Secures remote and hybrid work with fast zero-trust network access. SASE leverages cloud-delivered networking and security functions in a single platform. Today’s business networks are more complex than ever before. They include devices on factory floors and medical offices connecting to cloud services. The data they send is valuable but also vulnerable to cyberattacks.
Distributed architecture with centralized management
Unlike traditional networking and security solutions that require hardware to be deployed on-premises, SASE architecture uses network functions virtualization to move these technologies into the cloud. This significantly reduces upfront costs and allows you to manage the solution as a service. SASE delivers performance, connectivity, security, and usability benefits to businesses of all sizes. For example, it consolidates multiple technologies – such as SD-WAN, Secure Web Gateways (SWG), next-generation firewalls (NGFW), and Zero Trust Network Access – into a single platform with a central management application. This eliminates the need for point products and appliances, simplifying network complexity. The solution’s distributed architecture extends a company’s security perimeter to the network edge, improving sensitive data awareness and offering better threat protection, especially for remote and work-from-home (WFH) employees. It also provides direct, secure, and intelligent access to cloud resources, reducing inefficient traffic that slows down applications and creates latency. It combines these advantages with centralized management to make it easy to set uniform policies, spot irregularities quickly, and respond to emerging threats such as COVID-19 and ransomware.
Zero Trust Network Access
Zero trust network access (ZTNA) is a security solution that replaces the traditional security perimeter and gives users seamless, secure access to centralized resources across different networks. ZTNA software uses clear access control policies to decide whether or not a user should be granted access to the business’s applications and data. It’s more lightweight, flexible, and agile than VPNs, making it a better choice for businesses embracing digital transformation and the future of work. SASE architecture consolidates cloud security, SD-WAN, and edge computing capabilities into a single platform that combines firewall-as-a-service, secure web gateways, CASB, and ZTNA functionality. This simplifies management, minimizes costs, and provides advanced security features for remote employees. By integrating these different tools into a single cloud-based service, SASE architecture improves performance and reduces network latency. This enables enterprises to provide consistent and secure experiences for their remote workers while improving productivity and efficiency.
Flexibility
Many point security solutions require a patchwork of physical and virtual appliances to implement. SASE is a cloud-native solution, making it easier for businesses to scale with minimal upfront costs and ongoing IT management responsibilities. SASE also helps reduce CAPex and OPex costs by consolidating networking and security functions into a single service, eliminating appliance sprawl. This allows IT to refocus resources from managing and maintaining hardware to more strategic IT tasks like improving performance, increasing visibility, and securing remote connections. SASE is delivered through a global network of edge PoPs, providing low latency for users regardless of location. This also makes it an ideal solution for connecting a distributed workforce to information, applications, and services. SASE combines networking and security capabilities into a simple, direct, secure way to connect remote workers and central information resources, helping IT refocus their efforts on improving WAN performance. This enables them to focus on more strategic IT tasks such as securing distributed networks, protecting employees’ devices and data, and increasing productivity. SASE also reduces cost and complexity by enabling IT to use a simple, single-pane-of-glass management application.
Scalability
SASE architecture scales with business and enables work-from-anywhere agility. It’s designed to simplify network and security capabilities so enterprises can scale rapidly while strengthening security and optimizing performance. SASE eliminates appliance sprawl and combines networking and security into a single service that can be consumed anywhere, on any device or cloud application. This minimizes CAPex and OPex costs while reducing the risk of single-point failures. Unlike traditional hub-and-spoke architectures that reroute traffic to centralized data centers or private networks for security inspection, SASE identifies devices and users at the network’s edge, wherever they are located. This shifts security from a traffic-flow perspective to an identity-centric approach. Many providers or vendors offering SASE solutions meld networking services, typically based on SD-WAN, with security technologies, such as Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA). This enables them to reduce deployment time and simplify ongoing management by offering a single, integrated solution from purchase to integration and ongoing policy control.
Security
SASE combines network and security functions into a single, cloud-based framework that makes the enterprise network more visible and easier to manage. It offers security, agility, and performance improvements that businesses of all sizes need. In today’s perimeter-less, hybrid work economy, legacy solutions like VPNs and firewalls can’t handle the increased number of users, devices, and data. SASE solves this problem by eliminating the need to reroute traffic through a central site, making it easier for remote users and branch offices to connect to business applications and services. By deploying network and security controls at the edge, SASE also reduces IT workloads and speeds up provisioning times. It’s ideal for companies leveraging edge devices such as automobiles, refrigerators, IoT sensors in industrial product lines, and health monitoring gadgets. Finally, thanks to the cloud-based service model, SASE enables businesses to scale their connectivity and security capabilities without incurring significant costs. This helps companies break down IT siloes and save on hardware, software, and maintenance costs. This frees up IT staff to focus on accelerating digital transformation efforts.