Single-vendor SASE solutions offer a streamlined approach to network security and access, providing organizations with a unified platform that integrates essential functions like network connectivity, security and application optimization. This single-vendor approach delivers flexibility in managing and controlling access to critical resources and applications for users and devices. It simplifies the deployment and maintenance processes, reducing complexities and offering a more cohesive security architecture. This unified solution can even enhance visibility, control and scalability while also potentially lowering operational costs.

However, the reality for many enterprises is that they rely on multiple vendors to fulfill different aspects of their SASE requirements. Each vendor may specialize in one particular function, such as secure web gateways, SD-WAN or firewall solutions. This only brings more challenges for organizations.

Organizations must navigate the complexities of managing different operating systems, configurations and management consoles from various vendors. This means it is more difficult to maintain consistency, enforce policies and ensure seamless integration, and can often result in increased administrative overhead, interoperability issues and potential security gaps.

Fortinet is set to change the conventional single-vendor SASE approach by offering a unified solution that ensures uniform policies and controls across on-premises and cloud environments: Universal SASE. It facilitates seamless integration across all SASE functions and deployment scenarios, catering to the dynamic needs of the modern hybrid workforce while reducing the IT administrative burden.

Within the Fortinet (News - Alert) Universal SASE framework, FortiOS takes the lead in running the SASE stack, encompassing elements like a bidirectional firewall, SD-WAN, secure web gateway, encryption/decryption, CASB, DLP and ZTNA. It also boasts the adaptability to operate on an accelerated appliance or within the FortiSASE cloud, ensuring consistent networking, security, and policy management at every network edge. These capabilities are further fortified by FortiGuard AI-powered Security Services, which encompass features like IPS, DNS filtering, URL filtering, anti-malware and sandboxing.

This means that regardless of whether they choose to run it on a hardware appliance or in the cloud, businesses can count on a unified suite of essential security functions with additional layers of protection. This not only simplifies the management of policies and controls but also equips businesses with the flexibility and robust security measures needed to adapt to the evolving demands of a modern, hybrid workforce while mitigating IT overhead and enhancing network edge security.

Additionally, FortiFlex, Fortinet’s flexible consumption program, has been extended to Fortinet Universal SASE solutions. The SASE stack from Fortinet can be consumed as part of FortiFlex, whether customers want to use on-prem or FortiSASE cloud-based services.

FortiFlex offers usage-based licensing across cloud, hybrid cloud, and on-premises deployments to give IT teams the flexibility to continually right-size their deployments, reduce excessive procurement cycles for new security solutions, simplify the deployment and provisioning of new services, and maximize budget and ROI by enabling IT teams to scale down or pause services as needed.

“The Fortinet operating system, FortiOS, is the industry’s only enterprise-grade converged operating system able to support all SASE functions, whether deployed in an appliance or cloud-delivered from Fortinet,” said Ken Xie, founder, chairman of the board and CEO, Fortinet. “This approach enables over 30 converged networking and security functions to be managed through a single console.

This news expands Fortinet’s reach of its SASE stack, now delivering over 100 FortiSASE cloud locations globally as well as bringing the full SASE stack to campus and branch locations with the new FortiGate 120G SASE appliance.