eBook

SASE: the digital business enabler for your workforce

Simplifying network security architecture for the future

The modern business environment demands secure access to data and applications from anywhere, at any time, from any device, wherever those assets are hosted. The traditional network security model doesn’t support this well. It was built for devices and users that rarely left the shelter of the company network. Those devices were protected by a hard perimeter that protected everything inside. Then, users, devices, and applications moved outside the network. The perimeter based model became less relevant as mobile and cloud computing flung assets far and wide. We needed something more nuanced to replace it.

In August 2019, Gartner proposed a new model known as the secure access service edge (SASE). It reframed networks and network security architecture to help companies cope with the shifting security requirements facing the distributed enterprise. SASE is a challenging, far reaching initiative.

The market is still catching up to these ideas as vendors struggle to offer the breadth and depth of solutions necessary to support this model. While we wait for better support from vendors, we can take the opportunity to begin the conversation and engage where we can, monitoring SASE related market developments and helping our customers to build long term adoption strategies.

This solution paper explains the SASE model and its benefits, addressing the current challenges. It discusses the proposed SASE architecture, gives you a SASE adoption strategy and gives you guidance on next steps. It will guide you as you prepare to embrace this model and secure your digital, distributed business.