Announcing the Fortinet Training Institute’s 2024 ATC Award Winners

Although the cybersecurity workforce is growing, many organizations still find it challenging to recruit and retain the talent required to effectively protect their networks. Nearly 4 million professionals are needed to fill vital cybersecurity roles, and 68% of business leaders say their organizations face additional risks because of the cybersecurity skills shortage.

Fortinet has a long-standing commitment to helping close the cyber skills gap through a variety of Training Institute programs, including our Authorized Training Centers (ATC) program. Fortinet ATCs are a network of accredited training organizations that include channel partners and training companies. Fortinet ATCs span more than 150 countries and territories around the world, teaching Fortinet’s Network Security Expert (NSE) Certification curriculum in 26 different languages.

ATCs play a crucial role in delivering Fortinet training, helping us achieve our pledge of training 1 million people by 2026 and our commitment to upskill and reskill individuals through the EU’s Cybersecurity Skills Academy initiative. To honor outstanding ATCs, we’re announcing the winners of our third annual ATC Awards across three categories: Partner of the Year, Certified Trainer of the Year, and Marketing Innovation.

Recognizing the 2024 Fortinet Authorized Training Center Award Winners

Fortinet's 2024 ATC Awards recognize exceptional achievements in quality training delivery, customer experience, and more. Below are the 2024 award winners across three categories.

ATC Partner of the Year

Winners of this category provided training to the greatest number of individuals. These partners have demonstrated commitment to training their customers on critical cybersecurity skill sets and Fortinet products and solutions. This award is given to the top ATC in each region.

• APAC: Ingram Micro
• EMEA: Exclusive Networks
• LATAM: Adistec Corp.
• North America: INSA

Nada Bogdanyi, senior global vendor marketing manager from Exclusive Networks, highlights that instructor-led training (ILT) enhances comprehension and retention through active participation and discussion and is highly beneficial across various industry sectors. By engaging with ILT programs like those offered for Fortinet's complex cybersecurity topics, participants from diverse backgrounds—from IT professionals to corporate security managers—can deepen their understanding. The structured learning environment fosters personalized feedback and allows for networking opportunities with peers, which is invaluable in building a strong cybersecurity community.

Ben Le Huray, solutions architect team leader from Ingram Micro, shared, “Instructor-led training offers a range of benefits for students. For us, these are primarily from MSPs, system integrators, or resellers in the IT and cybersecurity market. ILT courses often feature interactive elements, such as hands-on activities and discussions, which help students grasp complex concepts more effectively. Having those elements like labs greatly increases the knowledge transfer when the tasks can be related to the students’, mainly engineers, day-to-day activities. While the majority of students are in implementation, the interaction with others from different roles (education, government, and logistics) provides many different perspectives to the course content.”

Certified Trainer of the Year

Regional winners were selected based on the number of NSE trainings completed, NSE certifications completed, feedback from student survey responses, and more. This award recognition is based on technical competence, training delivery expertise, and customer satisfaction.

• APAC: Etuate Cocker, Exclusive Networks Australia
• EMEA: Peter Bruderer, Boll Engineering AG
• LATAM: Vinnicius Fiorotto, InLearn Educação
• North America: Ryan Lindfield, Exclusive Networks US

Marketing Innovation

These Fortinet ATC partners have focused on innovative marketing campaigns that drive Fortinet training, have sales initiatives to engage targeted accounts, have hybrid training programs, or implemented innovative programs. As a result, they help drive market engagement and advancement with customers.

• Gold: Exclusive Networks
• Silver: Arrow Education Services
• Bronze: Adistec Corp.

Honoring the Commitment of Our Partners

Fortinet ATC partners demonstrate their commitment to helping customers succeed in a digital world and play a critical role in addressing the industry's skills gap. For this reason, we recognize our ATC partners who go above and beyond through the ATC Awards and look forward to continuing to contribute to the success and growth of all our ATC partners.

Find out more about how Fortinet's Training Institute programs—including the NSE Certification program, Academic Partner program, and Education Outreach program—are helping to solve the cyber skills gap and prepare the cybersecurity workforce of tomorrow.