Fortinet’s Expansion of FortiFlex Program Deepens Its Dedication to Flexible Licensing

Fortinet recently announced new product and service additions to its FortiFlex program, delivering even more flexible licensing options to customers. FortiFlex already includes a complete suite of virtualized solutions for protecting cloud and virtual data center deployments and now supports services for physical FortiGate next-generation firewall (NGFW) appliances. FortiFlex is also available beginning today via a private offer in AWS Marketplace as an additional purchasing option.

With highly distributed users accessing highly distributed applications and a growing number of edges, networks are evolving at an unprecedented rate. IT teams are often expected to procure and deploy solutions before they have a full understanding of their needs—and those needs frequently change. Flexible licensing programs, which allow organizations to pay by usage, have emerged as a solution to this challenge. While there will always be a need for traditional product licensing models, usage-based pricing offers customers an additional way to leverage the solutions they need and adapt to their business’ dynamic needs.

FortiFlex: Flexible Access to Cybersecurity Solutions

FortiFlex offers usage-based licensing for a wide range of Fortinet’s cybersecurity solutions across cloud, hybrid cloud, and on-premises deployments. It uses a points system that makes it easy to understand available balance, usage trends, and total spend. Organizations are charged in 24-hour periods to give IT teams the flexibility to right-size their deployments each day.

Customers can use points to deploy any mix of cloud and virtual machine offerings as well as services for on-premises deployments. They can even leverage budget committed to select cloud providers—including Google Cloud and, as of today, AWS—to purchase FortiFlex points. 

These features allow organizations to leverage FortiFlex in a variety of ways. Key use cases include:

• Reducing excessive procurement cycles for new security solutions
• Simplifying the deployment and provisioning of new services through FortiFlex’s powerful APIs
• Maximizing budget and return on investment (ROI) by scaling down or pausing services as needed
• Optimizing cloud spend by utilizing “use it or lose it” dollars committed to cloud providers to purchase FortiFlex points that can be redeemed in the future

Managed security service providers (MSSPs) can also use a single FortiFlex account to pool licenses across their entire customer base to easily migrate and reassign licenses with ease. This means MSSPs can address their customers’ needs without worrying about overbuying—all from a single interface.

Support for Hybrid Mesh Firewall

FortiFlex now includes FortiGuard AI-powered Security Services and FortiCare technical support for the following entry and mid-range physical FortiGate NGFWs:

• FortiGate 40F
• FortiGate 60E/F series
• FortiGate 70F
• FortiGate 80F
• FortiGate 100E/F series
• FortiGate 200 E/F series
• FortiGate 400F
• FortiGate 600F

Backed by a single operating system, FortiOS, and a unified management console, FortiManager, all FortiGate NGFWs support hybrid mesh firewall.  It’s defined as a security architecture that protects multiple areas of enterprise IT by coordinating threat intelligence and security policies across firewalls. With this news, customers have more licensing options to easily build a hybrid mesh firewall architecture.

FortiFlex is now available as a private offer in AWS Marketplace to support customers using the AWS Enterprise Discount Program (EDP). AWS EDP offers high-volume AWS account owners a discount in exchange for a minimum spending threshold.

FortiFlex helps AWS EDP members reduce their minimum threshold and spending liability by converting portions to FortiFlex points. This gives customers the flexibility to use their budget to secure the best price for AWS and leverage Fortinet’s industry-leading secure networking products and services.