GTT Communications is expanding its managed secure access service edge (SASE) portfolio to offer a single-vendor solution powered by Fortinet’s technology. The managed network and security services provider also offers customers the flexibility to combine Fortinet's security services edge (SSE) with other managed SD-WAN services from its partners like HPE Aruba or Broadcom VMware.

Now, GTT’s Secure Connect portfolio supports both single-vendor and dual-vendor SASE solutions. Customers can “opt for a unified vendor SASE solution using Fortinet for SD-WAN, security and ZTNA. Alternatively, customers have the freedom to choose a different SD-WAN vendor from GTT leveraging HPE Aruba and VMware VeloCloud technologies, allowing for the best approach to fit their needs,” GTT Chief Product & Technology Officer Fletcher Keister told SDxCentral in response to questions.

“For those reluctant to replace their current SD-WAN solution, there's also the option to design and deploy GTT's Fortinet solution to augment their security posture,” he added.

Broadcom recently completed the acquisition of VMware and HPE entered a definitive agreement to acquire Juniper Networks that also offers SASE. Keister expects both deals to “positively influence GTT's partnerships,” but won’t change its go-to-market strategy.

GTT deploys SASE in its network infrastructure

Fortinet was named as a challenger in Gartner’s first-ever Magic Quadrant for Single-Vendor SASE with its FortiSASE solution and identified as a leader in Forrester’s zero-trust edge (also known as SASE) solution Wave report.

Keister emphasizes that GTT's new single-vendor SASE offering is not FortiSASE, but a GTT-specific SASE solution built on Fortinet technology.

It combines GTT’s managed SD-WAN based on the Fortinet partnership and services for real-time visibility and control with the security vendor’s SSE technologies, including zero-trust network access (ZTNA), firewall-as-a-service (FWaaS), cloud access secure broker (Cloud Access Security Broker) and secure web gateway (SWG).

The managed service provider deploys the SASE solutions inside its network infrastructure, maintaining all traffic on its global IP backbone. “GTT’s new SSE solution is built on GTT’s Tier 1 IP network and infrastructure which offers all the associated advantages, including lower latency and enhanced networking,” Keister explained.

“Unlike most of our competitors’ solutions which use a public shared platform, GTT will build dedicated private cloud security solutions for our customers, eliminating any concerns about a co-mingled data and management plane,” he added. “Also, our solution brings security to the endpoint which provides protection even when the user isn’t connected to the Internet.”

Keister said the GTT Secure Connect powered by Fortinet is suitable for customers looking for cost-efficiency for their networking and security and who are on a journey towards a zero-trust network approach.

“While Secure Connect, GTT's managed SASE solution, primarily focused on larger enterprises, the expansion with Fortinet enables the delivery of premium dedicated private cloud security and zero-trust networking to customers of all sizes, geographies and industries,” he said.

Partnership with Fortinet vs. Palo Alto Networks

GTT announced a partnership with Palo Alto Networks in November 2021, tapping into Prisma Access for its managed SASE offering.

“With GTT Secure Connect launched in 2021 with Palo Alto [Networks], the customer has a virtual private connection to Palo Alto [Networks] Prisma where the customer can take advantage of Palo Alto [Networks'] cloud-security capabilities,” Keister said.

However, the SASE solution powered by Fortinet is deployed on GTT’s network, which offers customers a private instance of the Fortinet SSE stack, he added.

“The primary distinction lies in the infrastructure: while the Palo Alto [Networks] solution is constructed on their network, GTT's new SASE solution is entirely built on GTT's network. This empowers GTT to create highly tailored solutions for customers, addressing their unique networking, security and reporting requirements, all the while minimizing latency and maximizing uptime,” Keister said.