Why local secure access is becoming critical for New Zealand organisations

Secure access is shifting from a technical consideration to a defining factor in how organisations operate, compete, and manage risk, and many New Zealand organisations are only starting to recognise what that shift really means.

For years, access has been essential to business operations but has not been recognised as a core driver of performance.However, as organisations connect more applications, support more users, and rely more heavily on digital systems, secure access underpins an increasing share of critical business services. 

This directly impacts productivity, resilience, and confidence in how systems and data are managed. Organisations that support hybrid work, or are looking to expand their digital environments, need access that is secure, reliable, and built for the way people work today.

This is why Fortinet has expanded its local Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) footprint, with a second point of presence in Auckland, building on our first site introduced in October 2025. While this marks an important milestone for our local investment, it also reflects a broader shift in what New Zealand organisations now expect from secure access.

Resilience now depends on what stays local

With secure access critical to day-to-day operations, the impact of disruption is not confined to IT teams. It is felt across productivity, customer experience, and service delivery. Organisations are expected to maintain uptime, support hybrid work, and keep systems running even during maintenance or disruption.

Relying on global infrastructure to provide this resilience introduces additional points of failure, along with delays in recovery when something goes wrong. To reduce this risk, resilience needs to be built locally, within New Zealand. 

With two SASE points of presence now live in New Zealand, Fortinet enables in-country traffic processing with the ability to maintain service continuity locally. If one site becomes unavailable, traffic can be handled by the second point of presence without needing to be redirected offshore.

This reduces dependency on international infrastructure during outages, supporting more consistent service availability for users and applications within New Zealand.

Performance is part of the security conversation

The same shift towards local infrastructure is also changing expectations around performance.

User experience and security are no longer separate considerations. If access is slow or inconsistent, it creates friction for employees and increases pressure on IT teams. Over time, that impacts productivity and the ability to operate effectively.

For New Zealand organisations, our isolated location has meant that many rely on services delivered from overseas. This introduces trade-offs around speed, visibility, and control – trade-offs that are becoming harder to justify as digital environments grow more complex.

By keeping traffic closer to users, organisations can reduce latency and deliver a more consistent experience. In practice, this means secure access not only protects systems, but supports how people work day to day.

Data sovereignty is becoming a business priority

We're also seeing that conversations around data sovereignty are moving beyond compliance teams and into executive and board level discussions. Organisations want greater clarity around where their data is processed, how it is handled, and what level of oversight and control they retain.

For those handling sensitive customer or operational data, visibility and control are increasingly shaping technology decisions. What was once treated as a compliance requirement is now central to trust, governance, and operational risk management.

Keeping data within New Zealand can help address these concerns, providing stronger alignment with internal policies and regulatory expectations, while giving organisations greater confidence in how their data is managed.

However, true data sovereignty is not defined by location alone. It also depends on how data is processed, accessed, and controlled across the environment.

With Fortinet's second Auckland point of presence, customers can keep sensitive log data onshore, giving them greater confidence in how critical information is managed. But more broadly, Fortinet's platform approach gives organisations the flexibility to design secure access architectures that align with their specific sovereignty and operational requirements.

In a market where many SASE solutions are delivered purely as global SaaS, this flexibility matters. It allows organisations to maintain control over data flows, apply consistent security policies, and build environments that reflect both local requirements and business priorities.

A shift towards more practical outcomes

Taken together, these changes are reshaping expectations.

Organisations are now evaluating secure access solutions based on resilience, performance, and control. Those that continue to rely heavily on offshore or fragmented architectures may find it increasingly difficult to meet these expectations.

Those that prioritise local performance, built-in resilience, and stronger data oversight will be better positioned to manage disruption, support their people, and operate with confidence in what comes next.