Judd, who joined Fortinet back in 2007, told us that the last year has seen the appliance security specialist make good sales into the virtual appliance market, largely driven by the cost efficiencies that virtual systems offer.
"It's the economic imperative. As a company you know what you are paying for," he said, adding that the ability to pay-as-you-go for virtual security services is an attractive option for most IT managers.
Interestingly, however, Judd says that Fortinet has seen sales of its IT security appliances coming from the cellular carriers, largely as a result of the smartphone becoming the new endpoint in a growing number of organisations.
"Just a few years ago, the average speed of a cellular data connection was 11 or 12 kilobits per second. Now it is averaging at around 460 kilobits per second", he explained.
This dramatic increase in mobile data speeds is being driven by the take-up of smartphones, as well as increasing penetration levels of mobile broadband users, he told Infosecurity.
"As a result, it's causing a security headache for a number of cellular networks, who are having to install security appliances to move the data around securely", he says.
So why don't the cellcos go down the virtual appliance route? we asked Judd.
The answer, he replied, is the data processing power that a physical appliance offers over a cloud-based security appliance service. The virtual appliance, he says, has a lack of processing cycles when compared to a real-world appliance.
On the enterprise side of things, Judd says that, because a smartphone user has a different set of file requirements to a desktop or laptop client, there needs to be a different set of security rules that apply to a company IT resource.
You have to change your approach to access control, as well as look at at encryption as a means of protecting the integrity of data, he explained, noting that, when you are dealing with a portable device, you have two options on how to defend the mobile data.
The first option is to route all the IP traffic back to - and through - the headquarters systems, whilst the second involves allowing the portable device to route out - securely - to the internet.
In this situation, he says there will always be come data you should never allow off the company network.
"There's a strong argument here for defending your data as a result of the need for security compliance", he said, adding that he is also seeing a need for better education on the security front in the corporate environment.