CBTS and Fortinet launch fully managed secure networking service for growing mid-market organizations. CBTS launched CBTS Fortinet Managed Services. The new fully managed secure networking service helps mid-market and multi-site organizations modernize aging infrastructure, strengthen security, and support growth without adding network and security headcount. The mid-market network and security gap. Mid-market organizations are caught between the sophistication of today's threats and the resources available to defend against a growing attack surface. According to Forrester Research, security and risk leaders entering the 2027 planning cycle face persistent challenges, including platform sprawl, talent scarcity, rising costs, and growing pressure from AI-enabled threats. As adversaries gain access to more advanced AI capabilities, already-stretched security teams will face greater pressure to detect and respond to threats quickly.[1] Chris DeBrunner, CISO at CBTS, said: "For most mid-market organizations, hiring their way out of the problem is no longer realistic. CBTS gives them another option: bring networking and security together on a single platform, operated by certified CBTS engineers 24 hours a day." One platform, one partner, with one predictable cost. Aging switches, firewalls, and wireless infrastructure make that gap even harder to close. When those technologies sit across disconnected platforms, modernization can introduce even more tools, policies, and operational complexity. CBTS addresses this by bringing Fortinet firewalls, switching, wireless, and SD-WAN onto a single platform, with CBTS responsible for assessment, design, deployment, and 24x7 operations. The common operating model gives organizations a more consistent network and security foundation as AI increases the speed and complexity of cyber threats. Clients receive the technology and ongoing management through one subscription, giving lean IT teams a single accountable partner for network performance and security. The model is designed around three areas of simplification: * One platform: Networking and security operate under a common architecture and policy model, reducing the gaps created by disconnected technologies. * One partner: The same Fortinet-certified CBTS engineers that design the environment support its ongoing operations, reducing handoffs between resellers, integrators, and managed service providers. * One predictable cost: Hardware, deployment, management, and ongoing refresh are combined into a predictable monthly operating cost with no upfront capital investment. "Fortinet converges networking and security into a unified platform, and CBTS brings the engineering expertise and managed services capabilities to put that platform to work for clients," said Michael O'Brien, US RVP of Carrier Services, Fortinet. "Together, we are giving mid-market organizations a simpler way to modernize their networks, with one team supporting the environment from design and deployment through ongoing operations." Built for mid-market, multi-site organizations. CBTS Fortinet Managed Services is designed for multi-site organizations across industries including healthcare, retail and food service, financial services, manufacturing, consumer packaged goods. Centralized network and security management gives those organizations a more consistent way to open new locations, maintain policy across sites, and modernize infrastructure without building a larger internal engineering function. The subscription model also combines hardware refresh and ongoing management into a single predictable monthly cost rather than a series of separate technology investments. Fortinet managed services proven at scale. CBTS has already put this model into practice for a quick-service restaurant chain with over 100 locations, replacing a mixed-vendor network with a single, fully managed Fortinet platform. The new environment brings firewall, wireless, switching, and SD-WAN under one managed service, reducing cost and complexity while creating room for future growth. The client's environment is managed through a dedicated dashboard, providing visibility into its network while maintaining separation from other managed environments. Availability and additional resources. CBTS is a Fortinet Expert-tier partner with certified engineers who design, deploy, and manage Fortinet environments. CBTS Fortinet Managed Services is available across North America now. Organizations do not need to be on Fortinet today to benefit. The CBTS service includes migration, with a dedicated project manager keeping the transition seamless. CBTS can also show how Fortinet integrates with their existing technology and third-party solutions. David Marshall is the founder of VMblog.com, one of the industry's longest-running independent publications covering modern data center technologies. What began as a focus on virtualization and cloud computing has expanded to cover the full spectrum of enterprise IT, including AI, security, and DevOps, making VMblog a trusted destination for vendor news, technology analysis, and industry commentary.Beyond publishing, David has spent his career at the intersection of technology and business, inventing, marketing, and launching a number of successful software companies and products, and building a reputation as a skilled marketing executive in the enterprise IT space.David is also a published author, having written two well-regarded books on virtualization and served as technical editor for two "For Dummies" titles covering virtualization and cloud computing. He co-founded CloudCow.com, a publication focused on cloud computing, and has been named a VMware vExpert every year since 2009, one of the longest continuous honoree streaks in the program's history.Connect with David on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidmarshall/

CBTS unveils blueprint for 100% agentic delivery after scaling Anthropic company-wide, giving mid-market companies a proven path to ai-fueled growth. CBTS unveiled its blueprint for 100% agentic delivery for mid-market companies, drawing on lessons from its enterprise-wide rollout of Claude Enterprise by Anthropic across its own workforce. The approach is designed to help organizations move beyond AI pilots with the governance, security, infrastructure, and operating model needed to scale adoption across the business to drive AI value. Until now, large-scale AI transformation has mostly been an enterprise story limited to companies with the budget to experiment, fail, and try again. Mid-market companies, with annual revenues between $300 million and $3 billion, haven't had that luxury. CBTS built its blueprint for them and proved it on its own workforce first. Making AI at scale possible for every mid-market company. CBTS works with companies and government entities across North America to deliver enterprise-wide AI transformations, guiding clients from AI experimentation to scaled, value-generating deployment. CBTS scaled Anthropic Claude Enterprise across 2,300 employees, testing the model on its own complex business first. "With CBTS, all companies can now access world-class AI knowledge, security, consulting frameworks, and analytics once reserved for large corporations. The goal is to give mid-market companies across North America the tools to compete on equal footing with companies ten times their size," said CBTS CEO Kristin Russell. AI security and governance at scale. CBTS employees use Claude across workflows, including Claude.ai for research and drafting, Claude Code for technical and engineering tasks, Cowork for cross-functional projects, and Claude Design. With agentic AI touching every part of the business, security and governance were a board mandate from day one. The same foundation now underpins the CBTS Forge AI practice serving clients today. "Every mid-market CISO is asking the same question: How do I use AI to do more with less, without opening a door I can't close? CBTS Forge AI is the answer. Our comprehensive approach spans vendor evaluation, threat testing, and governance across the attack surface before any agent reaches production," added Chris DeBrunner, CISO at CBTS. Why 100% agentic delivery matters. 100% agentic delivery means every business function across sales, operations, security, delivery, IT, and beyond runs on agentic AI to compound business value. For mid-market companies, 100% agentic delivery provides speed and competitive advantage at an unprecedented scale. According to Forrester 2026 Research: "Scaled impact emerges only when organizations redesign workflows, roles, and operating models around agentic capability. This requires both an orchestration plane to coordinate agents and non-agentic systems and a control plane to establish trust."[1] Organizations that stop short of full agentic integration leave compounding gains on the table. Most mid-market companies can't achieve company-wide AI value alone, so CBTS embeds the engineering talent required from strategy through operations. One AI services partner, every step of the AI journey. Mid-market companies are the engine of growth and jobs in communities across North America. Yet, they've faced the same AI pressures as the largest enterprises including legacy technology, rising cyber risk, and the need to capture AI's value before competitors do, without enterprise-scale budgets to build the required foundation. CBTS Forge AI is backed by the full range of capability CBTS brings to every client relationship: * Advisory to identify where AI creates real value. CBTS prioritizes human reskilling and agentic oversight, especially as agentic AI expands. * Deep technical expertise and partnerships with leading technology vendors to build and govern agentic systems. CBTS Forge AI is multi-model by design, allowing model flexibility based on performance, cost, security, and data-sovereignty requirements. * Infrastructure and managed services can run AI and agents in production at scale. This customizable blueprint is built specifically for mid-market companies, which typically don't have in-house teams to manage each stage separately, let alone the human side of AI adoption. Now, for the first time, mid-market companies have a blueprint that's already proven. That's what one AI services partner, every step of the way, makes possible. Topics: AI David Marshall is the founder of VMblog.com, one of the industry's longest-running independent publications covering modern data center technologies. What began as a focus on virtualization and cloud computing has expanded to cover the full spectrum of enterprise IT, including AI, security, and DevOps, making VMblog a trusted destination for vendor news, technology analysis, and industry commentary.Beyond publishing, David has spent his career at the intersection of technology and business, inventing, marketing, and launching a number of successful software companies and products, and building a reputation as a skilled marketing executive in the enterprise IT space.David is also a published author, having written two well-regarded books on virtualization and served as technical editor for two "For Dummies" titles covering virtualization and cloud computing. He co-founded CloudCow.com, a publication focused on cloud computing, and has been named a VMware vExpert every year since 2009, one of the longest continuous honoree streaks in the program's history.Connect with David on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidmarshall/