Coyote's not ugly for Fortinet

Fortinet buys New York-based application delivery controller specialist

Fortinet has bolstered its position in the $2bn (£1.3bn) application delivery controller (ADC) market, grabbing Coyote Point Systems for an undisclosed sum.

Founded in 1999, privately held Coyote provides ADC, load balancing and acceleration solutions, competing against the likes of F5 Networks.

Security vendor Fortinet said it would make no immediate changes to Coyote's offering, customer support or channel programmes – or any of its existing ADC products.

Coyote chief executive Bill Kish hinted that the New York-based firm had been held back by its lack of clout.

"While Coyote Point has built a top-class ADC product portfolio and loyal customer base, there has always been a trade-off around resources," he said.

The ADC market will reach more than $2bn this year, Fortinet said, citing industry forecasts.

Fortinet chief executive Ken Xie said: "This acquisition complements Fortinet's network security strategy and allows the company and our channel partners to accelerate and further deliver on our vision of providing complete and comprehensive security into the enterprise."

IDC research manager John Grady said he saw more crossover between security and ADC capabilities in the cloud era.

"As more enterprises turn to the cloud, datacentres are going to require higher-performance solutions coupled with strong security," he added. "In this environment, security and application delivery must work hand in hand, to ensure quality of service while still preventing attacks. This acquisition places Fortinet in a unique position to deliver on both aspects in one solution."