--- title: "Fortinet Engage for Resellers and MSSPs: NSE Certifications, Business Models, and a Hidden AWS Dependency" description: Fortinet Engage ties four partner levels to NSE certifications and three business models. What that means for firms tracking certifications across vendors. image: https://www.altamiq.com/hubfs/Fortinet%20Engage_%20The%20Partner%20Ascent-1.png --- [Skip to content](https://www.altamiq.com/blog/fortinet-engage-for-resellers-and-mssps-nse-certifications-business-models-and-a-hidden-aws-dependency#main-content) [![logo-horizontal](https://www.altamiq.com/hs-fs/hubfs/logo-horizontal.png?width=1959&height=424&name=logo-horizontal.png)](https://www.altamiq.com/) - [Platform](https://www.altamiq.com) - [Who It's For](https://www.altamiq.com) - [vs. PRMs](https://www.altamiq.com) - [Implementation](https://www.altamiq.com) - [Pricing](https://www.altamiq.com#altamiq-pricing) - [Features](https://www.altamiq.com/features) - [Blog](https://www.altamiq.com/blog) Sign in Request a demo → - [Platform](https://www.altamiq.com) - [Who It's For](https://www.altamiq.com) - [vs. PRMs](https://www.altamiq.com) - [Implementation](https://www.altamiq.com) - [Pricing](https://www.altamiq.com#altamiq-pricing) - [Features](https://www.altamiq.com/features) - [Blog](https://www.altamiq.com/blog) Request a demo → Sign in ![](https://www.altamiq.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Fortinet%20Engage_%20The%20Partner%20Ascent-1.png?width=1536&height=1024&name=Fortinet%20Engage_%20The%20Partner%20Ascent-1.png) # Fortinet Engage for Resellers and MSSPs: NSE Certifications, Business Models, and a Hidden AWS Dependency ![Altamiq](https://7528315.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hub/7528315/hubfs/raw_assets/public/mV0_d-cms-elevate-theme_hubspot/elevate/images/avatar-placeholder.jpg?width=48&height=48&name=avatar-placeholder.jpg) Altamiq October 23, 2026  Fortinet launched the Engage program in February 2020, replacing its older partner tiers with four levels of engagement: Advocate, Select, Advanced, and Expert. Compared with programs that score contributions or revenue, Engage is unusually explicit about what moves you up a level. It is certifications, counted by person, at specific NSE levels. That makes Fortinet one of the clearest examples of a program where compliance is a people-tracking problem. It also makes it one of the easiest to get wrong when you hold several other vendors at the same time. A note on sources: the level descriptions below come from Fortinet’s own launch material and trade coverage. The training requirements come from an Engage 2.0 requirements brochure published by a distributor in 2021. Fortinet has revised the program since. Use this post to understand the structure, and confirm exact numbers in the Fortinet partner portal. ## Three choices, not one Engage is not a single ladder. Fortinet describes it as three decisions a partner makes. 1. **Level of engagement.** Advocate, Select, Advanced, or Expert, with benefits and requirements tied to your level of expertise and your NSE certifications. 2. **Business model.** Integrator, MSSP, or Cloud, or all three. All four levels are available for each model. 3. **Specialization.** Each specialization earns a badge, recognition on the Partner Locator, and discounted not-for-resale kits designed for that focus area. The consequence is easy to miss. A firm that operates as an integrator and as an MSSP, and also resells into cloud environments, is not holding one Fortinet status. It is holding up to three combinations of level and model, each with its own training requirements. ## What each level is positioned to signal | **Level** | **Positioned for** | **Training bar (2021 brochure)** | | --- | --- | --- | | Advocate | Entry-level partners starting a relationship with Fortinet. Limited requirements and limited benefits. | One NSE 1 and one NSE 2. | | Select | Partners serving the small and medium business market. | Adds NSE 4 for the integrator model. | | Advanced | Partners who meet staff certification standards and have shown success delivering the full spectrum of Fortinet solutions. | Adds NSE 3 and exam-based NSE 5. | | Expert | Proven Fortinet experts with consistently high revenue, full-spectrum delivery, and a staff of highly trained, certified people able to manage the most complex deployments. | More people at each NSE level, plus NSE 6 and NSE 7 exams, varying by business model. |   *Sources: Fortinet Engage launch blog (Feb 2020); Fortinet Engage 2.0 requirements brochure via Exclusive Networks (2021). Requirements vary by model and have been revised.* ## Why the NSE ladder is a people ladder In the brochure we reviewed, the exam-based certifications start at NSE 5. The higher the level, the more individuals you need who have passed those exams, and the more of them you need per level. That has three practical effects. - **Your level depends on specific people.** If two of your three NSE 5 holders leave, a level that looked secure last quarter may not be. - **Exam-based certifications are the scarce ones.** Foundational training is easy to spread across a team. Exam-based credentials are held by a few engineers, and those engineers tend to be the ones other employers want. - **The same people are usually carrying other vendors.** The engineer who holds your NSE 7 is often the engineer holding a Palo Alto or Microsoft Security credential too. One resignation then lands on several programs at once. ## The dependency inside the dependency The brochure’s requirements for the cloud-oriented tiers include a business requirement that the partner hold AWS Select Partner status, in addition to the Fortinet training. So a Fortinet benefit can depend on a status issued by a different vendor, which in turn depends on AWS certifications held by a different set of engineers. This is the pattern that single-vendor portals cannot show. Fortinet’s portal knows your NSE certifications. AWS’s portal knows your AWS certifications. Neither one knows that your Fortinet cloud status depends on your AWS tier. If your AWS Select status lapses, nothing on the Fortinet side warns you. > **The question to ask:** For every vendor status you hold, which other vendor’s status does it depend on? Write the answers down once. Most firms discover at least one dependency they did not know about. ## A Fortinet tracking grid The minimum useful record for Fortinet has one row per person per certification, plus a separate record per level-and-model combination. | **Record** | **Key field** | **Date to track** | **Owner** | **Depends on** | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | NSE certification | Person + NSE level | Expiry | Engineer’s | Employment status | | Level + model | e.g. Advanced / Integrator | Last assessment | Channel lead | Certification counts | | Specialization badge | Specialization name | Renewal | Practice lead | Underlying certifications | | Cloud model status | AWS Select status | AWS review | Cloud lead | AWS certifications |   ## What to do this week - List every level and business model combination you currently hold with Fortinet. - For each one, list the NSE certifications that support it, by person and date. - Mark every certification held by only one person. - Check whether any of your Fortinet statuses depend on another vendor’s status, and add that vendor’s review date to the same calendar. ## How to read a vendor brochure without being misled by it Program brochures are marketing documents that summarize rules. They are useful and they date quickly. The Engage brochure we reviewed was hosted by a distributor and carried a 2021 publication date, which is a reminder to treat any such document as a starting point and to confirm the current rules with the vendor. 1. **Check the date.** A program document without a clear date is a risk. One with an old date is a history lesson. 2. **Find the primary source.** The vendor’s own partner portal or documentation outranks a distributor copy. 3. **Write down what you relied on.** Record the document, the date you read it, and the requirement you took from it. 4. **Look for dependencies.** Requirements that reference another vendor’s status are the ones most likely to surprise you. 5. **Confirm with your account contact.** A short email asking “is this still current?” is cheap and creates a record. ## Why dependencies deserve their own column A requirement that depends on another vendor is invisible in either vendor’s portal. Fortinet cannot see your AWS standing as a risk to your Fortinet tier, and AWS has no reason to tell you. Only your own record can hold both. A single “depends on” column in a portfolio sheet is enough to surface the pattern, and it is one of the simplest ways to avoid a surprise. ## A short checklist before you change your Fortinet standing - Confirm the current program rules directly with Fortinet, not from an old brochure. - List every requirement of your current tier that depends on another vendor or on named individuals. - Check for deals registered under the current status, and whether a change would affect them. - Tell sales and delivery before the change takes effect, not after. ## Frequently asked questions ### Which Fortinet Engage details can change? Requirements, benefits, and tier names can change between program years. Read the current Engage documentation and treat any older brochure, including those hosted by distributors, as a historical reference. ### Does Fortinet status depend on other vendors? In the Engage brochure we reviewed, cloud-oriented tiers required AWS Select Partner status. Check the current program for equivalent dependencies before reducing your standing with another vendor. ### Why track Fortinet alongside other security vendors? Because the same engineers and the same customers usually sit behind several security programs. A combined view shows concentration risk that one portal cannot. ## Further reading - [Fortinet's Engage program launch post](https://www.fortinet.com/blog/partners/fortinet-engage-partner-program) — Feb 2020: four levels (Advocate, Select, Advanced, Expert), business models, specializations, level tied to expertise and NSE certification. Lists models as Integrator, Market Place, MSSP. ([fortinet.com](http://fortinet.com)) - [ChannelLife on Fortinet's Engage launch](https://channellife.co.nz/story/fortinet-unveils-fundamental-changes-to-partner-programme) — Independent, Mar 2020: four engagement levels replace old tiers; business models alone or combined; partner holds only one level at a time. ([channellife.co.nz](http://channellife.co.nz)) - [ChannelBuzz on 2023 Engage enhancements](https://channelbuzz.ca/2023/04/enhancements-to-the-fortinet-engage-partner-program-40848/) — Independent, Apr 2023: NSE reworked into role-based training with new designations, plus new service designations. Shows the program has been revised. ([channelbuzz.ca](http://channelbuzz.ca)) - [MSSP Alert on Fortinet NSE training updates](https://www.msspalert.com/news/fortinet-updates-channel-partner-cybersecurity-training-programs) — Independent, May 2022: NSE program changes and Engage Preferred Services Partner support. ([msspalert.com](http://msspalert.com)) - [Fortinet's Engage 2.0 update](https://investor.fortinet.com/news-releases/news-release-details/fortinet-expands-engage-partner-program-benefits-further-enable) — Fortinet’s March 2021 Engage update: Integrator, MSSP, and Cloud business models, free NSE certification for partners, and new specializations. ([investor.fortinet.com](http://investor.fortinet.com)) > **AltamIQ:** AltamIQ tracks each vendor status you hold, the certifications behind it, and the other statuses it depends on, so a lapse on one vendor’s side shows up as a warning on the others. It is built for the partner side: the firm managing Fortinet, AWS, CrowdStrike, and the rest at the same time. ## Sources & verification - Fortinet, “Fortinet Engage: A Partner Program Designed for Today’s Business Needs” (Feb 20, 2020) — [https://www.fortinet.com/blog/partners/fortinet-engage-partner-program](https://www.fortinet.com/blog/partners/fortinet-engage-partner-program) - ChannelLife, “Fortinet unveils fundamental changes to partner programme” — [https://channellife.co.nz/story/fortinet-unveils-fundamental-changes-to-partner-programme](https://channellife.co.nz/story/fortinet-unveils-fundamental-changes-to-partner-programme) - Fortinet Engage 2.0 Benefits and Requirements brochure (Exclusive Networks, 2021) — [https://www.exclusive-networks.com/nl/wp-content/uploads/sites/21/2021/03/Fortinet-Partnerprogramma-Engage-2.0-Benefits-and-Requirements.pdf](https://www.exclusive-networks.com/nl/wp-content/uploads/sites/21/2021/03/Fortinet-Partnerprogramma-Engage-2.0-Benefits-and-Requirements.pdf) - Exclusive Networks, “Grow With Us” (levels, business models, specializations) — [https://www.exclusive-networks.com/uk/exclusively-fortinet/partners/partner-growth/](https://www.exclusive-networks.com/uk/exclusively-fortinet/partners/partner-growth/) - VERIFY BEFORE PUBLISHING: the per-level NSE counts come from a 2021 distributor brochure and the PDF text extraction is partial. Confirm the current table in the Fortinet Partner Portal, and confirm whether the AWS Select requirement is still in force. ## Share this post [mailto:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.altamiq.com%2Fblog%2Ffortinet-engage-for-resellers-and-mssps-nse-certifications-business-models-and-a-hidden-aws-dependency](mailto:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.altamiq.com%2Fblog%2Ffortinet-engage-for-resellers-and-mssps-nse-certifications-business-models-and-a-hidden-aws-dependency) ## Keep reading ### [![](https://www.altamiq.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Certification%20Tracking%20Spreadsheet%20Guide-1.png?width=1672&height=941&name=Certification%20Tracking%20Spreadsheet%20Guide-1.png) Certification Tracking Spreadsheet: A Free Template Structure, and the Point Where It Stops Working](https://www.altamiq.com/blog/certification-tracking-spreadsheet-a-free-template-structure-and-the-point-where-it-stops-working) ### [![](https://www.altamiq.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Palo%20Alto%20Networks%20Partner%20Pathways-2.png?width=1669&height=942&name=Palo%20Alto%20Networks%20Partner%20Pathways-2.png) Palo Alto Networks NextWave in 2027: Four Levels, Several Paths, and a Program That Keeps Moving](https://www.altamiq.com/blog/palo-alto-networks-nextwave-in-2027-four-levels-several-paths-and-a-program-that-keeps-moving-1) PARTNER OPERATIONS DIGEST ## Stay ahead of your partner portfolio. 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