Fortinet reports growth in hardware demand and AI networking

Fortinet is experiencing a period of growth driven by broad-based global demand for hardware and network build-outs. During a recent technology summit, company leadership noted accelerating demand for FortiGate hardware, citing use cases in OT, SD-WAN networks, and the development of AI-enabled networking and infrastructure.

The company’s market position is supported by its ‘Security Fabric’ architecture, which aims to consolidate various security tools into a single stack to reduce vendor sprawl. A key technical differentiator is Fortinet’s proprietary FortiASIC technology, which uses hardware acceleration to handle intensive cryptographic and packet-inspection tasks, providing latency advantages in large-scale data centers and carrier-grade networks.

While Fortinet maintains a strong presence through integrated network security, it faces increasing competition from pure-play SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) providers and legacy network firms as it expands its cloud-native and software-defined perimeter offerings.