Elevating Flexible SD-WAN with embedded Cisco Catalyst Security

Created for multinational and large national businesses, Flexible SD-WAN, powered by Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN technology, provides scalable connectivity, simplifies the management of complex environments, and enhances digital flexibility and performance. Today, the product scales to support businesses of all sizes.
The solution has been built with a security by design approach. Network access is secured by default, with Orange Business applying baseline security controls across the infrastructure as part of the service. The whole is continuously evolving alongside customer demands.
Orange Business can now deploy advanced embedded security features directly within customers’ SD-WAN edge equipment, on demand. These optional capabilities extend protection without introducing additional appliances or architectural complexity.
This approach allows enterprises to strengthen security exactly where exposure is highest – at the edge – while maintaining consistent network operations. 

Orange Business customers can now benefit from embedded security features that incorporate SD-WAN security and underlay access. This means it secures traffic at the SD-WAN layer while also managing and optimizing the underlying network connectivity. These are advanced options that customers can choose to activate based on their security requirements, risk profile, regulatory requirements and operational priorities.

By embedding these capabilities into the SD-WAN itself, Orange Business enables customers to enhance their security posture without redesigning their network. Advanced security capabilities, such as next-generation firewalls and intrusion prevention, run directly on the SD-WAN edge devices, alongside routing and connectivity services.

This approach builds on an already secure foundation but takes protection one step further. It provides deeper inspection and more granular control of sites, regardless of the underlying connectivity.

For large, distributed enterprises, the edge is where security and operations converge. Every additional edge device adds increased deployment time, management effort and the risks of misconfiguration. 

Embedding advanced security within Flexible SD-WAN changes the dynamics by offering:

• Simplified architecture: A reduced number of devices reduces hardware sprawl and points of failure
• Consistent policy enforcement: Security rules can be defined once and applied across sites, ensuring consistent protection
• Faster rollout: New locations can be deployed using templates, with the same security posture from day one
• Reduced operational constraints: IT teams manage network and security policies from a single environment, rather than struggling to juggle disconnected tools
• Sustainability through simplification: Using a single device instead of multiple devices reduces power consumption, hardware footprint, and energy waste

At the site level, enterprises can also enable practical use cases, such as segmentation, which allows them to separate corporate users from guests or isolate business-sensitive functions, such as finance, without adding complexity at each location.  

These capabilities are already deployed for Orange Business customers with stringent security and compliance requirements, including highly regulated companies.

Before making these features available to customers, Orange Business rigorously tested, validated, and fully integrated these security capabilities into its Flexible SD-WAN service.
This ensures they work reliably in real-world enterprise environments and can be delivered effectively as part of the service.

As a Cisco Preferred Networking Partner, Orange Business combines deep technical expertise with global delivery. Customers can choose a co-managed or fully managed model, depending on their desired level of autonomy.

“Enterprises today need architectures that integrate networking and security without adding complexity — and partners like Orange Business play an important role in helping bring these capabilities to customers. By embedding Cisco's next-generation firewall capabilities into their Flexible SD-WAN service, Orange Business demonstrates how providers can strengthen protection for customers while simplifying operations at the edge. This milestone reflects the strength of our partnership and our shared commitment to helping enterprises build secure, resilient networks for the future.”

Hugo Vliegen, VP, Product Management SD-WAN & SASE

Flexible SD-WAN with embedded Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN features is designed for on-premises sites, where exposure is highest, and control matters most. Future innovations, including post-quantum cryptography, are part of the roadmap, ensuring the solution continues to evolve as threats and enterprise demands change.

Looking ahead, Flexible SD-WAN can also integrate with complementary security layers such as Security Service Edge (SSE) for a unified SASE approach, or Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems, providing a consolidated, cross-service security view to support broader security strategies.

Reach out to our sales team at Orange Business to learn more about these capabilities and how they can support your needs.