leakage into LLMs. The company’s GenAI assists security teams to make better decisions, rapidly respond to threats and save time on even the most complex tasks. FortiAI is seamlessly integrated into the user experience of several of its products, including FortiAnalyzer, FortiSIEM and FortiSOAR, to help optimize threat investigation and response, Security information and event management (SIEM) queries, Security, orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR) playbook creation, among other functions.
FortiEndpoint: FortiEndpoint converges secure connectivity, endpoint protection and advanced capabilities like endpoint detection and response and extended detection and response (XDR), into a single agent. It simplifies management and enhances visibility while reducing costs and complexity. The solution gives IT teams the visibility and control they need, while security teams benefit from automated threat detection and response. This minimizes the need for manual intervention and provides faster remediation of threats across all environments.
OT Security: The Fortinet Security Fabric enables security for converged IT/OT ecosystems. It also provides an OT Security Platform with features and products to extend Security Fabric capabilities to OT networks in factories, plants, remote locations and ships. To help alleviate security risks across the organization, the company has continued to enhance its OT Security Platform offerings. These innovations range from edge products to Network Operations Center (NOC) and Security Operations Center (SOC) tools and services to provide effective and efficient networking and cybersecurity performance and operation.
Secure Networking
The company’s Secure Networking solutions focus on the convergence of networking and security via FortiOS, the company’s networking and security operating system that is the foundation of its Fortinet Security Fabric platform and supports over 30 functions that can be delivered via a physical, virtual, cloud or software as a SaaS solution. When delivered through its network firewall appliances, functionality is accelerated through its proprietary ASIC technology. These proprietary ASICs, allows the company’s systems to scale, run multiple applications at higher performance, lower power consumption and perform more processor-intensive operations, such as inspecting encrypted traffic, including streaming video. The company’s network firewall offerings consist of a FortiGate data center, hyperscale and distributed firewalls, as well as encrypted applications (secure sockets layer (SSL) inspection, virtual private network and Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) connectivity). The company’s ability to converge networking and security also enables the ethernet to become an extension of its customers’ security infrastructure through FortiSwitch and FortiLink. The company’s wireless LAN solution leverages secure networking to provide secure wireless access for the enterprise LAN edge. FortiExtender secures 5G/LTE and remote ethernet extenders to connect and secure any branch environment. The company’s Secure Connectivity solution includes FortiSwitch secure ethernet switches, FortiAP wireless local area network access points and FortiExtender 5G connectivity gateways.
Unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)
As applications move to the cloud and hybrid workforce is now the norm, enabling secure access for users with zero trust framework becomes important. The Fortinet Unified SASE solution includes a single-vendor SASE solution that includes firewall, SD-WAN, secure web gateway, cloud access services broker, Data Loss Prevention (DLP) and zero trust network access to deliver flexible secure access for all users. The company is one of the few vendors to deliver consistent convergence and AI-powered security across Secure SD-WAN and SSE to enable a single-vendor SASE framework with a cloud-centric architecture powered by FortiOS. The company’s global and scalable cloud network includes 150+ points of presence to deliver the seamless secure access experience. Given this, the company is well positioned to support customers expanding from SD-WAN to a single-vendor SASE platform. Additionally, the company offers a full suite of comprehensive, integrated cloud security solutions that enable customers to secure their applications from code to cloud. The company’s solutions include application security that includes its web application firewalls, cloud network security with virtualized firewalls and cloud-native firewalls, cloud-native application protection and code security. The company delivers a holistic approach to cloud security, offering a single unified platform for cloud security and secure Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD) application development needs, consolidating protection across multiple disparate tools, including coding, deploying, and running applications across hybrid and multi-clouds, and delivering AI-driven security across integrated solutions with visibility and context across hybrid and multi-cloud. Additionally, the company also offer flexible consumption licensing programs that enable organizations to dynamically optimize their cloud security needs and investments as well as readily meet their cloud minimum spend commitment obligations with Cloud Service Providers.
AI-Driven Security Operations (SecOps)
The company’s AI-Driven SecOps portfolio provides a comprehensive suite of cybersecurity solutions that identify, protect, detect, respond and recover from threats, all integrated within the Fortinet Security Fabric. At the core is FortiAnalyzer, which serves as the central SOC platform with its unified data lake that provides built-in SIEM, SOAR, XDR and threat intelligence, enabling centralized visibility, analytics and automation with complete control. FortiSIEM delivers robust security information and event management for more advanced SOC requirements, while FortiSOAR enables automated orchestration and playbook-driven response. This solution set also includes FortiEDR, FortiXDR, FortiNDR, FortiSandbox, FortiDeceptor, FortiDLP and FortiRecon, helping organizations achieve defense in depth, ensuring attackers face multiple layers of detection and mitigation across endpoints, networks, and applications. To bolster their security posture, organizations contending with staff shortages can tap into FortiGuard services, including SOC-as-a-Service (SOCaaS), Managed detection and response (MDR), Security Posture Assessment and Incident Response. Finally, FortiAI generative AI assistance streamlines operations, helping security teams stay ahead of an ever-evolving threat landscape.
FortiGuard Labs is the company’ cybersecurity threat intelligence and research organization consisted of experienced threat hunters, researchers, analysts, engineers and data scientists who develop and utilize machine learning and AI technologies to provide timely protection updates and actionable threat intelligence for the benefit of its customers. Using millions of global network sensors, FortiGuard Labs monitors the worldwide attack surface and employs AI to mine that data for new threats.
FortiGuard and Other Security Services are a suite of AI-powered security capabilities that are natively integrated as part of the Fortinet Security Fabric to deliver coordinated detection and enforcement across the entire attack surface. The portfolio consists of FortiGuard application security services, content security services, device security services, NOC/SOC security services and web security services.
FortiCare Technical Support Service is a per-device technical support service, which provides customers access to experts to ensure efficient and effective operations and maintenance of their Fortinet capabilities. Global technical support is offered 24x7 with flexible add-ons, including enhanced service-level agreements (SLAs) and priority hardware replacement through in-country and local depots. Organizations have the flexibility to procure different levels of service for different devices based on their availability needs. The company offers three per-device support options tailored to the needs of its enterprise customers: FortiCare Elite, FortiCare Premium and FortiCare Essential. The FortiCare Elite service aims to provide a 15-minute response time for key product families.
In addition to FortiCare device level services, Advanced Support service options are available per account. These services are available for regional account support in three options: Core, Pro and Pro Plus, and can be globalized at the Pro and Pro Plus levels. Advanced Support brings support directly to each account, helping account holders to make their operations more effective and to plan and manage their solution lifecycle.
Additionally, the company is committed to addressing the cybersecurity skills shortage through training and certification programs for customers, partners and employees. The Fortinet Training Institute’s ecosystem of public and private partnerships around the world extend to industry, academia, government and nonprofits to ensure the company is reaching and increasing access of its cybersecurity certifications and training to all populations. The Fortinet Training Institute has issued over one million certifications to date.
Acquisitions
On August 1, 2024, the company closed an acquisition of Lacework Inc. (Lacework), a privately held data-driven cloud security company.
On August 5, 2024, the company completed the acquisition of Next DLP Holdings Limited (Next DLP), a privately held insider risk and data loss prevention company.
On December 5, 2024, the company closed an acquisition of certain assets and liabilities of Perception Point Ltd., a business specializing in advanced collaboration and email security.
Customers
The company’s end-customers are in over 100 countries and include small, medium and large enterprises and government organizations across a wide range of industries, including financial services, government, manufacturing, retail, technology, education, healthcare and telecommunications. An end-customer deployment may involve as few as one or as many as dozens of different types of integrated products and services from across the company’s broad portfolio that spans secure networking, unified SASE, and security operations. Depending on the solution or form factor purchased, customers may also access its products via the cloud through its data centers and PoPs, third-party colocations and cloud providers such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud. Often, the company’s customers also purchase its FortiGuard and other security subscription services and FortiCare technical support services.
Sales and Marketing
The company primarily sells its products and services through a two-tier distribution model. The company sells to distributors that sells to resellers and to service providers and managed security service providers (MSSPs), who, in turn, sells products and/or services to end-customers. In certain cases, the company sells directly to large service providers, major systems integrators and large end users. The company works with many technology distributors, including Arrow Electronics, Inc., Exclusive, Ingram Micro, and TD Synnex. In addition, it provides its cloud-based subscription offerings through Fortinet-owned data centers and PoPs, as well as data centers operated under colocation arrangements globally, and via public cloud providers.
The company’s channel partners with a dedicated team of experienced channel account managers, sales professionals and sales engineers who provide business planning, joint marketing strategy, pre-sales and operational sales support. Additionally, its sales teams help drive and support large enterprise and service provider sales through a direct touch model. The company’s sales professionals and engineers typically work closely with its channel partners and directly engage with large end-customers to address their unique security and deployment requirements. To support its broadly dispersed global channel and end-customer base, the company has sales professionals in over 100 countries around the world.
The company’s marketing strategy is focused on building its brand, driving thought leadership with emphasis on the criticality of cybersecurity platform adoption and the convergence of security and networking as well as driving end-customer demand for its security solutions. The company uses a combination of internal marketing professionals and its network of regional and global channel partners. The company’s internal marketing organization is responsible for messaging, branding, demand generation, product marketing, channel marketing, partner incentives and promotions, event marketing, digital marketing, communications, analyst relations, public relations, and sales enablement. The company focuses its resources on campaigns, programs, and activities that can be leveraged by partners worldwide to extend its marketing reach, such as sales tools and collateral, product awards and technical certifications, media engagement, training, regional seminars and conferences, webinars, and various other demand-generation activities.
Manufacturing and Suppliers
The company’s manufacturing partners include Accton Technology (Accton), IBASE Technology, Inc. (IBASE), Micro-Star International Co. (Micro-Star), Senao Networks, Inc. (Senao), Wistron Corporation (Wistron), and a number of other manufacturers. The company’s proprietary ASICs, which are key to the performance of its appliances, are built by contract manufacturers including Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc. (Toshiba America) and Renesas Electronics America, Inc. (Renesas). These contract manufacturers use foundries in Taiwan and Japan operated by either Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC) or by the contract manufacturer itself.
The components included in the company’s products are sourced from various suppliers by the company or, more frequently, by its contract manufacturers. Some of the components important to the company’s business, including certain Central Processing Units (CPUs) from Intel Corporation (Intel) and Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD), network and wireless chips from Broadcom Inc. (Broadcom), Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (Marvell), Qualcomm Incorporated (Qualcomm) and Intel and memory devices from Intel, Micron Technology (Micron), ADATA Technology Co., Ltd. (ADATA), Toshiba Corporation (Toshiba), Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (Samsung), and Western Digital Technologies, Inc. (Western Digital), are available from limited or sole sources of supply.
Intellectual Property
As of December 31, 2024, the company had 1,034 U.S. and 1,378 global patents and 451 pending U.S. and foreign patent applications.
Seasonality
The company’s quarterly results reflect a pattern of increased customer buying at year-end, which has positively impacted billings and product revenue activity in the fourth quarter (year ended December 2024). In the first quarter, the company generally experiences lower sequential customer product buying, followed by an increase in buying in the second and third quarters. On a quarterly basis, the company has usually generated the majority of its product revenue in the final month of each quarter and a significant amount in the last two weeks of each quarter. This is due to customer buying patterns typical in this industry.
Competition
The company’s competitors include Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (Check Point), Cisco Systems, Inc. (Cisco), CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (CrowdStrike), F5 Networks, Inc. (F5 Networks), Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (HPE), Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei), Juniper Networks, Inc. (Juniper), Microsoft Corporation (Microsoft), Netskope Inc. (Netskope), Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (Palo Alto Networks), SonicWALL, Inc. (SonicWALL), Sophos Group Plc (Sophos) and Zscaler, Inc. (Zscaler).
History
Fortinet, Inc. was founded in 2000. The company was incorporated in Delaware in 2000.
