Jan 16, 2014 (Thu): Fortinet, a world leader in high-performance network security announced on Wednesday that it has set up a Carrier & Service Provider division within its Southeast Asia and Hong Kong operations and has appointed Ng Hwee Boon and Chang Wai Leong as Regional Directors to head the division. These appointments are part of Fortinet’s strategy to capitalize on the regional carriers’ rapid business growth, as they strive to support new businesses being set up in the developing region, and urbanizing consumers eager to embrace smart mobile technologies.
Ng will spearhead Fortinet’s managed security services business while Chang will focus on telco data centres. Between them, Ng and Chang will cover all the markets in Fortinet’s Southeast Asia and Hong Kong region.
Frost & Sullivan forecasts that the Asia Pacific security appliance market for telecom service providers will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.6 percent, increasing from USD 511.8 million in 2013 to USD 863.4 million in 2019. For Malaysia specifically, this market will grow at a CAGR of 11.2 percent, rising from USD 16.9 million in 2013 to USD 30.7 million in 2019.
Ng Hwee Boon (left) and Chang Wai Leong (right)
“Sophisticated and targeted attacks against businesses have grown to such an extent that many in-house IT teams are finding it hard to keep up. This drives organizations to turn to external parties for help − managed security service providers are best placed to provide this expertise and their business will grow steadily in the years ahead,” said Cathy Huang, Industry Manager, ICT Practice, Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific.
Fortinet’s products empower managed security service providers (MSSPs) with best-of-breed and adaptive security that fits any environment − SME, enterprise, data centre or service provider networks. Its flagship FortiGate® network security platforms make up the backbone of MSSPs’ security portfolios − providing multiple advanced security controls in a single high performance appliance. MSSPs around the world leverage them, along with the vendor’s growing suite of emerging security products, to increase recurring revenue streams and grow their subscriber base while controlling costs and improving service efficiencies.
For data center deployments, Fortinet’s high-performance firewall technologies provide exceptional throughput and ultra-low latency, enabling the protection, flexibility, scalability and manageability customers demand. The FortiGate platform, which combines a high-performance firewall with fully integrated security technologies such as anti-malware, application control, and intrusion prevention, enables extensive protection profiles for in-depth defence and provides the backbone of organizations’ secure high-speed data centers. The FortiGate-3700D launched in October 2013, for example, is the world’s fastest data centre firewall appliance, capable of a firewall throughput of up to 160Gbps.
Regional carriers like SingTel, Maxis, VADS, Globe, Smart and SmarTone bank on Fortinet technology to power their core network and LTE, Gi firewall and mobile deployments.
Ng and Chang are veterans with more than two decades of experience each in senior business management and sales roles. Ng has worked for SingTel, Tata Communications and Cisco Systems, while Chang has served with SingTel, OpenNet and Conversant Solutions. Both executives have an extensive network of industry contacts and thorough knowledge of sales, channel and support functions in the telecom space.
“Key sectors like telecom, banking and government have become vital pillars of our business as the region grew,” said Dato’ Seri George Chang, Fortinet’s Vice President for Southeast Asia & Hong Kong. “Dedicated regional vertical executives like Ng and Chang − together with local vertical staff we will hire over the coming months − will take Fortinet to the next level in understanding and responding to customers’ unique needs in each industry.”
