What does being “future ready” truly mean when the future is highly uncertain and preparedness is difficult to define?

A global pandemic has reshaped the future-ready concept for many, and that was one of the key themes that emerged from the Fortinet Security Summit in Napa, California, this week.

“Companies are always describing products and solutions as future ready,” said Lisa Martin (pictured, left), co-host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. “Well, when the pandemic struck, none of us were future-ready. But what we did see and hear today from Fortinet and their partners is how much acceleration they’ve done so that, going forward, we are going to be future ready for situations that arise like this challenging cybersecurity landscape.”

Martin spoke with co-host John Furrier (pictured, right) during the post-event wrap discussion at the Summit. They discussed culture change for security organizations made necessary by growing DevOps influence and Fortinet’s investment in its partner ecosystem. (* Disclosure below.)

Balancing speed and risk

One of the dynamics worth watching in the cybersecurity world will be how security departments can adapt to an increasingly stronger DevOps culture in many businesses. By its very protective nature, security departments are not always popular, because the tendency is to slow things down and provide careful review of applications and workloads to minimize risk.

“The DevOps movement is putting pressure on the security teams, and with app review, everything has to be looked at. And it can take weeks,” Furrier noted. “That is not good for developers, and the cultural shift is that security departments have to become more agile. That is a big untold story right now.”

Fortinet’s Security Symposium was wrapped into the Fortinet Championship golf tournament, a part of the FedEx Cup regular season led by the PGA Tour. It provided an opportunity to highlight the synergies between the PGA and a prominent cybersecurity vendor such as Fortinet, which has continued to grow its business and community partner ecosystem.

“Both of these organizations are so invested in things like women in technology, STEAM and STEM programs, and they really align on those cultures,” Martin said. “One of the things you definitely feel is the strength in their partner community and Fortinet’s commitment to it.”

Watch the complete video below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the Fortinet Cybersecurity Summit. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the Fortinet Cybersecurity Summit. Neither Fortinet Inc., the sponsor for theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE