Fortinet Named a Leader, Placed Highest in Ability to Execute in the 2021 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for WAN Edge Infrastructure

Ranked #1 for Remote Worker, Security-Sensitive WAN and Small Branch Use Cases in 2021 Gartner® Critical Capabilities for WAN Edge Infrastructure

We are pleased to announce that Fortinet has been named a Leader in the 2021 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for WAN Edge Infrastructure for the second year in a row, placing highest for ability to execute for our Fortinet Secure SD-WAN solution. With over 34,000 WAN Edge customers, organizations across all industries and verticals trust Fortinet to address their challenges in transforming and securing their WAN.

We believe that Fortinet’s robust networking and security capabilities that are built to meet evolving customer requirements, as well as high visibility in the market and high customer ratings, have contributed to our position as a Leader in the 2021 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for WAN Edge Infrastructure, placing us highest for ability to execute.

Five years ago, Fortinet led the industry by pioneering a security-driven networking approach to SD-WAN with Fortinet Secure SD-WAN, powered by the world’s only SD-WAN ASIC to accelerate performance. Because of this approach, our customers worldwide are able to realize superior quality of experience for their users, and a simplified architecture with accelerated security, all powered by one operating system to achieve operational efficiencies across all WAN and cloud edges. We believe these attributes of Fortinet Secure SD-WAN contributed to our position in the Leaders Quadrant with the highest placement for ability to execute.

Fortinet is Ranked #1 for the “Remote Worker” Use Case

In another report, the 2021 Gartner® Critical Capabilities for WAN Edge Infrastructure, Fortinet ranked #1 in the Remote Worker Use Case, a new addition to the report this year. We believe our placement as #1 emphasizes the ability of Fortinet Secure SD-WAN to support and secure work from anywhere for organizations of any size—from small branch offices to large, global enterprises.

Today, users are connecting to the network and business-critical applications from anywhere, and according to a recent IDC survey, that trend is not expected to end anytime soon—it is estimated that more than half of workers are expected to have a hybrid work schedule post-COVID. This is why ensuring remote workers' quality of experience and security are top of mind for organizations. 

To address these needs, Fortinet has pioneered built-in Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) Access Proxy functionality and Secure SD-WAN in a single solution at no additional cost. This enables organizations to provide consistent quality of experience as users move and work inside and outside the office, and increases an organization’s security posture effectiveness. Furthermore, organizations can eliminate device sprawl, and enforce one policy consistently across all edges, including off- and on- network users protecting the entire digital attack surface.

Fortinet is Ranked #1 for the “Security-Sensitive WAN” and “Small Branch WAN” Use Cases

In addition to the “Remote Worker” use case, Fortinet has scored the highest in the “Security-Sensitive WAN” and “Small Branch WAN” Use Cases in the 2021 Gartner® Critical Capabilities for WAN Edge Infrastructure.

Why the Integration of Networking and Security Is Key 

Transforming the WAN without transforming security can create challenges for organizations as the volume and sophistication of cyberattacks increase and the digital attack surface grows. Fortinet Secure SD-WAN converges networking and security, allowing organizations to confidently adopt a cloud-first strategy and secure users and business-critical applications. We believe this has contributed to our #1 ranking in the “Security-Sensitive WAN” use case.

Enabling Secure and Continued Connectivity at Branch Locations with SD-Branch

Organizations across retail, financial services, law firms and other market segments are looking to simplify their infrastructure by building a software-defined branch. Fortinet’s Secure SD-Branch solution extends the features of Fortinet Secure SD-WAN across the entire branch network to deliver the most secure and manageable remote branch. We believe that the ability of Fortinet Secure SD-WAN to be deployed as a foundational appliance to transition to SD-Branch has contributed to our placement in the “Small Branch WAN” use case.

In addition to being named a Leader in the 2021 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for WAN Edge Infrastructure and ranked #1 for three out of five use cases in the 2021 Gartner® Critical Capabilities™ for WAN Edge Infrastructure, Fortinet was named as a Customers’ Choice in the February 2021 Gartner Peer Insights ‘Voice of the Customer’: WAN Edge Infrastructure report for the second year in a row in recognition of the reviews that customers have provided for our Secure SD-WAN solution.

Fortinet has always been committed to being at the forefront of SD-WAN innovation as customer use cases change and networks continue to evolve. We were not only the first vendor to transform and secure the WAN powered by a single operating system, FortiOS, but also pioneered key SD-WAN features such as integrated security and now ZTNA capabilities. With the lowest TCO in the industry, advanced security, and high-performance connectivity, Fortinet Secure SD-WAN delivers best-of-breed security and SD-WAN functionality to customers around the globe. 

Download the 2021 Gartner Magic Quadrant for WAN Edge Infrastructure and the 2021 Gartner® Critical Capabilities for WAN Edge Infrastructure. Furthermore, please visit the Fortinet Secure SD-WAN page for more information.

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s Research & Advisory organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Gartner and Magic Quadrant are registered trademarks of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.

This graphic was published by Gartner, Inc. as part of a larger research document and should be evaluated in the context of the entire document. The Gartner document is available upon request from Fortinet.

Gartner and Magic Quadrant are registered trademarks of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved. Gartner, Magic Quadrant for WAN Edge Infrastructure, Jonathan Forest, Naresh Singh, Andrew Lerner, Evan Zeng, 20 September 2021.

Gartner Critical Capabilities for WAN Edge Infrastructure, Jonathan Forest, Andrew Lerner, Naresh Singh, Evan Zeng, 21, September 2021.

Gartner Peer Insights ‘Voice of the Customer’: WAN Edge Infrastructure, By Peer Contributors, 5 February 2021.

Gartner Peer Insights Customers’ Choice constitute the subjective opinions of individual end-user reviews, ratings, and data applied against a documented methodology; they neither represent the views of, nor constitute an endorsement by, Gartner or its affiliates.