Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) is gaining momentum as a solution for addressing the secure access needs of businesses with geographically dispersed employees. Whether it’s multiple locations, remote and hybrid workers or employees that spend hours in the field, it’s important to provide a consistent work experience, any time and from anywhere.
SASE combines networking and security into a single offering, enabling companies to simplify what has become a complex networking environment and address challenges related to cyber security. While there is a wide variation in specific SASE offerings, it generally achieves its aims through five basic elements of SASE: Software-Defined Wide Area Networking (SD-WAN), Firewall as a Service (FWaaS), Secure Web Gateway (SWG), Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) and Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB).
You will see these acronyms across sales materials, but how do you know whether a provider is a good match for your business objectives? Here are four main areas you should consider as you evaluate options:
Support: As you are considering an SASE, whether you anticipate needing a single- or multi-provider approach, consider support to be a top priority. The solution that seems to match your needs and offers superior security and networking features can be a failure when it comes to support. Ask for details related to the service level agreement (SLA), talk to current customers and gain an understanding of how their support team is staffed.
ZTNA: Companies are finding ZTNA to be the appropriate approach to secure the network while offering the access employees and business partners need. It abandons perimeter security for a user- and device-based solution that assumes all activity and users are suspicious until they are proven otherwise. Ask a potential provider what they offer in terms of least-privilege access, security inspection and continuous trust verification.
Network Optimization: Every provider of SASE will talk about their strategy for network optimization, but be sure to ask for use cases, and particularly those that mirror your organization in terms of size, scope and priorities. Reduced complexity is always a central goal of SASE, and reducing the number of security tools that your team has to manage, maintain and update will be an important part of the conversation.
Cyber Security: Any SASE solution you choose should offer full content inspection, offering you better security as well as visibility into your network. It’s also critical to ask how the solution will help your team resolve cyber security challenges more quickly. What is their average resolution time?
Whether you are looking for a way to offer better secure connection to remote workers or you are securing edge devices in a branch location, SASE offers the combined networking and security solution to simplify your technology stack. Contact us at Safari Solutions for guidance in leveraging the best SASE technology to meet your needs.
