The diligence paid off. DJO successfully implemented the Fortinet product into its global environment and is seeing the benefits of enhance security, Iraci says.

The company deployed two appliances in "high availability mode" at its headquarters, and they're being used to help provide firewall, IPS, antivirus, VPN and Web filtering security. DJO was able to easily deploy IPS functionality to its network without adding additional hardware and without exceeding its security budget.

Investigate and Test

Many organizations, especially smaller ones, don't have the time or resources to test products in-house. But they can take advantage of published product reviews and use the testing services available from organizations such as ICSA Labs (formerly International Computer Security Association), Crotty says.

Larger enterprises that have the resources "should select three or four vendors and try to kick the tires in a lab," Crotty says.