As we enter 2023, the consensus from most experts is that we are or will be in an economic recession. These recessions tend to bring along the business mentality of strategic investments only and optimization of current spend. With the continual shift to remote work from the pandemic and the ever increasing cyber attacks, Security is one of those strategic and optimization investments that every organization needs to continually evaluate and assess.
Latest surveys report that 64% of responders agree that network security at the perimeter is more difficult than it was 2 years ago.
Enter Secure Access Service Edge or SASE. SASE replaces the need to run security at a centralized data center by securing the WAN in a cloud-native way. SASE introduces a modern architectural framework that is generally comprised of five networking and security technologies including:
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SD-WAN
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Firewall as a Service (FwaaS)
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Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB)
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Secure Web Gateway (SWG)
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Zero Trust Network (ZTNA)
This convergence of technology optimizes and extends the performance of applications across users, premises, edge and public or private cloud environments, helping to increase productivity by unifying the digital experience.
In short, SASE bundles these technologies together to increase security across all of your environments (including employee’s home offices) and reduces an organizations spend!
Enhanced Productivity
Historically, security solutions that support remote teams and expand the network perimeter have brought forth new levels of complexity in technology and heightened business risk. SASE allows businesses to safely optimize their technology and pursue meaningful and important work by streamlining their security operations into a complete security solution, simultaneously reducing cost and risk.
3 Productivity Benefits With A Unified SASE Approach
1. Converging Technology For Operational Efficiency
SASE is a single service that brings multiple standalone technologies in a unified cloud solution. SASE allows organizations to operate multiple technologies that once required multiple vendors, lots of hardware and ongoing maintenance or upgrades, under a single umbrella with one vendor, minimal hardware and virtually no maintenance.
Additionally, SASE can increase operational efficiency and save money by:
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Minimizing the costs of legacy systems, allowing funds to be better utilized
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Helping your business use only the necessary network capacity
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Streamlining solutions with fewer vendors, providing a more unified digital experience
2. Breaking Down Organizational Silos
As a cloud-based, scalable tool with security inspection at local edge nodes, SASE can securely and easily accommodate thousands of remote workers. Without SASE, remote users are served by numerous and complex VPN solutions, and disparate Cloud Access Security Brokers, web security and identity tools with client software potentially required for each.
SASE can break down organizational silos by:
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Allowing collaboration between network, application developers and security specialists
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Allowing people and access managers along with compliance teams to connect and define policies for data loss prevention (DLP), cloud access security brokers (CASBs) and zero trust network access (ZTNA)
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Enhance and simplify the connectivity of remote workers by removing the need for cumbersome VPN concentrators and multiple software solutions.
3. Streamline IT Processes
With SASE you can have everything—from identity and endpoint security to network defense—consolidated into a single cloud-based control center. The benefits of simplifying and centralizing technology include:
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Improved visibility and security
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Streamlined IT processes
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Reduced complexity and downtime required for maintenance
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Greater centralized management capabilities
SASE allows organizations to deploy new applications or services easily without being slowed down by required changes to discrete networks and security appliances across data centers, campuses and/or remote offices.
As IT leaders become more familiar with the benefits of SASE, they must be able to communicate the potential for positive organizational impact to drive internal adoption. If your organization desires improved efficiency and IT agility, SASE can deliver both while bolstering business continuity.
While SASE is already helping organizations power next-gen apps and data, its capabilities are still evolving. Gartner predicts that by 2025, at least 60% of enterprises will have strategies and timelines for SASE adoption.
Transitioning to a complete SASE model will take time and the right partnerships to maximize the benefits.
