FortiSASE: Implement SASE at Scale and Simplicity with CDW and Fortinet

Network security is the backbone of modern IT architecture. From enabling remote collaboration to defending against cyberthreats, the network layer plays a crucial role in business operations.

However, the following trends in the Canadian IT landscape may present challenges in maintaining the health of enterprise networks.

As more organizations adopt hybrid work, the proportion of employees who remotely access business resources is also increasing.

This elevates the risk of cyberthreats as employees may connect to unsecured networks or expose on-device data to attack vectors. IT teams must add extra layers of security in the form of endpoint protection and secure network tunnels, which can be difficult to manage.

Additionally, IT administrators face challenges in patching software tools, sending out security updates and blocking threats when devices operate remotely.

Devices that exist within an office campus or building can be actively protected by IT teams, as they can control the firewall and monitor threats.

But as PCs, laptops and mobile phones leave the traditional perimeter, security controls weaken. With the rise of digital collaboration and remote teams, more devices now operate beyond the security stronghold, elevating risks for IT teams.

Endpoints, regardless of their location, must be safeguarded and managed with the same cybersecurity and networking policies as on-premises infrastructure.

Although organizations are keen on using technologies like the cloud, AI and IoT for business innovation, they may have to go the extra mile to ensure secure adoption.

As per the Canadian Cybersecurity Study, cloud-related infection rates have shown an upward trend for smaller organizations, increasing from 47 percent in 2024 to 50 percent in 2025. Data breach risks can also exist with the unmonitored use of AI applications and IoT devices that may increase the burden on IT teams.

SASE is a cloud architecture model that combines network and security functions, delivering them as a single cloud service. Core network security technologies, such as cloud access security broker (CASB), zero trust Network access (ZTNA),  Firewall as a Service (FWaaS) and software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) can all be deployed centrally with a SASE solution.

For organizations managing a hybrid workforce, SASE ensures secure, consistent and high-performance access without relying on legacy, perimeter-based models. Instead of backhauling traffic through data centres for inspection, SASE uses cloud-delivered security closer to the user, reducing latency and simplifying traffic flows.

Organizations can minimize the administrative overhead of security orchestration due to the following features of SASE solutions:

• Integrated networking and security: SASE converges networking and security functions into a unified solution, rather than managing them as separate silos. This eliminates the need to navigate multiple consoles and systems, providing simplified security policy management.
• Centralized data and operations: SASE uses a single data lake and unified data model, which allows for consistent policy enforcement and event tracking. This integrated approach reduces complexity, increases security effectiveness and streamlines operations.
• Flexible access: SASE supports both agent-based and agentless access for users, accommodating various devices, which simplifies security deployment across diverse environments.

While there are multiple solutions to secure a distributed workforce, SASE offers specific benefits in terms of extending security to remote employees.

• Enhanced security posture: Real-time threat protection, consistent policy enforcement and visibility across all users and endpoints.
• Operational efficiency: Fewer point products to manage, lower overhead and quicker rollout of policies and updates.
• Better user experience: Secure access toprivate applications and SaaS services without compromising speed, essential for remote and mobile employees.

Our partners at Fortinet offer the FortiSASE solution, which is designed to simplify and strengthen security for today’s hybrid workforce, enabling secure, seamless access anytime, anywhere.

FortiSASE is Fortinet's comprehensive SASE solution, offering a consistent security posture for users both on and off the network while simplifying security policy management. It integrates  SD-WAN connectivity with cloud-delivered SSE.

The solution helps organizations overcome security hurdles such as cyberthreats and unauthorized access, while bringing IT administration onto a single platform. This reduces the need to rely on multiple tools, simplifying SASE implementation for all kinds of environments.

The following features make FortiSASE effective for a variety of network security use cases for organizations.

Universal zero trust network access (ZTNA)

The solution enforces per-user and per-session secure access to web, cloud and applications regardless of location. This allows IT teams to shift security strategies from implicit to explicit trust.

It includes continuous device posture re-assessment and support for agentless devices, which is critical in complex environments. Organizations with challenges in implementing zero trust can simplify their operations using universal ZTNA.

Single-vendor solution

Fortinet's single-vendor SASE solution provides all SASE components, including networking, security and integrated management, from the same vendor.

This approach simplifies purchasing, deployment and support for organizations. It also offers better integration and visibility. As SASE generally involves a range of cloud security services, a single-vendor solution allows IT teams to learn several tools at once.

FortiSASE provides a unified management console (single pane of glass) for all SSE capabilities (FWaaS, SWG, ZTNA, CASB, etc.), simplifying operations and improving return on investment.

Flexible deployment for multiple use cases

FortiSASE offers highly adaptable deployment options, including native SD-WAN integrations, support for thin edge locations, agent-based and agentless access.

It supports third-party SD-WAN connectivity and allows for integrated Google Cloud and Fortinet PoPs within a single deployment.

Digital experience monitoring (DEM)

FortiSASE offers end-to-end user experience monitoring from endpoint devices to applications.

IT teams can access important insights into performance and business impact for streamlining connectivity issues from the end user’s point of view. For large organizations, this can help keep network downtime to a minimum with greater visibility into SASE network performance.

For organizations with a distributed workforce spanning multiple locations, FortiSASE can help overcome the following challenges.

• Expanded attack surface: Provides a consistent security posture for users both on and off the network, securing remote users and new network edges that would otherwise create exploitable gaps.
• Inconsistent security policies: Ensures that the same levels of protection, visibility and user experience are extended to every user, anywhere, through a unified operating system and agent.
• Shadow IT and data exfiltration: Offers comprehensive visibility by identifying key SaaS applications and reporting risky applications, combating shadow IT challenges. This includes secure SaaS access with next-generation dual-mode CASB and data loss prevention (DLP) capabilities.
• User experience for work from anywhere employees: Improves application experience, connectivity and operations, leading to an enhanced user experience. FortiSASE offers a latency guarantee for security inspection, backed by a global reach of hundreds of security PoPs.
• Secure thin edge access: Allows organizations to transform and secure their WAN on-premises while extending security to the cloud with FortiSASE, improving user experience and securing microbranches.

While a SASE solution can greatly reduce network security risks, IT teams may face skill or expertise gaps in implementing it thoroughly. Many organizations, especially smaller ones, face challenges with limited SASE experts, often relying on general IT staff for end-to-end orchestration.

CDW Canada enhances network security through our managed FortiSASE offering, designed to simplify and strengthen security for today’s hybrid workforce. This joint offering combines Fortinet’s SASE technologies with CDW’s expert-managed services to enable secure, seamless access anytime, anywhere.

With this combined offering, organizations can reduce the operational burden on their IT teams while enhancing security operations. CDW’s managed FortiSASE solution includes comprehensive management of patching, rule management and other security tasks, effectively offloading day-to-day security management.

• 24/7 management and expert support: Access FortiSASE professionals and highly certified staff in our network operations centre (NOC), ensuring you have access to specialized knowledge and rapid incident response with the right tools that help reduce the time to detect and remediate.
• Canadian cybersecurity team: CDW’s managed FortiSASE is supported by seasoned cybersecurity experts who have assisted Canadian organizations for over 20 years. The service is also designed to follow ITIL best practices.
• Transparent reporting and service level agreements (SLAs): Receive detailed monthly reports on uptime, SLA statistics and resolution times, offering transparency and accountability for network performance.
• Predictable pricing: Offers predictable pricing models based on user quantities and service levels, simplifying budgeting and planning for security needs.
• Customization and add-ons: Request additional services such as annual health checks and SOC integration to further enhance your security posture.