Fortinet has acquired OPAQ Networks, a secure access service edge (SASE) cloud provider for an undisclosed sum.

According to Ken Xie, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Fortinet, the recent SASE market momentum further validates the company’s security-driven networking approach and underscores what it has been saying for years.

“In the era of hyperconnectivity and expanding networks, with the network edge stretching across the entire digital infrastructure, networking and security must converge. In fact the acquisition of OPAQ actually further enhances our existing SASE offering,” he added.

protecting distributed networks

OPAQ’s zero trust network access (ZTNA) cloud solution protects distributed networks – from data centres and branch offices to remote users and Internet of Things devices.

Combined with Fortinet’s Security Fabric,  it boosts Fortinet’s existing SASE offering to form the best-in-class SASE cloud security platform. The platform delivers the industry’s only true zero trust access and security by providing next-generation firewall and SD-WAN capabilities, web security, sandboxing, advanced endpoint, identity/multi factor authentication, multi-cloud workload protection, cloud application security broker, browser isolation, and web application firewalling capabilities.

OPAQ’s purpose built platform is partner friendly, empowering MSSPs, carriers and high value-add partners to easily integrate the SASE multi-tenant platform into their own offering and add value to business and government organisation customers with their network operations centre and security operations centre expertise and advanced professional services.

With the pandemic forcing more people to work from home, exponentially more users, devices, applications, services, and data are outside of a traditional enterprise edge than inside. The integration of Fortinet’s broad security fabric with OPAQ’s cloud platform will offer customers and partners the choice of consuming best-of-breed security.

“Now, we will deliver the most complete SASE platform on the market with the broadest security and industry-leading SD-WAN and networking offerings that can all be delivered to customers and partners through a flexible, cost efficient and patented zero-trust cloud architecture,” said Xie.