Fortinet widens market by signing Vistorm deal

Vendor signs its first MSSP and claims it will offer more opportunities for partners

Vistorm has become Fortinet’s first UK managed security service partner (MSSP), as the vendor looks to widen its market reach.

Vistorm will deploy Fortinet’s FortiGate unified threat management devices, FortiClient host security software and FortiManager management and reporting system, to provide a fully managed service offering.

The two firms are also working on offering a white-label managed service to key ISP players in the market to propel Fortinet’s products to a broader customer base.

Jonathan Mepsted, regional director UK, Ireland and South Africa at Fortinet, said: “We are convinced that the MSSP path is going to be significant for us, and this in turn means more opportunity for us and our partners. Firms are starting to see that they are getting more for their money.”

Mepsted also said that the partnership with Vistorm is a move away from its traditional channel approach.

“We have prided ourselves on having a controlled growth in the channel. Vistorm has a tremendous wealth of experience in deploying security services and for us this is a real move away from the traditional reseller to a partner that delivers services based on our appliances,” he said.

Steve Browell, director of product marketing at Vistorm, said: “I have extremely high hopes as I would for any partner venture. Fortinet is an excellent platform and a number of our customers have been asking about it. We intend to embed it into the heart of our managed service platform.

“The ability to deploy any security features initially with the option to enable others presents excellent opportunities for upselling.”