The notion of going faster is to accelerate, and it’s no accident that Fortinet Inc. chose to use that term in naming its annual gathering in Las Vegas, Nevada. The proliferation of attacks on information technology networks has created a sense of urgency not just in responding to threats, but in creating a security structure that can withstand the onslaught.

“We are entering into the world where digital business allows us to envision or to execute a multitude of more complex behaviors and the security platform has to correspondingly evolve and adjust,” said Peter Burris (pictured, right, @plburris), co-host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio. “Customers in 2018 are going to have to accelerate this journey to employing security-related technologies and services more effectively within their business.”

Burris spoke during theCUBE’s kickoff discussion during the Fortinet Accelerate 2018 event in Las Vegas on the opening day of the conference. Joined by co-host Lisa Martin (pictured, left, @LuccaZara), they discussed the increasing number of choices facing security professionals today and the importance of viewing stronger device or service protection as a major differentiator for a business.

Making sense out of multiple products

Security executives throughout the business world are increasingly confronted with an expanding array of options when it comes to protecting critical infrastructure. “A lot of companies have 20 to 30 disparate security products in play, pointed at different things,” said Martin, who was looking forward to hearing from Fortinet’s own executives on how they tackle this problem and what techniques they employ for security.

“If you’re a leader in this and providing the products and technologies, are you doing this internally?” she asked.

Security is also becoming more widely viewed as an important differentiator in the business and consumer marketplace. A company might decide to purchase a particular product or service because its security features are better, or a consumer might buy-in for the same reason. Security is becoming a factor in brand loyalty.

“If those services are fundamentally insecure, then your brand, no matter how good the service is, your brand is going to take a hit,” Burris said. “Increasingly, that’s got to be the way that boards of directors and CEOs and IT professionals need to think.”

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of Fortinet Accelerate 2018.

Photo: SiliconANGLE