Siemens Enterprise Communications OpenScape Cloud Services Leverage Fortinet for Security

FortiGate Multi-Threat Network Security Appliances Uniquely Meet Stringent Performance, Functionality and Reliability Requirements

MALAYSIA – 10 January 2012 ― Fortinet - a leading network security provider and the worldwide leader of unified threat management (UTM) solutions - today announced that Siemens Enterprise Communications, a premier global provider of end-to-end enterprise communications, has deployed multiple FortiGate-1240B network security appliances to help secure its OpenScape Cloud Services. Fortinet’s devices are uniquely meeting the provider’s stringent requirements in terms of performance, functionality and reliability.

As a provider of voice and communications solutions, Siemens Enterprise Communications offers easy-to-implement, reliable and secure Unified Communications (UC) solutions to customers of all sizes around the world. When Siemens Enterprise Communications launched its OpenScape Cloud Services to extend its voice and UC services to customers using a public cloud, the company looked at setting up secure and reliable IT and communications infrastructures as well as high-availability data centers in Germany and in the US.

The requirements for Siemens Enterprise Communications’ OpenScape Cloud Services were high in terms of security and reliability, as well as performance and scalability. In parallel, the security solution needed to provide rich functionality to support voice-over-IP (VoIP), UC and application data.

Thanks to a long track record in successfully securing the data environment of Siemens Enterprise Communications’ enterprise customers, Fortinet’s FortiGate network appliances were part of the market solutions subject to the provider’s nine-month evaluation and were ultimately selected to secure its communications cloud services.

“The decisive factor was Fortinet’s outstanding success in the preceding tests,” said Andreas Seum, Vice President Converged Networks & Security at Siemens Enterprise Communications. “Also, Fortinet’s expertise in the provider and carrier sector, in addition to the personal support contributed to our decision. At last, on a technical level, the FortiGate appliance proved to uniquely function in compliance with the SIP standard and support all the voice and UC application functionalities without impairing the performance or reliability of our communications solutions.”

In Germany and in the US, Siemens Enterprise Communications deployed multiple clusters of FortiGate-1240B network security appliances for high availability, ensuring the reliable protection and controlled accessibility of its data centers. The FortiGate clusters act as central firewalls for the OpenScape Cloud Services and primarily provide firewall, VPN, IPS, and SIP VoIP security.

The FortiGate appliances’ high performance allows Siemens Enterprise Communications to meet all operations requirements, including high loads during peak periods and possible disruptions, without noticeable constraints. With a very low latency, Fortinet’s appliances are ideal for the provider’s new voice services, since no delay is incurred during voice traffic.

“Siemens Enterprise Communications is a long-standing customer of ours and we are very pleased to now secure their latest cloud computing service,” said Patrice Perche, senior vice president of International Sales & Support at Fortinet. “Our technology integrates key high-performance functionalities, such as VoIP security and virtualization, which uniquely help carriers and service providers secure cloud infrastructures and deliver cloud security services.”