For its latest cloud market trend report, leading analyst firm Futuriom surveyed nearly 200 qualified enterprise networking...
The real question is who is SASE not for? With cloud adoption and the increasing sophistication of security threats, traditional on-premises ‘heavy’ security stacks no longer offer the flexibility required by enterprises. Enterprises also require security capabilities to be deployed in the cloud where they consume IaaS/PaaS/SaaS. It is an approach that is applicable to any organization irrespective of size, location, or industry, if they have begun their journey to the cloud.
SASE as a modern network and network security architecture operating from a single cloud-based framework offers a plethora of benefits to businesses of all sizes. Simply put, the benefits of SASE include all the perks of the cloud being applied to networking and security models. It introduces the ease of deployment and consumption demanded by enterprises of all sizes. With workforces distributed across the globe in offices, homes and on the go, maintaining reliable and secure network performance is also critical to driving desired business outcomes. Another one of the SASE benefits is, when deployed as part of a Services PoP architecture, efficiently and flexibly brings together both on-premises and remote workers under a common security policy framework, enhancing the enterprise’s security posture.
Improved security and performance is the first and most natural benefit of SASE. It offers comprehensive security measures that protect businesses from cyber threats such as malware, ransomware and phishing attacks. It helps to secure data in transit and at rest, regardless of the location or device. In terms of performance, it leverages cloud-based architecture to provide faster and more reliable connectivity, improving overall performance of business applications and services.
Reduced complexity and cost savings are also consequential benefits of SASE architecture. Businesses have the ability to consolidate multiple network and security solutions into a single platform, reducing the complexity and cost associated with managing multiple vendors and solutions. On the cost end, it helps businesses save on costs associated with hardware, software and maintenance by leveraging a cloud-based service model.
Scalability is another benefit that is universal to enterprises of different sizes. The structure of SASE is designed to be highly scalable and flexible, allowing businesses to easily expand their network and security capabilities as their needs evolve.
Enterprises should want a combination of on-premises and cloud security solutions to address specific security needs and challenges, as well as to take advantage of the benefits of both approaches.
On the one hand, on-premises security solutions bring a high degree of control and customization, the ability to protect sensitive data and applications that cannot be moved to the cloud. The performance and availability levels are higher with this solution, particularly for critical applications and services which require low latency and high bandwidth.
On the other hand, cloud security solutions offer greater scalability and flexibility, as well as rapid deployment and the ability to manage security resources across multiple locations and devices. They also leverage the latest threat intelligence and security analytics to provide more effective protection against evolving threats.
Combining the two security solutions can allow enterprises to leverage the strengths of each approach, while reducing the limitations and risks associated with each. This can be achieved through various methods such as hybrid security architectures, where security policies and controls are managed centrally and applied consistently across both environments. To achieve this, a comprehensive security strategy is required, one which considers the unique security needs and challenges of each environment and leverages the appropriate security solutions to address them.