Fortinet® (NASDAQ: FTNT)– the global leader in high-performance cybersecurity solutions, today announced the winners of its 2016 partner of the year awards for the Middle East region. The awards ceremony took place at the Fortinet Middle East PartnerSync Conference, which hosted more than 100 channel partners from across the Middle East and Pakistan. Fortinet's 2016 Partner of the Year awards recognise outstanding cybersecurity sales, customer experience, collaboration, and marketing achievements from the company's distributors and resellers across the region.

Fortinet 2016 Partner of the Year Award Winners for the Middle East:

Best Distributor of the Year – Exclusive Networks

Market Development Distributor of the Year – Redington Gulf FZE

Emerging Distributor of the Year – Oxygen Middle East

MSSP Partner of the Year - du

Saudi Arabia:

Platinum Partner of the Year for Saudi Arabia- STCS
Best Development Partner of the Year for Saudi Arabia- Sahara Net
SMB Partner of the year for Saudi Arabia – Smart Ion Communication
South Gulf:

Middle East Partner of the Year – Gulf Business Machines
Best Development Partner of the Year – OCS
SMB Partner of the Year – Seven Seas
Best Growth Partner of the Year – Help AG
North Gulf:

Platinum Partner of the Year for Saudi Arabia- Zak Solutions
Best Development Partner of the Year – Triple C
SMB Partner of the Year – IRIS Technology
Best Growth Partner of the Year – Future Tech

'I would like to congratulate the winners for their outstanding achievements and continued commitment to Fortinet,” said Alain Penel, Regional Vice President- Middle East at Fortinet. “Our partners have played an instrumental role towards our growth and towards delivering the very best cybersecurity solutions to help customers across the region defend their organisations against today’s increasingly advanced threat landscape. We are looking forward to another profitable year of working together with our channel community, and contributing to a secure digital future.'

The Fortinet Middle East PartnerSync Conference which is attended by Fortinet’s experts and senior executives offers partners a unique opportunity to gain insights on Fortinet’s Security Fabric vision and channel strategy. Partners are also encouraged to provide direct feedback to Fortinet’s regional leadership and learn to maximise on Fortinet’s enablement programs, to gain and share best practices with the cybersecurity industry’s best and brightest.