Fortinet FortiSASE

Ensure FortiGates, FortiAPs, FortiSwitches and FortiExtenders are quickly and correctly deployed, configured to best practices Fortinet itself operates Managed FortiGate Service (MFGS), in which Fortinet NOC staff carry out deployment, configuration, provisioning and ongoing change management. The solution page adds "Deployment, configuration, provisioning, and regular changes" and "Evaluate, implement, and verify configuration changes". Note that this is a managed wrap around Fortinet's own appliances rather than an end-to-end managed WAN including circuits; most fully managed Fortinet SD-WAN in the market is delivered by carrier and MSSP partners rather than by Fortinet.

The portal offers centralized multi-tenant management and configuration capabilities, enabling MSSPs to efficiently deploy and manage SASE services across their client base. Tenant isolation and delegated administration are evidenced: the FortiSASE datasheet describes an MSSP Portal, and the service provider page states "Fortinet solutions are multi-tenant from the ground up, enabling MSPs and MSSPs to isolate and manage multiple customer networks from a single administrative console." Graded partial rather than yes because no page reviewed evidences branded or white-label portals for the MSP's own brand, and because the FortiSASE MSSP architecture guide qualifies the model by saying each customer gets a separate isolated instance. See conflicts.

Let MFGS experts handle your firmware upgrades to maximize effectiveness and minimize risk Firmware upgrade and patching are handled as part of Managed FortiGate Service, which also states "Automatically trigger patching for vulnerabilities with a severity rating of medium or higher". The FortiCare support page covers hardware replacement ("Meet your availability requirements with our Priority RMA Services.") and describes "comprehensive lifecycle services". Explicit end-of-life planning and renewals handling as part of the service were not found.

Fortinet documents IPsec tunnel configuration for its SD-WAN overlay. FortiGate Secure SD-WAN supports an IPsec overlay. This is a configurable platform capability; it does not establish a managed service or a deployment-specific throughput/SLA.

FortiExtender cellular gateways and routers provide secure 5G/LTE connectivity for any deployment. FortiExtender is Fortinet's own product line. The page also states "Easily provision 5G or LTE wireless WAN, high availability, and failover, as well as out-of-band management (OOB) and private 5G/LTE." and "FortiExtender 5G/LTE Wireless WAN gateways come equipped with Dual SIM and Dual Modem capabilities for fast failover and active/active cellular connectivity." covering dual SIM and both primary and failover transport. Signal quality is addressed by "FortiExtender cellular gateways and routers ensure optimal signal reception, minimal attenuation, and the best experience."

Fortinet delivers 99.999% SLA with latency guarantee for security inspection, which is possible because of global reach with hundreds of security PoPs. Contractual rather than best-effort. Fortinet's own G-Cloud 14 FortiSASE service definition sets out availability tiers (Management Portal 99.99%, Individual Security POPs 99.99%, Overall service in high availability configuration 99.999%) and commits that "FortiSASE cloud platform is managed by Fortinet on a twenty-four (24) hours a day by seven (7) days a week basis and is monitored for hardware availability, service capacity, and network resource utilization." Support response commitments come via "24 x 7 FortiCare Technical Support". A latency commitment is claimed alongside uptime. Change handling commitments were not found in the SLA text reviewed.

Secure SD-WAN, SSE, zero trust, wireless controller, LTE/5G gateway, and FortiGuard AI-Powered Security Services have the same OS, policy engine, and management plane. Native, not partner_integrated. Fortinet authors FortiOS and the FortiGate NGFW itself, and the SD-WAN function is a feature of the same operating system rather than a bolt-on appliance. The FortiSASE datasheet confirms the cloud-delivered equivalent: "FortiSASE FWaaS is a cloud-based service that provides hyperscale, next-generation firewall (NGFW) capabilities, including web filtering, advanced threat protection (ATP), intrusion prevention system (IPS), and Domain Name System (DNS) security." Stateful firewalling, application control, IPS, malware inspection and URL filtering are all in-platform.

The FortiSASE DLP feature supports advanced data matching techniques, including pattern recognition and contextual analysis, to effectively prevent accidental data breaches. Native Fortinet capability. The FortiSASE datasheet adds "Identify, monitor, and protect organization data at rest and in motion. DLP engine backed by FortiGuard AI feeds with over thousands of pre-defined data patterns, updated to protect from day zero." and "DLP allows businesses to identify sensitive information across multiple cloud-based systems, prevent the accidental sharing of data, and monitor and protect data." Classification, inspection and blocking are evidenced. Alerting workflows and formal exception or override workflows were not found on the pages reviewed.