Hyper-connectivity, the IoT, and the device mesh are all so far ingrained in our daily lives that it’s practically impossible to do business without them. As a result, organizations of every size are continuously expanding their WiFi networks so their workforce can quickly and easily connect to the company’ network and the Internet—without the limitations of analog connections.
At the same time, employees also expect a consistent, unified access experience across all devices and applications, whether wireless or wired. Furthermore, many organizations routinely grant third parties—for example, partners, vendors and contractors—an equal amount of access to their networks so they can do their jobs uninterruptedly.
Ease of Access Comes at a Cybersecurity Cost
While ease of access is convenient, it also comes at a cybersecurity cost. With the growing prevalence of BYOD practices in the workplace, an increasing number of employee-owned devices are used to log onto organizations’ networks. These devices are notoriously lacking in security measures, effectively forming an ever-expanding attack surface for cyber threats. To complicate matters further, there’s often a lack of oversight in regard to the on- and off-boarding of third parties, which can result in unauthorized users gaining access to the network.
Concurrent with these developments, we’ve seen an alarming trend of increasingly sophisticated cyber threats targeting individuals and organizations. Existing malware is being enhanced with new technology, new threats are being developed and cyber criminals are finding ways to deploy multi-level threats to low- and high-profile targets.
Why Small to Mid-Sized Businesses Are Vulnerable
Clearly, these developments pose a wide range of new cybersecurity challenges to organizations. And among these targets, small to midsized businesses (SMBs) are the most vulnerable. According to a recent survey by Ponemon Institute, an astounding 55 percent of SMBs had experienced a cyber-attack and 50 percent had experienced a data breach in the past 12 months.
This should come as no surprise: with much lower budgets than large organizations, SMBs in general lack the financial resources and in-house IT expertise to ensure robust security. They simply don’t have the capabilities to create customized, multi-layered, segmented defenses that protect against malware and malicious connections, monitor endpoint integrity, and more.
A More Streamlined, Scalable, and Comprehensive Approach Is Needed
This is precisely why Fortinet’s unified approach to WiFi access security is a game-changer. FortiWiFi provides unified, on-premise, wired, and wireless access management combined with robust threat protection in one single platform.
It offers unprecedented visibility and control of applications and resource utilization; streamlined on- and off-boarding; an intuitive “single pane of glass” management interface; and regular signature updates from FortiGuard Labs to ensure immediate and effective protection from new cyber threats.
Last, but not least, FortiWifi is completely scalable, and can be utilized by organizations of all sizes with tens of thousands of clients—all from one centralized FortiGate control point. In short, FortiWiFi delivers world-class security at a price point that’s realistic for organizations of every size.
It should be clear that as an ISV or MSP and partner of Fortinet, you’re in the perfect position to educate your SMB clients about the protection FortiWiFi can offer their organizations. Moreover, as a value-added distributor of Fortinet cybersecurity technology, Fine Tec can support you in addressing clients’ concerns and demonstrating the potential ROI. Last, but not least, Fine Tec can provide any additional support you may need in delivering the exact configuration a client needs.
To learn more about FortiWiFi and FortiGate, contact the team at Fine Tec.