Fortinet Expands FortiGate G Series for AI-Era Security in 2026

As AI workloads multiply and encrypted east-west traffic surges, traditional firewalls struggle to maintain performance without sacrificing protection. Fortinet addresses this directly with two new additions to the FortiGate G series.

Organizations modernizing their networks for AI-driven environments face a recurring dilemma: enabling advanced security services often degrades throughput, forcing a trade-off between protection and performance. The new FortiGate 3500G and FortiGate 400G next-generation firewalls are engineered to eliminate that compromise, delivering ASIC-accelerated performance, native shadow AI detection, and hardware-enforced integrity at both the data center and enterprise edge.

What was announced

Fortinet announced the FortiGate 3500G and FortiGate 400G as new members of its G series NGFW portfolio. Both platforms run FortiOS 8.0 and are powered by Fortinet's NP7 and SP5 custom ASICs, providing measurable performance advantages over competing solutions.

The FortiGate 3500G targets high-density data center environments, offering 595 Gbps firewall throughput — 3.4x the average of comparable competitors — and support for 179 million concurrent sessions, 6.9x the competitive average. It supports 400Gb connectivity and delivers 163 Gbps IPsec VPN throughput. Energy efficiency is also notable: the 3500G consumes only 1.6 W per Gbps of firewall throughput, compared to a competitive average of 10.0 W/Gbps.

The FortiGate 400G extends G series capabilities to the mid-range enterprise edge. It delivers 164 Gbps firewall throughput (5.7x competitors), 55 Gbps IPsec VPN throughput, and 28 million concurrent sessions — 13.7x the competitive average. Both models include hardware-level validation, secure firmware enforcement, and system-level transparency to support zero-trust architectures.

Why this matters for CEE

Enterprises across Central and Eastern Europe are accelerating AI adoption and infrastructure modernization, often within constrained operational budgets and with existing FortiGate deployments already in place. The FortiGate 400G in particular offers a simplified upgrade path from legacy FortiGate hardware, maintaining consistent interfaces and operational workflows — reducing disruption and retraining costs.

The native shadow AI detection capability in both models addresses a growing governance concern: unsanctioned AI application usage within enterprise environments. FortiOS 8.0 expands this with MCP and agent-to-agent traffic inspection, giving security teams real-time visibility into AI data flows without requiring additional tooling.

For CEE organizations managing distributed hybrid infrastructures, the integration of FortiManager, FortiAnalyzer, and FortiGuard Labs intelligence within a single Security Fabric provides centralized visibility and response — reducing tool sprawl and total cost of ownership.

Technical details

• FortiGate 3500G firewall throughput: 595 Gbps (3.4x competitive average)
• FortiGate 3500G concurrent sessions: 179 million (6.9x competitive average)
• FortiGate 3500G IPsec VPN throughput: 163 Gbps
• FortiGate 3500G threat protection: 105 Gbps
• FortiGate 3500G energy efficiency: 1.6 W/Gbps firewall throughput (6.1x more efficient than competitors)
• FortiGate 400G firewall throughput: 164 Gbps (5.7x competitive average)
• FortiGate 400G concurrent sessions: 28 million (13.7x competitive average)
• FortiGate 400G IPsec VPN throughput: 55 Gbps
• FortiGate 400G threat protection: 13 Gbps
• FortiGate 400G energy efficiency: 1.7 W/Gbps firewall throughput (6.3x more efficient)
• Operating system: FortiOS 8.0 with MCP and agent-to-agent traffic inspection
• Processors: Fortinet NP7 and SP5 custom ASICs
• Shadow AI detection: Native, real-time visibility into unsanctioned AI application usage
• Security integration: FortiGuard AI-Powered Security Services, FortiManager, FortiAnalyzer

Softprom and Fortinet

Softprom is the official distributor of Fortinet in the CEE region. As an authorized distribution partner, Softprom provides access to the full Fortinet portfolio — including the new FortiGate G series — along with pre-sales technical consulting, licensing support, and post-sales enablement for channel partners and enterprise customers across the region.

Organizations modernizing their infrastructures for AI-driven workloads and increasingly distributed environments need security platforms that can deliver both performance and protection at scale.

To learn more about Fortinet solutions available through Softprom or to request a technical consultation, visit the Fortinet page on softprom.com.

This content was prepared as part of the Softprom DistriFlow project — an automated system for monitoring and adapting vendor news. Original source: original article.