Rythmic Technologies was losing business due to SMB concerns about Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliance. Specifically, a small to midsize retailer client of Rythmic was phasing out its customer wireless hotspot, an otherwise popular offering.
According to Rythmic Technologies president Cristopher Daniluk, his company was able to change the SMB client’s course of action. At the heart of that persuasion, he says, was the new WiFi 60C Series model from Fortinet. “With the 60C, the customer will be able to keep that hotspot for their customers without any additional cost or compliance work,” he says.
Indeed, Herndon, Va.-based Rythmic Technologies has been using beta versions of the new WiFi 60C appliance for some time now, and Daniluk contends it has “repositioned” his offerings among SMBs. “As a VAR, this allows us to paint a very compelling message about how SMBs can achieve functionality they previously thought unattainable,” Daniluk told Channel Pro-SMB in an interview.
Meet the Affordable System-on-an-Chip Design
The new FortiGate 60C and WiFi 60C appliances are the two newest entry-level products in Fortinet’s appliance lineup. What makes them especially unique, says Chris Simmons, the vendor’s director of product strategy, is their feature set–a feature set, he says, that was otherwise unattainable in the entry-level market.
“The 60C Series is powered by a new Fortinet system-on-a-chip design [FortiOS]. Where traditionally, it’s been cost-prohibitive, we can now build the system-on-a-chip in a cost-effective design–that brings it down market, to the entry-level market.”
“Another advantage is the SDHC card slot. That’s the format used in a lot of media devices, like cell phones. We’re using the memory cards for logging and reporting.”
Upgrade the SDHC chip from 4 GB to 16 GB, and Simmons says you can have a WAN optimization solution in place at a reasonable cost–and reasonable costs mean greater revenue to VARs like Rythmic Technologies’ Daniluk
The Pricetag Allure
Daniluk says the new 60C models have improved his company’s sales of the FortiGate line. “With the new 60C,” he says, “we’re finding it much easier to sell because of its positioning and price point. The 60C is more attractive in comparison to equivalent [security appliance] models.”
If you ask Simmons, that price advantage is exactly what Fortinet was looking to provide its resellers with the 60C Series. “We really saw the 60C appliance as being innovative in a number of ways,” he explains. “The 60C has been our highest volume and most popular appliance. So, we expect to the addition of these new features to really carry us to the next generation of appliances. There simply wasn’t a sub-$1,000 gigabit firewall box available today.”
Daniluk concurs. “The FortiGate 60C repositions the FortiGate product line for SMBs. We are anticipating a significant boost in sales and phasing out [competing] equipment.”
Optional FortiGuard security software bundles include:
- Anti-virus/Anti-spyware
- IPS and Web Filtering
- Anti-Spam
- Application Control
- Database Security
- Vulnerability Management
- Web Application Firewall
- 8×5 FortiCare
The FortiGate-60C hardware is $595 ($895 with security software bundle). The FortiWifi-60C hardware is $695 ($995 with security software bundle). The appliances are built in China and Taiwan, but engineered in California.
