Global investment and advisory firm Babcock and Brown has ditched its multi-vendor security environment for a single unified threat management platform.

This included replacing its Cisco firewall infrastructure and deploying the Fortinet FortiGate system for its 1100 employees.

The company, which manages more than $30 billion in assets through its 27 offices across the globe, selected the system because it offers antivirus, firewall, intrusion prevention and Web content filtering capabilities on a single platform.

Babcock and Brown global network information security manager, John Kaberna, said ease of use and the integrated functions of the Fortinet offering were key in the purchasing decision.

"The FortiGate solution will help us avoid having to manage multiple vendors and appliances in order to have the security functions and protection that we require," Kaberna said.

The system updates virus definitions and components via Fortinet's FortiGuard subscription service.

Fortinet sales VP, Karl Soderlund, said network security is critical for financial services firms which handle sensitive data and manage upwards of hundreds of billions of dollars worth of assets.

Soderlund said the aim is to have a solution that provides a range of functionality without the complexity and risk of errors that can arise when dealing with multiple point solutions.

Other Fortinet customers include Jenny Craig, Pizza Hut, Honda, Colliers International and Pierre Lang.