MACAU, China Mar. 11, 2010 - Fortinet® - a market-leading network security provider and worldwide leader of unified threat management (UTM) solutions today announced that the company successfully hosted its annual International Partner Conference, held in Macau, China, earlier this week. Gathering 230 of its distributors and resellers from 44 countries of the EMEA and APAC regions, Fortinet leveraged this event to share its business growth strategy, product roadmap and expertise on the security market. The company also rewarded its most committed partners and celebrated 2009 results, the companys most successful to date.

ÏDespite a challenging economy, Fortinet continues to gain market share and grow revenues, allowing our partners to achieve strong sales figures as well. Our success is based on our technology performance and innovation, but also on a focused channel strategy driven by value, commitment and incentive, said Patrice Perche, international vice president of sales and support at Fortinet. ÏEvery year, we look at improving our partner program to attract and retain top-notched resellers and distributors internationally. In exchange, we require that our partners truly invest in our brand, technology and products.

In the last twelve months, Fortinet continued to extend its channel network, recruiting more than 1,100 new resellers across EMEA and APAC. In those regions, the company also put a strong focus on training and certification of its channel, with more than 400 of its certified engineers already successfully completed FCNSP v4.0 level certification (Fortinet Certified Network Security Professional).

Fortinet also enhanced its FortiPartner™ Program by launching new tools related to channel sales, support and communication/training, which were all presented at the partner conference this week. These include new reseller promotions and end-user lead generation campaigns; the launch of a new Asset Tracking System to increase renewal rate and income; monthly webinar training series; and a new partner MA service to improve speed and coverage.

At a gala dinner hosted at the Grand Hyatt Macau on March 9, Fortinet distributed awards to its highest contributing partners, which include the following:

• Best Distributor: Exclusive Networks Group (EMEA level and France)
• Best Customer Support Distributor: SIS International (Hong Kong)
• Best Complete Product Line Distributor: Secureway - Network Distributors FZ LLC. (Middle East)
• Best High-End eseller: Telefonica Soluciones (Spain)
• Best MSSP: Forte Netservices (Finland)
• Best FortiMail eseller: Asciinet (Czech epublic)
• Best eseller: Canon System & Support Inc (Japan)

ÏAs a top security player, Fortinet has become a strong asset for us. The company keeps pushing barriers in technology innovation, product line extension and services, generating strong business value to its partners, said Olivier Breittmayer, CEO of Exclusive Networks. ÏThe FortiPartner Program is a very compelling and comprehensive one, providing us with all the tools and programs we need to acquire the security expertise that our customers have come to expect.

To learn more on the FortiPartner Program, please go to: http://www.fortinet.com/partners/fpp.html