26 Jul Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)
About SASE and how it helps IT Administrators in an Organisation
– Smera T
TWT Pune took an initiative for all tech writers, researchers, and subject matter experts to participate in a Pan India Whitepaper contest in April, 2023. Smera was one of the finalists.
Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)
SASE (Pronounced ‘Sassy’) is a cloud-based network framework that delivers network and security technologies as a single cloud service. This model helps administrators trade between the traditional siloed point solutions and a single platform that integrates multiple networking and security functions. In other words, SASE is a convergence of Software-defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) with cloud-native security functions such as:
- Secure Web Gateways (SWG)
- Cloud Access Secure Broker (CASB)
- Firewall-as-a-Service (FwaaS)
- Zero-Trust Network Access (ZTNA)
Need for SASE
With the increasing number of software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications and the workforce moving to a hybrid working environment, it became inevitable for IT administrators to manifest strategies to provide the same level of security to all users and devices irrespective of their location. The converged framework of SASE provided a better way to manage users and devices from any location while securing, each end-point from Phishing, Malware, unauthorized users, and so on.
Gartner predicts that by 2024, 30% of enterprises will adopt most of the five SASE building blocks from the same vendor, including secure web gateway (SWG), cloud access security broker (CASB), zero-trust network access (ZTNA), and firewall as a service (FWaaS). By 2025, says Gartner, more than 60% of enterprises will have specific SASE strategies and timelines in place.
Source: Orange Business
Benefits of SASE
- Reduced cost and complexity – The SASE framework eliminates the use of multiple network and security point tools. Also, it reduces the complexity of managing multiple applications.
- Improved security -The implementation of the SASE model strengthens the overall security of the sensitive data from threats, malware, phishing attacks, and so on.
- Simplified infrastructure – The SASE design makes it easy to use and implement at the end-user’s device without any complex infrastructure irrespective of their location or cloud environments.
- Secure remote and mobile access – The converged framework enables IT administrators to work in a cohesive manner without compromising on network security.
Architecture of SASE
The SASE framework brought about a paradigm shift that enabled users to secure and access data from anywhere in the world.
The concept of SASE comprises its users, devices, applications, roles, profiles, and policies to govern transactions between them.
Traditional Security vs SASE?
SASE was widely implemented majorly during the pandemic when the workforce was forced to work from remote locations. This made it impossible for IT administrators and security engineers to provide an edge-level security to the globally distributed network.
Traditional methods of network security deal with securing users and devices using multiple point tools within a certain limit of the organization. With SASE, organizations can reduce the cost of implementing multiple-point tools and the complexity in maintaining them. This approach enhanced security for all users and devices located at different locations.
Challenges of Adopting SASE
Even though SASE serves as a single-point application for network and security services, organizations adopting SASE can come across a few challenges.
- Since SASE is still in its early phases, it is not widely accepted or used by many organizations for deployment, security, and performance.
- SASE services need equal involvement from network and security administrators at the same time. However, during the deployment process of a product, this collaboration can lead to conflicts.
- There are multiple SASE vendors available in the market and organizations need to check if the vendor serves their requirements before implementing them.
- Any issue in the SASE service provider can lead to the entire system shutdown for the end-users.
Top Vendors in SASE
According to Gartner, the following are some of the popular vendors for SASE:
- Netskope (Netskope Security Cloud)
- Cisco (Cisco Umbrella)
- ZScaler (Zscaler Internet Access)
- Skyhigh Security (Skyhigh Security Cloud-Native Application Protection Platform)
- Broadcom-Symantec (Symantec CloudSOC Cloud Access Security Broker)
- Palo Alto Networks (Prisma Access)
- Forcepoint (Forcepoint ONE)
Conclusion
Many organizations are already on their SASE journey and preparing their environments to be secure and less complex to manage. In today’s world, where the majority are cloud-driven, adopting the SASE framework can scale their IT infrastructure in handling unmanaged devices, users, and devices from remote locations, BYODs from threats, and malware.
About the Author
An experienced, self-driven, independent Technical Writer having more than six years in the IT industry with a major focus in the SaaS product world.
Current Role: Technical Writer
Company: Netskope
City: Hyderabad, India
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David Ornstein
Posted at 21:39h, 28 JulyWell written article