Four Ontario school boards select Fortinet’s FortiGate Secure SD-WAN solution

Cybersecurity firm Fortinet has announced that four Ontario school boards, including District School Board Niagara, London District Catholic School Board, Kawartha Pine Ridge District School Board and Upper Grand District School Board, are deploying its FortiGate Secure SD-WAN solution.

Fortinet says its Secure SD-WAN ( software-defined networking in a wide area network) solution combines best-of-breed security and SD-WAN functionalities to alleviate complexity in infrastructure and significantly reduce costs.

The firm further explains that companies deploying SD-WAN use over 50% more bandwidth than those who have not deployed it.

“Organizations can’t afford to leave security as an afterthought when it comes to SD-WAN. More and more customers recognize this as they select Fortinet’s FortiGate Secure SD-WAN solution for its SD-WAN functionalities combined with advanced security built into one single offering. Complexity is a hinderance to organizations’ agility and scalability, but by providing an integrated solution that meets various WAN services needs, Fortinet is uniquely removing complexity and easing branch operations,” said John Maddison, EVP of product and solutions at Fortinet, in a prepared statement.

“Leveraging Fortinet’s SD-WAN solution, District School Board Niagara has been able to provide our staff and students with a stable, feature rich and secure network environment, including use of IoT devices in the classroom and schools. We’ve been able to deploy Fortinet’s premium technology while still lowering our broadband and fiber costs. The savings we’ve achieved as a result has allowed DSB Niagara to redirect funds toward educational priorities for all students in DSBN. This includes STEM programs, such as our iHub Academy and our IT4 Learning Team, elective programs for students focusing on artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, threat management, etc,” said Dino Miele, CIO, District School Board of Niagara, also in a statement.