COVID-19’s work-from-home mandates have introduced new network edge and security problems to businesses, many of whom already had their hands full in these areas. Disparate point solutions, staff challenges and separate management consoles may have made integration difficult for many, according to John Maddison (pictured), chief marketing officer and executive vice president of products at Fortinet Inc.

Fortinet recently acquired OPAQ Networks Inc., a secure access service edge (SASE) cloud platform, and is integrating it with its existing portfolio to create the “most complete SASE framework in the marketplace,” Maddison said. “More and more, I’m finding customers wanting to converge — which is the basis of [SASE].”

SASE has been enjoying a bit of industry hype lately due to its edge-security potential. It is basically an approach to security-driven networking that resolutely connects all edges, such as software-defined wide-area networks, cloud platforms, mobile devices and other internet of things gadgets. It is an important step forward in establishing an identity-driven platform that provides a seamless experience for end users, Maddison pointed out.

Maddison spoke with John Furrier, host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio, for a CUBE Conversation. They discussed Fortinet’s purchase of OPAQ and the promise of SASE for security-driven networking platforms. (* Disclosure below.)

Add cloud, ASICs and AI network ops

The more network edge points multiply — and they certainly are multiplying with today’s remote work culture — the greater the need to mesh them into one. The new networking goal is a predictable end-user experience across all locations and devices, unmarred by security issues. Can Fortinet deliver with a new SASE acquisition on top of its integrated platform?

Along with OPAQ’s technology, Maddison points to Fortinet’s zero-trust network-access capability, firewall as a service, and the full flexibility of the platform. Its consumption model makes it deliverable to appliances, virtual machines and the cloud. Such a versatile and open platform is not only useful for connecting diverse edge points; it also provides a view across all possible attack vectors, whether application, email or network vulnerability.

On top of its enhanced visibility, Fortinet is looking to build new features for orchestration and intelligence, according to Maddison. One reason it decided to acquire OPAQ was for the company’s hyper-peering relationships with approximately 150 transit providers at the core of the internet, including popular cloud providers, which ensure low latency. Fortinet is also leveraging application-specific integrated circuit chips, which can be 50 to 100 times faster than equivalent CPUs for high performance and high availability, Maddison explained. This will be a benefit as it attempts to build more sophisticated artificial intelligence into its platform offering.

“The long-term goal, I think, will be around AI network ops, where the system and the big-data systems are looking across your network, across these different components, to see where there may be an issue,” he stated. 

All of this may sound complicated despite the simple end goal; an integrated, intelligent platform, as opposed to isolated point solutions. It is just about making the network and network security behave the same in all contexts.

“In the end, it’s all about the user experience: ‘Do I have a high-quality experience whatever application I’m using?’” Maddison concluded. 

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s CUBE Conversations. (* Disclosure: Fortinet Inc. sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither Fortinet nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE