Fortinet has announced new product and service additions to its FortiFlex program, delivering even more flexible licensing options to customers. FortiFlex already includes a complete suite of virtualized solutions for protecting cloud and virtual data center deployments and now supports services for physical FortiGate next-generation firewall (NGFW) appliances. FortiFlex is also available beginning today via a private offer in AWS Marketplace as an additional purchasing option.
With highly distributed users accessing highly distributed applications and a growing number of edges, networks are evolving at an unprecedented rate. IT teams are often expected to procure and deploy solutions before they have a full understanding of their needs—and those needs frequently change. Flexible licensing programs, which allow organizations to pay by usage, have emerged as a solution to this challenge. While there will always be a need for traditional product licensing models, usage-based pricing offers customers an additional way to leverage the solutions they need and adapt to their business’ dynamic needs.
John Maddison, EVP Products and CMO at Fortinet, said, “The solutions organizations deploy today are becoming more flexible to support highly distributed users and applications. Licensing models should be just as flexible. That’s why we’re excited to expand our FortiFlex program to give customers more licensing options to utilize Fortinet solutions and services according to their evolving needs.”
FortiFlex offers usage-based licensing for a wide range of Fortinet’s cybersecurity solutions across cloud, hybrid cloud, and on-premises deployments. It uses a points system that makes it easy to understand available balance, usage trends, and total spending. Organizations are charged in 24-hour periods to give IT teams the flexibility to right-size their deployments each day. Customers can use points to deploy any mix of cloud and virtual machine offerings as well as services for on-premises deployments. They can even leverage budget committed to select cloud providers—including Google Cloud and, as of today, AWS—to purchase FortiFlex points.
These features allow organizations to leverage FortiFlex in a variety of ways. Key use cases include:
Reducing excessive procurement cycles for new security solutions
Simplifying the deployment and provisioning of new services through FortiFlex’s powerful APIs
Maximizing budget and return on investment (ROI) by scaling down or pausing services as needed
Optimizing cloud spend by utilizing “use it or lose it” dollars committed to cloud providers to purchase FortiFlex points that can be redeemed in the future
Managed security service providers (MSSPs) can also use a single FortiFlex account to pool licenses across their entire customer base to easily migrate and reassign licenses with ease. This means MSSPs can address their customers’ needs without worrying about overbuying—all from a single interface. FortiFlex now includes FortiGuard AI-powered Security Services and FortiCare technical support for the following entry and mid-range physical FortiGate NGFWs:
FortiGate 40F
FortiGate 60E/F series
FortiGate 70F
FortiGate 80F
FortiGate 100E/F series
FortiGate 200 E/F series
FortiGate 400F
FortiGate 600F
Backed by a single operating system, FortiOS, and a unified management console, FortiManager, all FortiGate NGFWs support hybrid mesh firewall, a term coined by Gartner. It’s defined as a security architecture that protects multiple areas of enterprise IT by coordinating threat intelligence and security policies across firewalls. With today’s news, customers have more licensing options to easily build a hybrid mesh firewall architecture. FortiFlex is now available as a private offer in AWS Marketplace to support customers using the AWS Enterprise Discount Program (EDP). AWS EDP offers high-volume AWS account owners a discount in exchange for a minimum spending threshold.
FortiFlex helps AWS EDP members reduce their minimum threshold and spending liability by converting portions to FortiFlex points. This gives customers the flexibility to use their budget to secure the best price for AWS and leverage Fortinet’s industry-leading secure networking products and services.
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