Ip.Glass implements Fortinet SD-WAN for Hornsby Shire Council

Sydney's Hornsby Shire Council has upgraded its network infrastructure with help from cybersecurity specialist Ip.Glass, replacing legacy systems with Fortinet's Secure Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) and SD-Branch solutions.

Replacing the council's older and costly, inflexible multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) network, the new solution delivers improved connectivity, enhanced cybersecurity, and reduced operational complexity across all council sites.

The council's previous MPLS infrastructure struggled with scalability challenges and high operational costs, creating barriers to digital innovation and service delivery improvements.

Now, the new Fortinet-powered network addresses these limitations through next-generation firewall technology, integrated LAN switching, wireless access points, and 4G/5G connectivity extensions.

"Fortinet SD-WAN was a really good story from the council's point of view," Cameron McNaught, infrastructure services team leader at Hornsby Shire Council, said.

"It offers a more secure and more flexible product, more resiliency, redundancy, simplicity for less money, and a much better user experience," McNaught added.

Ip.Glass's implementation centres on FortiGate Next-Generation Firewalls, FortiSwitch LAN components, FortiAP wireless access points, and FortiExtender connectivity solutions, all managed through FortiManager Cloud for centralised visibility and control.

The new architecture creates standalone networks at each council location whilst maintaining unified management and security policies.

This design approach eliminates single points of failure that previously affected multiple sites when network issues occurred.

"With Fortinet, every council site is its own standalone network, fully segregated, but still part of the whole," McNaught said.

If a site goes down, there's no longer a single point of failure," he added.

Hornsby Shire Council said it has achieved communications cost reductions of at least 50 per cent alongside improved operational visibility and security management capabilities.

The modernised infrastructure strengthens the council's compliance with Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) Essential Eight, and ISO 27001 standards through consistent security policy enforcement across all locations.

The network transformation also enables integration of Internet of Things (IoT) devices, supports Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) principles, and provides a foundation for smart city service development.

"Council users don't see problems anymore. It just works," Tim Weddell, IT operations manager at Hornsby Shire Council, said.

"They are protected wherever they go, even when they are offsite. Their focus is now on business outcomes, not IT challenges," Weddell added.

"Ip.Glass is proud to partner with Hornsby Shire Council on a project that delivers meaningful and lasting impact," Semyon Taskin, managing director at Ip.Glass, said.

"The Fortinet Secure SD-WAN solution provided the foundation to improve performance, reduce complexity, and embed robust security controls across every location," taskin added.

The partner delivered the project as Fortinet's first and only Engage Preferred Services Partner (EPSP) in Australia, a designation that recognises advanced deployment expertise and ongoing support capabilities.