TLCVision Sees Improved Security, Cost-Savings And Increased Performance With Fortinet's FortiGate™ Antivirus Firewall Platforms

Sunnyvale, Calif., June 21, 2004 - Fortinet - the only provider of ASIC-powered, network-based antivirus firewall systems for real-time network protection - today announced that TLCVision Corporation, one of the world's largest providers of laser vision correction services, has implemented an enterprise-wide network security infrastructure based on Fortinet's FortiGate™ Antivirus Firewall platforms to strengthen security and realize a significant monthly cost-savings.

TLCVision sought to strengthen its existing security infrastructure which included an expensive frame-relay network and a multitude of disparate security solutions that were difficult to centrally manage and unable to adequately protect against more sophisticated, blended network threats. In evaluating various security solutions, TLCVision focused on finding a cost-effective, integrated multi-function security platform that could protect their entire enterprise – including their headquarters in Canada, 70 remote locations across North America, and more than 250 remote employees.

TLCVision chose Fortinet's FortiGate systems for the superior security, breadth of functionality and impressive price/performance they provide. The systems cost-effectively deliver Complete Content Protection™ through the integration of a broad range of security functions, including antivirus, firewall, virtual private networking (VPN), intrusion detection and prevention, content filtering, traffic shaping, and anti-spam and are easily managed from a central point. Since implementing Fortinet's FortiGate platform, TLCVision's network has been fully-protected from hundreds of intrusion attempts and attacks, including the recent Sasser worm. In addition to the improved security, TLCVision has also realized an immediate communications cost savings of $16,000 a month by migrating from their traditional frame-relay system to a public IP-based network utilizing the VPN functionality in the FortiGate solutions.

After a very quick and easy implementation, TLCVision seamlessly migrated from their original network to a new, secure, cost-effective and faster network infrastructure. TLCVision's enterprise-wide security infrastructure consists of Fortinet FortiGate-400 antivirus firewall systems at its corporate headquarters along with the FortiManager™ System for integrated monitoring and management, and 70 FortiGate-60 antivirus firewalls distributed at the Company's offices across North America.

"The robust feature-set and affordability of the FortiGate platform first enamored us to Fortinet, but what really impressed us was the ease of implementation and the amazing support we received," said Roger McIImoyle, director of technical services for TLCVision. "Bar-none it is the best support we have ever received, and the FortiGate products have performed exceptionally - not a single attack has penetrated our network since installing the Fortinet solution."

Another advantage TLCVision receives from the implementation of Fortinet's security devices is through the cost savings realized by the migration from a frame relay network to an Internet based VPN. TLCVision saved enough to upgrade from 128k bits/second frame relay links to 768k bits/second fractional T1 Internet connections while still lowering their monthly communications costs.

"Investments in next-generation security technologies need not be solely defensive. In the case of TLCVision, their investment in a Fortinet solution has yielded myriad benefits, including improved connectivity, improved security, higher performance, immediate cost savings, and simplified administration," said Richard Kagan, vice president of marketing for Fortinet. "Fortinet's FortiGate systems are key business enablers that help our customers to communicate better while reducing risk and enhancing operational efficiency."

About TLCVision
TLCVision Corporation, a premier eye surgery services company and one of the word's largest providers of laser vision correction services, is dedicated to improving lives through better vision, by providing eye doctors with the tools they need to deliver high quality care. The company is the result of the merger between two industry leaders, TLC Laser Eye Centers Inc. and LaserVision Centers Inc. TLCVision has nearly 60 TLC-branded centers across the U.S. and Canada.

About Fortinet (www.fortinet.com)
Fortinet's award-winning FortiGate™ series of ASIC-accelerated antivirus firewalls, winner of the 2004 Security Product of the Year Award from Network Computing Magazine and the 2003 Networking Industry Awards Firewall Product of the Year, are the new generation of real-time network protection systems. They detect and eliminate the most damaging, content-based threats from e-mail and Web traffic such as viruses, worms, intrusions, inappropriate Web content and more in real time – without degrading network performance. FortiGate systems are the only security products that are quadruple-certified by the ICSA (antivirus, firewall, IPSec, NIDS), and deliver a full range of network-level and application-level services in integrated, easily managed platforms. Named to the Red Herring Top 100 Private Companies, Fortinet is privately held and based in Sunnyvale, California.