Case Study: Checkers achieves scalable, secure network management and millions in cost savings with Fortinet FortiGate Secure SD‑WAN

Fortinet Helps Drive-In Restaurant Chain Improve Management and Visibility—and Keep Its Traffic Flowing

Checkers Drive‑In Restaurants, a quick‑service chain with 265 corporate locations and about 600 franchises across 38 states, faced an unreliable, nonstandard network and an aging SD‑WAN that frequently failed. The IT team needed a scalable, centrally managed solution to support rapid expansion (opening dozens of locations a year) and to regain visibility and control across hundreds of sites.

Checkers standardized on Fortinet’s FortiGate Secure SD‑WAN (with FortiSwitch, FortiAP and FortiCloud) to deliver a cloud‑managed, single‑pane‑of‑glass architecture and broadband-plus-cellular redundancy. The rollout improved availability and security, reduced the infrastructure team from five people to one plus a help desk—saving hundreds of thousands to millions over a few years—and positioned the company to reliably scale to its target of ~100 new restaurants per year.

Checkers

Minh Le

Chief Information Officer