Credit: Fortinet
Network and content security vendor Fortinet has launched a new technical assistance centre (TAC) in Sydney, despite the city being in the middle of a state-wide lockdown.
According to Fortinet, the TAC is designed to provide local support and clear escalation paths for Australian customers, as well as forming part of Fortinet’s “follow-the-sun support” globally.
Fortinet already has a TAC in Asia Pacific, specifically in Malaysia, but said it considered it “strategically important to locate a Centre of Excellence within Australia”.
The vendor claimed it also wanted a city-based facility to help it attract skilled workers and build a pipeline of talent to help address the cyber skills shortage.
The Sydney-based TAC incorporates level 1, level 2, and level 3 skills, plus professional services and technical account management. The TAC also features a briefing centre and space for almost 60 employees.
“Fortinet is well aware that attracting and retaining talented engineers during a skills shortage requires a financial investment as well as a training investment,” said Jon McGettigan, Fortinet regional director for Australia and New Zealand.
“Fortinet has created the TAC to provide a desirable place to work for skilled engineers. The wider business is also continuing to offer free Network Security Expert (NSE) cybersecurity training through its Training Advancement Agenda (TAA) initiative, which is available online and through selected higher education providers.”
McGettigan added that the skills shortage was a “key issue for Australian organisations” when concerning cyber security.
The launch comes five months after Fortinet revealed updates to its Engage partner program, bringing new models and offerings to partners, as well as new specialisations and training updates.
Dubbed 'Engage 2.0', the partner program, which caters to integrators, managed security services providers (MSSP) and cloud partners, includes updates which, broadly, bring partners “additional flexibility and revenue growth”, the vendor claimed.
