Fortinet

A global network security company with UK offices in Reading and London, selling firewalls and related security products.

About Fortinet

Fortinet is a cybersecurity company. Its best-known products are firewalls, which act like a security guard on a computer network, checking what comes in and out and blocking anything dangerous. Businesses, telecom providers and governments use them. Fortinet also sells software and services that protect branch offices, cloud systems and remote workers, and it runs free training so that more people can learn cybersecurity skills.

Fortinet was founded in 2000 by two brothers, Ken Xie and Michael Xie. Ken had earlier left a security company called NetScreen; Michael is an electrical engineer. Ken is chief executive and Michael is president and chief technology officer. The brothers launched their first FortiGate firewall products in May 2002. Fortinet describes itself as a Silicon Valley cybersecurity firm; we did not find a street address for its headquarters in the sources we read. In the UK, a job listing gave a Reading, Berkshire base and a London office at 52-54 Lime Street. We did not find UK headcount.

Fortinet's own goal, on its early-talent page, is to help prevent malicious cyber-attacks through its technologies. Ken Xie's founding idea, as reported by Wikipedia, was that security should be built into the whole of computing and networking, from end to end. A job listing also says Fortinet aims to build the most innovative, high-performing network security fabric to protect and simplify IT infrastructure. The company says it values openness, teamwork and innovation.

The main product family is FortiGate, its firewall. Around it sits the "Security Fabric", Fortinet's name for products that work together across a network. It also offers secure networking, which builds protection into network and branch connections, and security services with customer training. The Fortinet Training Institute offers free, self-paced courses, including FortiGate Essentials and the NSE 1 and NSE 2 awareness courses; you need a free account. They are aimed at students, career changers and IT staff. The FortiGate Essentials course comes from Fortinet's NSE certification path, so it can count towards a qualification.

A UK entry-level Business Development Representative listing describes a fast-paced, high-energy sales team with training, online learning and possible certifications, based in Reading with four days a week on-site. That is the company's own description, so ask about it at interview. The role is for people with 0 to 3 years' experience and says recent graduates are welcome. Fortinet's global early-talent page describes a summer internship of about 10 to 12 weeks (as at 2026) with mentoring and networking, and graduate jobs in technical and non-technical areas. Its testimonials mention legal, software engineering and HR interns. Applications are said to open in autumn and close in early spring, and it asks for a one-page CV tailored to the role. The page does not say which of these run in the UK. Gradcracker and Ratemyplacement have listed Fortinet placement and graduate roles, but no live graduate jobs showed on 20 Oct 2026.

What they do

• {'desc': 'FortiGate network security hardware and software.', 'title': 'Firewalls'}
• {'desc': 'Security built into network and branch connections.', 'title': 'Secure networking'}
• {'desc': 'Products that work together to protect a whole network.', 'title': 'Security Fabric'}
• {'desc': 'Fortinet Training Institute courses such as FortiGate Essentials and NSE 1-2.', 'title': 'Free training'}

Key facts

• Founded 2000 by brothers Ken and Michael Xie; first FortiGate products launched May 2002
• UK offices named in a job listing: Reading and London (Lime Street)
• Free self-paced training: FortiGate Essentials, NSE 1 and NSE 2
• Global summer internships run about 10-12 weeks; entry-level UK sales roles welcome recent graduates

Website: www.fortinet.com