Fortinet has updated its Engage Partner Program with changes to its Network Security Expert (NSE) educational offerings, a service designation expansion of the Engage program, and a new configuration tool. Announced at the Accelerate 2023 partner and customer conference taking place in Orlando this week, the updates to the Engage Partner Program, initially launched in 2020, are designed to created more growth opportunities for partners.
According to Fortinet, the NSE certification program is now focused more on role-based training that is aligned to in-demand careers, such as cloud security specialists and security operations (SOC) analysts. It also aligns more strongly with the solutions in the Fortinet Security Fabric.
The new NSE Certification designations include:
- Fortinet Certified Fundamentals (FCF) focuses on the foundational knowledge and skills that are required to learn how to operate cybersecurity products and solutions and includes courses that cover today’s threat landscape and the fundamentals of cybersecurity.
- Fortinet Certified Associate (FCA) goes deeper into cybersecurity technology with a focus on network security and the technical aspects of the next-generation firewall.
- Fortinet Certified Professional (FCP) takes a deep dive into role-based training with the ability to take coursework that aligns with the following three areas: network security, public cloud security, and security operations.
- Fortinet Certified Engineer (FCE) goes into specialized cybersecurity solutions that map to the following key areas: zero trust access, network security, public cloud security, security operations, and OT security.
- Fortinet Certified Expert (FCX) is the most elite designation (formerly NSE level 8) and identifies the highest proficiency in comprehensive and expert knowledge of network security design, configuration, and troubleshooting for complex networks.
In addition, the new NSE digital badging gives partners an easy way to promote their skills and certifications.
Fortinet has also added two new service designations to the Engage Program:
- Engage Preferred Services Partner (EPSP) meets a growing customer need for professional services with a programmatic approach for the successful partner-led services delivery. Partners with established professional services practices benefit from vendor support and accreditation with the aim of increasing service sales and delivery excellence. The EPSP designation is aligned to the Security Fabric pillars of operational technology (OT), zero trust access (ZTA), cloud, SecOps, and secure access service edge (SASE).
- Engage Technical Support Partner designation (ETSP) is available to Expert-level, compliant partners and offers the opportunity to upskill support engineers for better, more efficient customer support. This designation also offers privileged access to Fortinet Support and Services teams.
Finally, the new Intangi configuration, design, and quoting platform is designed to increase partner effectiveness and sales efficiency, according to the company. Availability is expected later this year.
Image: Courtesy of Fortinet
