Published on May 28th, 2021 | by Bibhuranjan

What is SASE?

Secure access service edge (SASE) is a cutting-edge service-based tech that brings the best parts of network infrastructure and security together into one. People wondering what SASE is should take the time to understand the nuances of this compelling technology.

To understand SASE, you first have to know a little bit about network architecture—particularly software-defined wide-area networks (SD-WANs). Essentially, SD-WAN is a virtual layer that’s put on top of an enterprise wide-area network. While this might sound like it complicates things, there are actually some distinct advantages to implementing SD-WAN.

For starters, it’s a far more efficient network infrastructure than traditional WAN, as it allows organizations to set their own governance policies to prioritize certain kinds of traffic. But beyond that, it unifies enterprise networks that would otherwise need to be monitored and addressed separately based on location. This is where the security aspect also comes into play.

With SASE, you’re basically getting SD-WAN, the network infrastructure, as well as network security tools, combined into a single service-based product. This is incredibly powerful for organizations that take network security seriously, which should be just about every single one in today’s world.

What Makes SASE Worthwhile?

When considering whether or not to adopt a new technology like SASE within your own organization, you have to go deeper than just asking what is SASE, and understand why it’s worthwhile.

These are a few things enterprises should consider when looking to adopt SASE:

The service aspect of SASE means it’s easy to scale up and down based on need. You’re probably familiar with many of the “as a service” offerings out there today. The supreme level of control with all of them means you’re only going to pay for what you really need. This is a fantastic ability for something like SASE, which can become the backbone of a network, while having many customizable parts that can be scaled up and down over time.
Going off the previous point, customizability is one of the big selling points of SASE. No two organizations are going to have the exact same requirements for their network infrastructure and security. With a good SASE offering, you’ll get exactly what you need, and nothing more.
Network security is growing in importance for enterprises today. A study from IBM showed the average cost of a data breach in the United States runs at over $8.6 million. This is a ton of money to pay, even for larger enterprises. And don’t forget, that’s just the average. But the dangers of breaches go far beyond just the financial risks. There can be huge legal compliance issues in industries where customer data is especially sensitive, such as finance and healthcare. Additionally, a breach can cause permanent damage to a brand’s reputation. These are all reasons why security needs to be a top priority for any network today.
SASE unifies your global networks in a whole new way. As already mentioned, SD-WAN is able to unify traditional networking protocols by running a virtual layer on top of them. This means you’ll have full visibility over all branches, all the time, from anywhere with an internet connection. This is increasingly becoming a need more than a want for enterprises in today’s world.
You don’t have to go at it alone. It’s okay to admit that network security is a tough thing to understand. You’re not alone in thinking this. The solution, however, isn’t to isolate more, but seek help where it’s needed. With SASE, since it’s provided as a service, you’re going to have access to a team of cybersecurity and network experts to help you navigate any issues. Even if you have a great IT department, there’s no way they’re going to have more expertise than those who work directly for a company than provides SASE to enterprises.

Overall, there are a lot of things to consider when looking at SASE for your business. While it’s certainly a new idea, the technology is proven effective. With SASE, enterprises can do far more in making their networks work better, while also keeping them safe.

Photo by Franck on Unsplash

Tags: data security, network protection, network security, SASE

About the Author

Bibhuranjan Editorial Officer, technofaq.org I'm an avid tech enthusiast at heart. I like to mug up on new and exciting developments on science and tech and have a deep love for PC gaming. Other hobbies include writing blog posts, music and DIY projects.