Vendor overview
Fortinet
Fortinet is a global cybersecurity leader headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. Founded in 2000, the company serves over 700,000 organisations worldwide — from small businesses to large enterprises and government agencies — with one of the broadest portfolios of integrated security technologies available from a single vendor. Its Security Fabric architecture ties networking and security together across the entire digital attack surface.
- 700K+
- Organisations protected globally
- #1
- Network firewall vendor by units shipped
- 50+
- Enterprise-grade security products
- FortiOS
- Single OS across the entire product range
- FortiGuard
- 24/7 AI-powered threat intelligence labs
Security Fabric
Fortinet's Security Fabric is the foundation of its platform. Rather than a collection of standalone tools, it is a tightly integrated architecture that shares threat intelligence, enforces consistent policy, and enables automated response across every layer — from the network edge to the cloud.
Unified platform
One architecture, one operating system (FortiOS), and one management console across firewalls, switches, wireless and cloud.
AI-driven intelligence
FortiGuard Labs processes millions of threat signals daily and pushes real-time updates to every Fortinet device automatically.
Broad integration
Open APIs and a large partner ecosystem let Fortinet fit into existing environments alongside third-party tools.
Hybrid-ready
Consistent security policies across on-premise, private cloud, public cloud and remote workers — enforced from a single pane of glass.
Core product lines
FortiGate
Next-Generation Firewall & SD-WAN
The flagship product line. FortiGate NGFWs deliver firewall, IPS, application control, SSL inspection and integrated SD-WAN in a single appliance, powered by Fortinet's proprietary security processors (SPU/NP/CP chips) for performance that software-only solutions cannot match.
FortiManager
Centralised Management
Single-pane management for thousands of FortiGate devices and policies across all sites, with role-based access, audit trails and automation workflows.
FortiAnalyzer
Log Management & Analytics
Collects, correlates and analyses logs from across the Security Fabric to surface threats, generate compliance reports and support incident response.
FortiClient
Endpoint & Zero Trust
Endpoint protection, VPN and ZTNA agent that integrates with FortiGate and EMS to enforce zero-trust access policies for remote and hybrid workers.
FortiSwitch
Secure Switching
Managed access-layer switches that integrate directly into FortiGate management — no separate switch controller required.
FortiAP
Secure Wireless
Wi-Fi access points managed through FortiGate, bringing the same security policy enforcement to wireless that applies at the network edge.
FortiMail
Email Security
Inbound and outbound email security with anti-spam, anti-phishing, sandboxing and data loss prevention for on-premise or cloud deployment.
FortiSASE
Cloud-Delivered SASE
Combines SD-WAN, ZTNA, SWG, CASB and FWaaS in a cloud-delivered service for organisations moving users and workloads off the traditional perimeter.
Why organisations choose Fortinet
Purpose-built security processors
Fortinet designs its own ASICs — the NP (network processor), CP (content processor) and SP (security processor) — which offload computationally intensive tasks like SSL inspection, IPS and firewall policy enforcement from the CPU. This delivers significantly higher throughput at lower latency than generic hardware.
Integrated SD-WAN — no separate appliance
SD-WAN is built directly into every FortiGate and runs on the same FortiOS, so there is no additional licence or hardware to manage. Application-aware path selection, SLA monitoring and automatic failover are all included.
Zero trust network access (ZTNA)
FortiGate was the first NGFW to integrate ZTNA enforcement natively. Every connection from a remote user is verified continuously — not just at login — based on user identity, device posture and application context.
FortiGuard threat intelligence
Fortinet's in-house research team monitors the global threat landscape 24/7 and delivers automatic signature, reputation and behaviour updates to every connected device. Customers benefit from intelligence gathered across the entire installed base of 700,000+ organisations.
Common use cases
Enterprise perimeter firewall
Secure SD-WAN for branch offices
Zero trust access
Cloud and hybrid security
Remote worker protection
Secure wireless LAN
Email security
SIEM & log analytics
OT & industrial security
Education & healthcare
Available through Robinson Distribution. We supply the full Fortinet FortiGate range in South Africa, including hardware appliances, licences and FortiGuard security subscription bundles.
Contact our team for local pricing, sizing guidance and deployment support.
