Fortinet Named a Leader in the 2026 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ Report for Hybrid Mesh Firewall
Proven customer adoption across the broadest range of enterprise environments and continued innovation in AI, networking, cloud, and quantum security
SUNNYVALE, Calif., Sept. 10, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Fortinet® (NASDAQ: FTNT), the global cybersecurity leader driving the convergence of networking and security, today announced it has been recognized as a Leader in the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Hybrid Mesh Firewall report and was positioned highest for Ability to Execute for the second consecutive year.
With its recognition in the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Hybrid Mesh Firewall report, Fortinet is now recognized in 11 Gartner Magic Quadrant reports across networking and security. Powered by custom-built FortiASICs and FortiOS, a single operating system spanning physical, virtual, cloud-native, and as-a-service deployments, Fortinet FortiGate firewall solutions are an integral part of the Fortinet AI-native Security Fabric, providing consistent protection, performance, and operational simplicity across the hybrid enterprise.
“Enterprise firewall expertise is earned through the trust and confidence customers place in a solution to protect their most critical environments,” said Anthony James, EVP of Marketing at Fortinet. “We believe our recognition as a Leader and highest position for Ability to Execute reflect Fortinet’s proven ability to deliver security and networking at scale. At the same time, we continue to expand what customers should expect from a firewall solution through innovation in AI-driven operations, post-quantum cryptography (PQC), multi-cloud orchestration, and cyber-physical visibility.”
As organizations modernize increasingly distributed infrastructure, they need more than a traditional firewall. They need a solution that can connect networking and security, enforce consistent policies across hybrid environments, simplify operations, and continuously evolve for emerging technologies and threats.
Fortinet believes this recognition reflects what customers experience every day: proven performance, scale, and consistent protection across branches, campuses, data centers, clouds, operational technology, carrier networks, and managed security environments. Fortinet’s architectural flexibility also helps organizations address distinct performance, sovereignty, and regulatory and operational requirements.
Proven Execution Across the Hybrid Enterprise
Fortinet Hybrid Mesh Firewall (HMF) solutions protect enterprise perimeter, heavy branch, data center, carrier-grade, and managed security environments across physical, virtual, cloud-native, and as-a-service deployments. Supported by the FortiOS operating system, centralized management, and common FortiGuard AI-Powered Security Services, this consistent foundation enables organizations to standardize policies and simplify operations without introducing separate products and operating models for each environment.
Organizations also gain the flexibility to determine where security inspection and enforcement occur based on their unique business, performance, compliance, and sovereignty requirements. Security can be delivered from the cloud through FortiSASE, through a customer-controlled FortiGate with FortiSASE Outpost capabilities, or an on-site FortiGate providing local enforcement with FortiSASE. This convergence of cloud-delivered security and local enforcement defines a SASE firewall, enabling organizations to optimize user experience, meet regulatory obligations, and maintain operational control.
Converging Networking and Security
Fortinet’s long-standing strategy converges networking and security within a common operating system. FortiOS integrates enterprise-class routing, secure SD-WAN, and next-generation firewall capabilities, enabling organizations to coordinate connectivity and security policies, improve application performance, accelerate branch and campus modernization, and centrally manage distributed environments.
By bringing these capabilities together, Fortinet helps customers reduce complexity, improve operational efficiency, and build more resilient infrastructure.
Innovating for What Comes Next
Fortinet continues to advance the HMF through AI-based automation, PQC, and multi-cloud orchestration. AI-driven assistance, automation, and analytics help networking and security teams investigate issues faster, automate routine activities, and improve policy management. Fortinet is also helping customers prepare for emerging cryptographic risks while enabling consistent security policy and orchestration across multi-cloud environments.
Fortinet further extends visibility across the Internet of Things and cyber-physical systems environments through passive and active device discovery. These capabilities help organizations identify and categorize connected assets by manufacturer, firmware, and industrial function, while real-time firewall file monitoring helps identify unauthorized changes and protect the integrity of critical security infrastructure.
Together, these capabilities expand the firewall beyond traffic inspection into a distributed policy and enforcement solution connecting networking, security, cloud, AI, and operational technology.
Download the report to learn more about the 2026 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Hybrid Mesh Firewall.
Additional Resources
- Read more about the Fortinet HMF approach.
- Read more about the Fortinet Security Fabric.
- Learn about the Fortinet Open Ecosystem.
- Visit fortinet.com/trust to learn about Fortinet innovation, collaboration partners, product security processes, and enterprise-grade products.
- Read about how Fortinet customers are securing their organizations.
- Learn about Fortinet’s commitment to product security and integrity, including its responsible product development and vulnerability disclosure approach and policies.
- Follow Fortinet on X, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. Subscribe to Fortinet on our blog or YouTube.
Gartner and Magic Quadrant are trademarks of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates.
Gartner does not endorse any company, vendor, product or service depicted in its publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s business and technology insights organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this publication, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Hybrid Mesh Firewall, By Rajpreet Kaur, Adam Hils, and Odie Adisana, 7, September 2026
Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Endpoint Protection, By Deepak Mishra, Evgeny Mirolyubov, Nikul Patel, 26 May 2026
Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Network Detection and Response, By Thomas Lintemuth, Charanpal Bhogal, Nahim Fazal, 18 May 2026
Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Wired and Wireless LAN, By Mike Leibovitz, Christian Canales, Tim Zimmerman, 18 May 2026
Gartner, Magic Quadrant for CPS Protection Platforms, By Katell Thielemann, Ruggero Contu, Wam Voster, Sumit Rajput, 3 March 2026
Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Email Security, By Max Taggett, Nikul Patel, 1 December 2025
Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Access Management, By Brian Guthrie, Nathan Harris, Yemi Davies, Steve Wessels, 11 November 2025
Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Privileged Access Management, By Abhyuday Data, Paul Mezzera, Shubham Gera, Tarun Rohilla, Michael Kelley, 13 October 2025
Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Security Information and Event Management, By Andrew Davies, Eric Ahlm, Angel Berrios, Darren Livingstone, 8 October 2025
Gartner, Magic Quadrant for SASE Platforms, By Jonathan Forest, Neil MacDonald, Dale Koeppen, 9 July 2025
Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Security Service Edge, By Charlie Winckless, Thomas Lintemuth, Dale Koeppen, Charanpal Bhogal, 20 May 2025
Copyright © 2026 Fortinet, Inc. All rights reserved. The symbols ® and ™ denote respectively federally registered trademarks and common law trademarks of Fortinet, Inc., its subsidiaries and affiliates. Fortinet’s trademarks include, but are not limited to, the following: Fortinet, the Fortinet logo, FortiGate, FortiOS, FortiGuard, FortiCare, FortiAnalyzer, FortiManager, FortiASIC, FortiClient, FortiCloud, FortiCore, FortiMail, FortiSandbox, FortiADC, FortiAgent, FortiAI, FortiAIOps, FortiAntenna, FortiAP, FortiAPCam, FortiAppSec, FortiAuthenticator, FortiBranchSASE, FortiCall, FortiCam, FortiCamera, FortiCarrier, FortiCART, FortiCASB, FortiCentral, FortiConnect, FortiController, FortiConverter, FortiDAST, FortiDATA, FortiDB, FortiDevice, FortiDDoS, FortiDeceptor, FortiDeploy, FortiDevice, FortiDevSec, FortiDLP, FortiEdge, FortiEDR, FortiEndpoint, FortiExplorer, FortiExtender, FortiFirewall, FortiFlex, FortiFone, FortiGSLB, FortiGuest, FortiHSM, FortiHypervisor, FortiIdentity, FortiInsight, FortiIsolator, FortiLink, FortiMonitor, FortiNAC, FortiNDR, FortiPAM, FortiPhish, FortiPoint, FortiPoints, FortiPortal, FortiPresence, FortiProxy, FortiRecon, FortiRecorder, FortiSASE, FortiSAT, FortiSEC, FortiSIEM, FortiSMS, FortiSOAR, FortiSOC, FortiSRA, FortiSwitch, FortiTelemetry, FortiTester, FortiTIP, FortiToken, FortiTrust, FortiVoice, FortiWAN, FortiWeb, FortiWiFi, FortiWLC, FortiWLM, FortiXDR, Lacework FortiCNAPP, Linksys, Intelligent Mesh, Velop, Max-Stream, Performance Perfected and SECURITY FABRIC.
Other trademarks belong to their respective owners. Fortinet has not independently verified statements or certifications herein attributed to third parties and Fortinet does not independently endorse such statements. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, nothing herein constitutes a warranty, guarantee, contract, binding specification or other binding commitment by Fortinet or any indication of intent related to a binding commitment, and performance and other specification information herein may be unique to certain environments.
CONTACT: Media Contact: Travis Anderson Fortinet, Inc. 408-235-7700 pr@fortinet.com Investor Contact: Anthony Luscri Fortinet, Inc. 408-235-7700 investors@fortinet.com Analyst Contact: Sarah Goodwin Fortinet, Inc. 408-832-1428 sgoodwin@fortinet.com
