While 2020 brought a mass shift from office to work-from-home, 2021 has emerged as more of a hybrid model for many. While some companies are reopening for employees, a significant number remain connected via home networks.

Fortinet Inc. has teamed up with Linksys Inc. to provide secure technology for hybrid work. The two companies announced Linksys HomeWRK for Business/Secured by Fortinet as an offering to deliver enterprise grade performance and security for the work-from-home environment.

“We’ve created a product which brings that enterprise grade technology for the first time into the home,” said Harry Dewhirst (pictured), chief executive officer of Linksys Holdings Inc. “IT managers no longer have to compromise when it comes to security. They can apply the same policies that they would be doing in an office of 10,000 people to 10,000 offices in individuals’ homes.”

Dewhirst spoke with Lisa Martin, host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio, during the Fortinet Security Summit. They discussed key features of the new offering and the broad range of industries that have moved to a hybrid work model. (* Disclosure below.)

Wi-Fi mesh and video conferencing

The joint Linksys/Fortinet solution offers Wi-Fi 6 tri-band mesh technology and security to automatically block suspicious malware and filter potentially harmful content. The network is also optimized for video conferencing, voice calls, and screen sharing through Zoom Inc.

“It spins up a corporate network and that network, for all intents and purposes, is imitating exactly like if you were sitting at your desk in your office,” Dewhirst noted. “IT managers can push and manage security policies seamlessly. It’s as if employees are sitting in one of their facilities, and that’s really the bar that I believe companies should be holding themselves to.”

This week’s announcement underscores a belief that the global pandemic has fundamentally altered the work landscape. Hybrid is the new normal and network security has become just as important in the home environment as it was inside the walls of many businesses.

“We really expect to see banking, finance, insurance, healthcare, pharma as key verticals we would expect to be successful in,” Dewhirst said. “We’re not going to be hermits and live at home forever, but this has opened both companies’ and individuals’ eyes into what’s possible. If you implement these types of measures, then you are setting yourself up for success.”

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the Fortinet Security Summit. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the Fortinet Security 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