5. Let's Get (More) Unified
Efficiency and affordability will be the name of the game in 2009. As more businesses find ways to cut costs and reduce IT staff resources in the down economy, they will also be looking at ways to adopt technologies with multiple functionalities. Facing increasing pressures to consolidate, businesses will be trading in their plethora of point products for a few affordable, easy-to-install, and easy-to-manage devices. In addition to integrating multiple security capabilities into a single device, companies will look for security solutions that encompass network functionalities, such as WAN optimization and SSL inspection, or storage functions, such as disaster recovery.
"Obviously, we see a big trend in consolidation," said Anthony James, vice president of products for Fortinet. "There's started to be a lot more vendors that have created partnerships or put multiple security applications in a single box. Customers are starting to accept that, either because they're forced to or because they see the value in a multiple threat security device."
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