From a networking perspective, the past 12 months have been marked by the sudden dominance of the “home edge” as remote work became the norm for many Canadians. But, as jarring as that transition was for some organizations, it’s hardly the only pressure networks faced.
The once orderly network and its WAN, LAN and data centre edges have slowly fragmented as the multi-cloud, LTE and 5G, distributed computing models and even operational technology networks took hold and have converged. To add to the complexity, they evolved over time. It has left managers to oversee networks that are more difficult to secure than ever, forced to rely on a wide variety of isolated security tools to protect the organization.
These challenges we have attempted to address in recent years with the Fortinet Security Fabric, an integrated platform designed to span the extended network while providing consistent security and performance across all edges. Earlier this month, we unveiled a major new development in our efforts to build a modern Security Fabric and ensure consistent security for all edges. The newest version of our flagship operating system, FortiOS 7.0, is designed to do this and tackle some of the biggest security challenges facing today’s organizations.
Greatly reduce your attack surface. The new FortiOS allows for quick and easy deployment of Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), ensuring validated and authorized access to specific sets of networked resources based on role, device type and more. By replacing traditional VPN connections, ZTNA improves the overall experience of those accessing the network. The ZTNA feature also makes it easy for IT managers to deploy and enforce any user policies they choose, whether those users are on or off the network, paving the way for a more dynamic, secure foundation.
Better protect your remote workers. Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) is an emerging enterprise strategy that combines network and security functions with WAN capabilities to support the needs of today’s organizations. Some have called it the future of security. FortiOS 7.0 is designed with the SASE model in mind, extending on-premise security features to those working at home. With it, users are provided with constant protections and policy enforcement no matter where they are located.
Improve multi-cloud performance. Many organizations find it challenging to ensure consistent security policy and enforcement, or to manage and optimize multi-cloud environments. FortiOS 7.0 offers users adaptive cloud security offerings that provide the optimized performance and security today’s users need.
Stay on top of the evolving threat landscape. FortiOS also provides users with FortiGuard Labs threat intelligence and the many offerings contained within the FortiGuard security services portfolio, which now includes web protection optimized for those working from home. It also includes the industry’s first video filtering service to provide even more front-line protection for employees. It’s another important way to help build a comprehensive, long-term security strategy.
The Security Fabric approach is a powerful proposition for businesses and governments alike, providing the scale, flexibility and cutting edge security technologies they need to ensure long-term business stability. The release of FortiOS 7.0 dramatically extends this commitment. For organizations seeking ways to ensure their people have safe and trouble-free access to applications, resources, data, and services regardless of where they are deployed, there’s no better place to start planning for a new era of secure digital innovation.
