Fortinet Adds SD-WAN to Equinix Network Edge, Tackles Multicloud Challenges

Fortinet has made its SD-WAN solution available on Equinix‘s virtual network services marketplace.

Customers can access Fortinet Secure SD-WAN virtual network service through Equinix Network Edge. The vendors said the new colocation option caters to businesses that favor a cloud-first approach to their workloads. Customers using multicloud applications will be able to improve latency “without compromising on security.”

Fortinet’s John Maddison

“The majority of our customers use multiple cloud providers, so it’s really important for them to be able to choose where they deploy services,” said John Maddison, Fortinet’s executive vice president of products and chief marketing officer. “Fortinet collaborating with Equinix and offering Fortinet Secure SD-WAN via Network Edge gives our customers additional deployment flexibility, allowing them the option to host services outside of their branch location and accelerate their cloud journey.”

Equinix last summer rolled out virtual network services on its interconnected data center platform. Bill Long, Equinix’s senior vice president of core product management, said the Network Edge marketplace allows businesses to “modernize networks virtually.”

“By offering Fortinet Secure SD-WAN as a virtual network service on Network Edge, customers can potentially reduce capital expenses while seamlessly deploying simplified WAN Edge operations closer to end users, clouds and valuable ecosystems in more global locations,” Long said.

Fortinet reports that more than 21,000 customers have bought its SD-WAN solution. The vendor steadily rose in market share rankings in 2019, and Gartner said its SD-WAN equipment revenue was among the top three vendors. FortiGate, the Fortinet next-gen firewall, includes SD-WAN functionality.

The company announced in January that it signed an agreement to become GTT Communications’ second SD-WAN partner.