Fortinet study shows major gains from secure LAN edge adoption

Fortinet has published the findings of a new Total Economic Impact (TEI) study conducted by Forrester Consulting and commissioned by the company. The study reports that organisations using Fortinet Secure LAN Edge achieved a 308 per cent return on investment, with payback occurring in under six months.

According to the analysis, these organisations also improved network operations efficiency by 50 per cent, reduced the risk of external breaches by 60 per cent, and recovered 70 hours of unplanned downtime over a three-year period by integrating wired and wireless networking with security on a single, centrally managed platform.

Commenting on the results, Nirav Shah, Senior Vice President for Products and Solutions at Fortinet, said that the study demonstrates how organisations can benefit from bringing networking and security together. He noted that the findings reflect what many customers experience in practice, including improved operational efficiency, reduced risk, and more consistent protection across users, devices, and the LAN edge.

The TEI study indicates that the composite organisation modelled in the analysis realised substantial gains in performance, security, productivity, and cost efficiency. Over three years, the organisation saw benefits valued at USD 13.1 million against costs of USD 3.2 million, producing a net present value of USD 9.9 million. The study also highlights a significant reduction in the risk of breaches originating from external attacks. By enhancing protection at points of connection, whether from guest users, IoT devices, or corporate endpoints, the organisation was better able to identify and address issues before they affected essential infrastructure or business operations, avoiding an estimated USD 1.6 million in costs.

Operational improvements were also noted. The consolidation of wired, wireless, and security management into a single interface created unified visibility and reduced repetitive tasks, enabling faster troubleshooting and contributing to approximately USD 1.3 million in operational savings. Technology costs were reduced by around 20 per cent, as consolidation decreased reliance on legacy point solutions, streamlined refresh planning, and reduced the need for specialised expertise to maintain systems. These efficiencies resulted in an additional USD 2.6 million in profit due to improved system availability.

The study further observes a 75 per cent reduction in network security response time. With clearer visibility across security and networking components, security teams spent less time identifying and resolving network-related risks. Fewer data sources, fewer false positives, and more efficient incident handling contributed to this improvement, valued at USD 653,000 for the composite organisation.

As part of the research, Forrester Consulting interviewed decision-makers from various industries and regions. The organisations involved had deployed Fortinet Secure LAN Edge, including FortiSwitch, FortiAP, FortiManager for centralised management and AIOps, and FortiGate with AI-supported security services, to achieve the outcomes modelled in the TEI analysis.