Today, many organizations are looking for ways to simplify and streamline their networks without sacrificing agility. Facing challenges like the need to support work-from-anywhere workforces or vendor and product sprawl, in many cases, they are turning to channel partners as their trusted advisors.
Fortinet is committed to and continues to invest in partners, whether they are integrators, managed security service providers (MSSPs), or cloud partners. Fortinet is continuing to provide the tools and support Fortinet partners need to maintain a competitive edge. As part of this commitment, Fortinet is updating its Engage Partner program to help ensure that all of its partners have what they need to differentiate, grow, and expand their businesses.
Launched in 2020, the Fortinet Engage Partner program is designed to help partners develop the expertise they need to build a profitable practice through technology and service differentiation using Fortinet solutions.
Fortinet is continuing to evolve the Engage Partner program with new updates to create even more growth opportunities for its global partners of all types. The enhancement includes changes to the Network Security Expert (NSE) educational offerings, expansion of the Engage program, and a new configuration tool.
Fortinet has updated its flagship Network Security Expert Certification program with a focus on more role-based training that is aligned to in-demand careers, such as Cloud Security Specialists and Security Operations Center (SOC) Analysts. The NSE updates now align more strongly with the solutions in the Fortinet Security Fabric, and for partners, this targeted enablement program now better represents a partner’s progressive expertise. The new NSE Certification designations include, Fortinet Certified Fundamentals (FCF), Fortinet Certified Associate (FCA), Fortinet Certified Professional (FCP), Fortinet Certified Engineer (FCE) and Fortinet Certified Expert (FCX).
To further enable partner-led professional services and support services, the Engage program has been expanded with two new service designations: Engage Preferred Services Partner (EPSP) and Expert Technical Support Partner (ETSP).
Engage Preferred Services Partner meets a growing customer need for professional services with a programmatic approach for the successful partner-led services delivery. Partners with established professional services practices benefit from vendor support and accreditation with the aim of increasing service sales and delivery excellence. The EPSP designation is aligned to the Security Fabric pillars of operational technology (OT), Zero Trust Access (ZTA), Cloud, SecOps, and Secure Access Service Edge (SASE.)
Engage Technical Support Partner designation is available to Expert-level, compliant partners and offers the opportunity to upskill support engineers for better, more efficient customer support. This designation also offers privileged access to Fortinet Support and Services teams.
Fortinet is further investing in partner success by providing a new configuration, design, and quoting platform that will increase partner effectiveness and sales efficiency. Coming later this year, the Intangi configuration platform is a partner-first tool that enables partners to efficiently communicate product and pricing data, increasing sales effectiveness.
Fortinet continues to invest in its channel program to enhance partner business. It is always focused on better enablement, improving our tools, and ensuring partners can deliver Fortinet solutions with expertise and confidence to help their customers address the problems they’re facing today, with real-world solutions that create the coveted “trusted advisor” relationship.
