Symantec, Fortinet Partner for Cloud Security Service

Symantec and Fortinet have teamed up to provide security controls across endpoint, network and cloud environments.

Symantec is an MSSP and Fortinet partners with MSSPs. Fortinet’s Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW) capabilities will be integrated into Symantec’s cloud-delivered Web Security Service (WSS). Additionally, Symantec’s endpoint-protection solutions will be integrated into the Fortinet Security Fabric Platform, providing customers with real-time, threat intelligence and automated response for exploit-driven attacks and advanced malware.

Fortinet’s SD-WAN also will be certified to work with Symantec’s WSS through Symantec’s Technology Integration Partner Program (TIPP). As part of the collaboration, both companies plan to engage in joint go-to-market activities.

Symantec’s Peter Doggart

Peter Doggart, Symantec‘s vice president of partner strategy, tells Channel Futures’ MSSP Insider that his company’s partners will be able to sell additional cloud-delivered NGFW capabilities when positioning WSS to meet their customer’s network security needs.

“This is an additional revenue opportunity and adds to the value proposition of WSS,” he said. “Fortinet’s and Symantec’s partners will have an enhanced integration benefit to sell when they are selling to customers using Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP) or Fortinet’s on-premises NGFW products. The integration will improve their customer’s security effectiveness and simplify their threat response and remediation activities.”

John Maddison, Fortinet‘s senior vice president of products and solutions, says the pairing gives partners and customers a “great opportunity and value-add.”

“When I speak to CISOs and CIOs, they’re coming to the end of the line in buying a product for every issue that they have and they’re looking to consolidate onto larger platforms that perform multiple security functions,” he said. “In many accounts, both Symantec and Fortinet have a presence, so being able to give the customer the option of an integrated solution, wherever it may be – at the endpoint, cloud [and so on] – is very appealing to partners. It also allows the channel partner to provide a more holistic solution in terms of bringing two partners together, potentially making the customer feel confident in that the two companies have worked together, ensured the integration works and that there’s a road map involved.”

Fortinet’s John Maddison

The partnership allows more scalable deals, Maddison said. Partners won’t just be dropping off a box or adding one piece to the puzzle, they’ll be offering customers a broader architecture spanning across a larger portion of the attack surface and providing the choice of a platform approach to customers, he said.

“The relationships that last the longest and bring the most value to the company and the channel are those that have a deeper integration, that provide a holistic architecture to the customer so they feel confident they’ve got something that’s covering the whole attack surface, rather than buying a myriad of small siloed solutions that are not built to seamlessly integrate with one another,” he said.

A fully integrated cloud firewall service within WSS is expected to be available during the first half of next year. Elements of the Fortinet Security Fabric have been integrated with SEP, and the companies plan to explore further integrations.

“The integrations announced in the partnership will be extremely meaningful to the markets and industry verticals that our partners currently pursue,” Doggart said. “When selling Fortinet NGFW to existing SEP customers, partners can highlight the unique benefits of the integration, and vice versa when they are selling SEP into customers who have already invested in Fortinet firewalls.”