In 2019, SASE graced the headlines. And in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic made it a mandatory cybersecurity model for organizations who had to resort to remote work to keep their businesses going.
As the pandemic subsided, a formidable number of employees who worked from home refused to return to the company office. Hence, the new hybrid work system gradually became a norm.
The transition, however, created huge pores in the aspect of network security. Hence, the SASE architecture was embraced by many organizations for its potency in providing the required cybersecurity.
SASE combines networking and network security in a cloud-native model that equips organizations with the needed framework for efficiency while their employees work from home.
According to research by Versa-Networks, 64% of businesses have embraced the SASE model or will do so in some months to come. Dell’Oro Group, the go-to source for network information, Cloud data center, and telecommunications, predicted SASE will double-digit billion-dollar revenue by 2025.
Why is SASE Critical to Remote Work Model?
Securing the network’s edge is critical to promoting a safe business operation, especially considering that edge might occur anywhere — which could also be in the network of an absolutely different company, in the cloud, or somewhere inaccessible to the IT security team of an organization.
Hence, if there is a cyberattack, the effect will be devastating on a company.
The Zero Trust model, also referred to as a trust-no-one-verify-all architecture, requires that all users, applications, and devices, must be verified before being given access to resources needed per time.
The sooner we accept the reality and drastically implement this approach, the better we can reduce potential risks in our organization.
SASE Trends to Watch Out For In The Decade
SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) has been coined the “security trend of the decade.’
It is not just a security framework but also effective in addressing long-time unresolved IT and Security issues in organizations.; thereby boosting productivity, which is the goal of every company.
SASE Trends
1. SASE Builds Consensus Between Network and Security
IT security and networking teams now have a uniform platform to work In harmony and achieve bigger organizational goals.
The integration of the team in a single platform, harnessing Role-Based Access Control (RBAC), creates common reports and reference points to work on common grounds with SASE providers offering separate views to teams.
2. Data Context is an Essential Aspect of the SASE Architecture
A SASE component, Zero Trust, prioritizes data at the center. Outside data context, organizations will only be able to control device and user access at the resource level.
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) helps balance productivity and security by delivering fundamental context for enforcing policies on network security around data — sensitive and non-security.
Data context also gives room for security analysts to give more consideration to incidents to investigate.
3. SASE Customer Want Different Vendors, But not for the Zero Trust and CASB Components
To begin with SASE, it is always nice to consider very few vendors. But many customers want to choose the best for a varied number of important capabilities.
However, ZTNA and CASB are often exempted as it is often difficult to consider detecting one from the other.
4. Zero Trust Takes the Lead SASE Component for Digital Leaders
Organizations are looking to ZTNA for top-level SASE capabilities to handle specific use cases, including cutting down on the time and discomfort generated in incorporating IT applications or supporting third-party access.
These use cases are crucial but are displaced by VPN replacements.
5. SASE Implies Connectivity at Office and Home
While many office employees have chosen to stick to remote work, leveraging SASE security, organizations gradually shifting back to the office pattern will equally find the SASE architecture of huge benefit.
SASE is designed to offer unbiased support to both office and remote workers. You’ll find SASE vendors who offer both to enrich network and security capabilities.
6. About One-Third of WAN Installations will Leverage SASE
With the rising wave of companies funding remote work and offices becoming increasingly empty, infrastructures must be channeled to benefit both aspects.
In addition, it would cause more organizations to reevaluate their priorities and invest in the perfect network architecture that allows both remote and office workers to access resources in the cloud and data centers alike.
Conclusion
SASE has gained so much traction in the industry and is perceived by most customers as an effective strategy to secure access to applications and network resources from different locations, and even more suitable to the hybrid system that exists in many organizations.
Despite still in its early stage, SASE continues to evolve as customers leverage existing offers and potentials.