Telefónica, Fortinet launch global Secure SD-WAN service

Telefónica Tech, Telefónica's digital business unit, and Fortinet, a global enabler in broad, integrated and automated cybersecurity solutions, are expanding their current strategic alliance, and launched a new global managed service centered around a security-driven networking approach to SD-WAN.

The new service converges networking and security functionality into a single integrated offering to empower the hybrid work era: enable the workforce to have the best performance and security while connecting from the offices, factories or sites and extend this experience when remotely accessing business applications.

Combining the global capabilities of Fortinet Secure SD-WAN with the managed security and cloud services of Telefónica Tech ensures quality of experience and security no matter where users are located by providing agile connectivity and next-generation managed security ready for multi-cloud environments.The hybrid and cloud- centric work model adopted to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic is the new normal, as offices begin to reopen, organizations have been accelerating the migration of their services to the cloud to improve their performance and allow employees to work from anywhere.

This new managed service, flexWAN by Fortinet, is an evolution of the flexWAN service as it now natively integrates cybersecurity. It will be first launched in Spain and soon extended globally throughout Telefónica’s worldwide footprint across Europe and the Americas. Backed by strong technical expertise, the new service will allow Telefónica Tech clients to leverage state-of-the-art managed security and advanced connectivity. Built on the principles of security-driven networking, the converged networking and security managed service will also enable the extension to SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) to allow Telefónica customers to accelerate the digitalization of the workplace securely and with the best performance possible with state-of-the-art connectivity.

Hugo de los Santos, Director of Cybersecurity and Cloud Products and Services at Telefónica Tech, says: "This new converged network and security offering is essential for our clients so that their digital transformation and migration to the cloud is fast and secure. Our long experience with Fortinet has shown us that it is a great ally in evolving our Managed Security Services (MSS) to a converged and secure SD-WAN network. This alliance undoubtedly reinforces our positioning as a benchmark technological partner for those companies that need to advance in digitization in the safest way possible and reinforce their resilience."

John Maddison, EVP of Products and CMO at Fortinet, adds: "We are proud to expand our collaboration with Telefónica Tech to combine its managed security services and intelligence operations carried out from SOCs with our secure SD-WAN and SASE products. We are dedicated to working with our partners to develop solutions based on security-driven networking principles to solve customer challenges and protect people, devices and data everywhere."

One more step with Fortinet

The joint launch of this new service expands Telefónica and Fortinet’s long-standing strategic alliance. In June 2016, both companies formally announced a strategic alliance agreement to include Fortinet’s Security Fabric architecture into Telefónica’s portfolio of managed security services, now provided by Telefónica Tech.

In addition, in June 2020, Telefónica Tech continued to strengthen the collaboration channels with Fortinet and integrated its IT, OT and IoT security solutions, consolidating itself as a Fortinet Regional Partner in Europe, to continue helping customers to strengthen their security.

The joint work of recent years allows Telefónica Tech to combine SD-WAN services with the capacity and experience of its SOCs - complementing its SD-WAN and SD-Branch Specializations from the Fortinet Engage Partner Program - to offer advanced global managed services with the power of Telefónica's 5G networks, enabling next-generation and differentiated SD-WAN and SASE solutions.

Telefónica Tech is also a Fabric-Ready technology alliance partner in the Fortinet Open Ecosystem, which boasts more than 400 technology integrations. The partnership extends the benefits of the Fortinet Security Fabric to customers and allows them to achieve advanced and comprehensive security across their entire infrastructure.