Fortinet expands SASE coverage with two new data centres in India

Global cybersecurity company Fortinet announced on Tuesday that it is investing in two new data centers in India to provide SASE and cloud-based services. The company will establish dedicated data centers in Bengaluru and Pune to expand the availability of its products, including Universal SASE, FortiGuard AI-powered security services, and FortiCloud, to customers in India and SAARC countries.

Fortinet's decision to invest in these data centers is driven by the increasing demand for cloud-delivered services in India. Recent research conducted by Fortinet revealed that 94% of the Indian workforce is either hybrid or fully remote, requiring over 40 connections to third-party cloud applications on average. This expands the attack surface for organizations and complicates enterprise security. SASE, a cloud architecture model that combines network and security-as-a-service functions, provides a solution by securely connecting the hybrid workforce to network resources from anywhere.

The company did not disclose the amount of investment but highlighted that the new data centers complement its existing R&D centers in Bangalore and Pune, as well as the customer support center in Bangalore. These development centers hold more than 100 patents globally. Additionally, Fortinet operates a 24x7 support center with over 500 engineers providing technical assistance to customers in SAARC and Middle East countries.

Vishak Raman, Vice President of Sales, India, SAARC, SEAHK & ANZ at Fortinet, emphasized the urgent need for strengthened defenses against evolving cyber threats. He stated that organizations in India have reported a 2X increase in breaches over the past year, highlighting the surge in security incidents. Fortinet's Universal SASE solution, designed to simplify security policy management and improve the user experience for remote employees, plays a crucial role in addressing these challenges.

Raman also shared that the company has experienced a 30% growth in service business revenue globally in the last two quarters. The new data centers in India will attract telecom service providers and cloud providers, who can benefit from the competitive advantages and cost savings associated with offering universal SASE and security services to customers in India.

SASE has continued its surge amid the critical need for many businesses to provide their distributed workforce with secure access to corporate applications and resources. The worldwide SASE market topped $6 billion in 2022, representing robust 34% growth year-over-year (Y-o-Y), according to a recently published report from Dell’Oro Group, which has named Cisco, Fortinet, and VMware as the top three SD-WAN vendors by revenue and they also represented nearly half of the market.