SASE: SD-WAN and security in one cloud strategy
A secure access service edge from one provider
In 2019, Gartner coined the term Secure Access Service Edge (SASE, pronounced “sassy”) defining this new category of solutions as “converged offerings combining WAN capabilities with network security functions.” These solutions consolidate a swath of network and security capabilities into a single cloud-based service from one provider. By uniting point solutions into one cloud platform, technology silos are broken and IT complexity is replaced by visibility and ease of management. The end result is a synergy across both IT domains; under the SASE model, network and security have officially come together.
SASE solutions include:
Digital transformation inverts network and security service design patterns, shifting the focal point to the identity of the user and/or device — not the data center. Security and risk management leaders need a converged cloud-delivered secure access service edge to address this shift.
Security must be intrinsic to the network, and Masergy has been uniting the two IT domains into one service strategy for years. Masergy embeds security into our SD-WAN and private SD-network, meeting the key tenets of Gartner’s Secure Access Security Edge (SASE) model. Plus, clients get the freedom to choose from a wide menu of other network and security services.
Masergy has integrated market-leading cybersecurity technologies with its secure edge network, partnering with Leaders in their respective Gartner Magic Quadrants to deliver a converged solution.
Masergy's SD-WAN
Cloud Firewalls
CASB
Secure Web Gateway
Zero Trust Network AccessComing soon: Masergy continues to build capabilities for single sign on, authentication, and authorization based on user, device, and location, which enforces highly granular access controls on a need-to-have basis.
ZK Research explains how SASE unites SD-WAN with security and which considerations can help you navigate this emerging new market.
In 2017, Masergy began building security analytics into our network services management portal. Clients immediately noticed greater visibility for performance optimization and accelerated security threat response. The client portal includes security features like:
“Be wary of vendors that propose to deliver [SASE] services by linking a large number of features via VM service chaining, especially when the products come from a number of acquisitions or partnerships. This approach may speed time to market but will result in inconsistent services, poor manageability and high latency,” warned Andrew Lerner, V.P. of Networking Research at Gartner, in his blog article introducing SASE.
It’s important to avoid patchworked SASE services, and the degree to which the underlying SASE architecture is standardized distinguishes seamless SASE platforms from mere solution sets where vendors have cobbled together parts and pieces. The key is to have one transparent ecosystem where all SASE capabilities share a common infrastructure for superior interoperability and visibility from edge to edge.
Solution providers typically use their own private network to serve as the underlying platform, and it’s here where Masergy’s underlying network architecture stands out.
What is SASE and how is it a new way to address the needs of both the network and security? Here are five simple lessons for understanding SASE.
Power your digital transformation with flexible solutions that improve cloud application performance and increase agility. Learn more about Masergy's SD-WAN Secure.
Explore the advantages of cloud firewalls, the role FWaaS plays in SASE solutions, and when to opt for the cloud or stick with on-premise.
This interactive Q&A guide allows you to jump between questions with answers in plain English. Get SASE basics, key strategies, and tips for investment.