HighJump and Fortinet bring ironclad security to supply chain management on Oracle Cloud

How Fortinet teamed up with Oracle to provide HighJump’s customers with next-gen security

An Interview with Jared Mendenhall, Director of Cloud Operations/Security at HighJump

Sponsored Content, January/February 2019

HighJump, a global provider of supply chain execution software solutions, provides warehousing and transportation systems across multiple verticals, including third-party logistics providers, retailers, wholesalers, and manufacturers. To secure its solutions on Oracle Cloud, HighJump turned to Fortinet, an Oracle partner and global provider of network security appliances, to provide the enhanced level of security to meet their customers’ needs.

Jared Mendenhall, Director of Cloud Operations/Security at HighJump

Q: What challenges brought you to Fortinet and Oracle Cloud?

A: At HighJump, we’ve been in the cloud space for a long time—even before it was actually called “the cloud.” Several of our products have been offered as a managed service for more than 15 years, so we’ve developed extensive expertise in building software as a service over that period of time. One of the keys to our success is staying in front of new and emerging technologies, and then finding ways to deliver our products in a way that adds meaningful value for our customers.

Our customers today are more demanding than ever, looking for a higher level of performance, security, availability, and scalability at a lower cost. Oracle and Fortinet help us deliver on those key elements.

Q: How does Fortinet deliver the same level of excellence that you deliver to your own customers?

A: Fortinet has partnered with us extensively to rely on Oracle Cloud as our new cloud infrastructure. There was a lot of architectural design and work that went into building something that can both service our customers as they are today and to scale out into the future. Fortinet has gone above and beyond in assisting us with that effort, making sure that all the bits and bytes are working as designed, even pulling us together with development to find areas to improve the product. Our customers expect the same level of diligence within our solutions, so it’s important that we align with vendors who have strong values.

Q: How does the relationship between Fortinet and Oracle help you bring added value to your customers?

A: Fortinet has a very mature firewall product stack—in terms of customer ratings and satisfaction for a firewall vendor, they’re rated quite highly in the upper right-hand quadrant for several Gartner Magic Quadrants. Our customers need and expect a high level of security, and some of Fortinet’s key features are, from a customer penetration and customer support perspective, frankly unmatched. That was a key driver for us.

Fortinet’s continuous engineering effort brings the best products and features to the marketplace on behalf of the customer, specifically to Oracle and, in this case, to HighJump and our customers.”–Jared Mendenhall, Director of Cloud Operations/Security, HighJump

The relationship between Fortinet and Oracle makes it easy for us to take advantage of Fortinet’s offerings, which bring an enhanced level of security to our customers. With this relationship, Fortinet can provide more of its solution offerings in Oracle Cloud Marketplace. So it’s not just the next-generation firewall that we’re able to take advantage of, it’s the management, it’s the analytics, it’s the troubleshooting components that are available, and it’s the advanced features. There are other features inside of the Fortinet product offering that will become more available in the marketplace as it continues to mature.

Fortinet’s continuous engineering effort brings the best products and features to the marketplace on behalf of the customer, specifically to Oracle and, in this case, to HighJump and our customers. We’re taking advantage of that. We’re starting out with Fortinet’s next-generation firewall and getting required components as our adventure in the cloud continues.

Q: Why is security always top of mind with anything that HighJump delivers to its customers?

A: The last couple of years have been a watershed moment for the supply chain industry around security. With new and emerging security threats, new compliance guidelines, and other pressures, security concerns are coming to the attention of people who haven’t had to focus on it before now. Even warehousing staff, who aren’t working extensively with PCI or sensitive personal data, are highly involved and engaged in the conversation. We think that’s a great thing, and we want to exceed expectations when they come to us looking for a solution.

Q: Why does Fortinet on Oracle Cloud work so well for HighJump?

A: With its super-high performance at a low cost, Oracle Cloud has been a great differentiator for us. When you take the best performance you can get in the cloud and combine it with the best firewalling and security technology, you have a winning solution. Fortinet worked closely with Oracle to put the right solution together, making it easy and secure for us to do business with them. With Oracle helping Fortinet move forward with progressive customer interactions and network complexity requirements, we benefit from the work they’ve done behind the scenes to keep everything running smoothly, and we pass those benefits on to our customers in the form of top-notch security and peace of mind for their supply chains.

Q: How are Fortinet and Oracle working together to serve the needs of companies like HighJump?

A: Their relationship is all about the collaboration and the success of the customer. Everyone is moving to the cloud. Fortinet continues to work to understand the changing security requirements to be in the cloud versus on premises. While working with us at HighJump, they were looking for and anticipating the unknown to solve and prevent problems. When they found problems, Fortinet reacted very quickly. They went through their proof of concept with great diligence. Together, Oracle and Fortinet have learned so much along the way. We’ve all come so far since our very first conversation. They have a commitment to doing smart things with smart people and providing smart solutions. With Fortinet and Oracle, we know they will keep doing the right thing for us and continue to be easy to do business with.

Q: What does the future hold for HighJump and Fortinet on Oracle Cloud?

A: Oracle Cloud is our go-to future-state cloud platform across our entire portfolio. One of the things that excites us about our relationship with both Fortinet and Oracle Cloud is the amount of development that’s going into both of those solutions. Fortinet is adding new security functionality, and Oracle is building out next-generation features and technologies. Being in Oracle Cloud positions us to take advantage of those emerging technologies and build our solutions on them. When you team with people who are moving the market, developing and establishing thought leadership, whether in security or in the cloud, you’ll have a much higher chance of success—and being successful means providing a better experience for the customer.

For more information, visit www.fortinet.com

Sponsored Content as Seen in Oracle Magazine January/February 2019

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