Implementing Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) is a critical step in supporting a hybrid or remote work environment, combining high-performance connectivity with advanced cyber security. Some SASE solutions will address some areas of these requirements more completely than others.
For instance, a particular SASE solution may offer great cyber security tools that aren’t easily applied to remote users, or they may be complete in terms of security but fail to provide the level of network integration that you need. Keep the following in mind as you evaluate potential SASE solutions:
Deployment Flexibility: The right SASE solution will allow you to roll out your implementation at your preferred pace rather than requiring you to rearchitect your previously-deployed technology. The vendor you partner with should be prepared to guide you along a journey of consolidation and integration with key security and networking functions.
A single vendor for SASE prevents you from struggling through efforts to create a unified SASE architecture, which is also hard to troubleshoot and maintain. The SASE solution should allow you to handle management and optimization from a single dashboard.
Cyber Security: Choose a vendor that offers SASE with enterprise-grade security fueled by threat intelligence. Some vendors will leverage third-party providers for cyber security, but you should look for real-time intelligence that utilizes artificial intelligence and machine learning. The solutions should offer a secure web gateway, firewall as a service, and cloud access security broker to provide the right level of monitoring and protection. You should also look for DNS security, as well as anti-phishing, anti-malware, antivirus, and sandboxing.
On-Premises Integration: The SASE solution your company selects should integrate well with on-premises technology. SASE combines cloud-based network functions with security functions. Some providers might try to convince you that convergence must only happen in the cloud or that it only needs to happen on-site, but this is not the right approach for a hybrid network.
What you need, rather than a cloud-only solution, is one that offers a high level of visibility and control and a proactive approach to cyber security. Your solution should enable you to integrate on-premises and cloud-based security to provide a consistent experience to every user.
Your SASE solution needs to offer cloud-delivered security that supports Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) so that the network is consistently protected from local and remote threats. The solution should also offer seamless integration with software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) and your next-generation firewall (NGFW) so that network traffic can be effectively steered and routed, offering a better overall user experience.
If your company is in the market for a network or security upgrade, consider a comprehensive approach like SASE, which moves performance and protection to the edge where you need it. Contact us at Cloud Source to learn more about the best SASE solutions and the specific benefits you can expect to see in your environment.