What Is SASE?
Secure Access Service Edge, or SASE (pronounced “sassy”), is an emerging cybersecurity concept that Gartner first described in the August 2019 report.
SASE is the convergence of wide-area networking or WAN, and network security services like CASB, FWaaS and Zero Trust, into a single, cloud-delivered service model.
According to Gartner, “SASE capabilities are delivered as a service-based upon the identity of the entity, real-time context, enterprise security/compliance policies and continuous assessment of risk/trust throughout the sessions. Identities of entities can be associated with people, groups of people (branch offices), devices, applications, services, IoT systems or edge computing locations.”
A SASE architecture identifies users and devices, applies policy-based security, and delivers secure access to the appropriate application or data. This approach allows organizations to apply secure access (no matter where their users, applications, or devices are located).
The SASE security model can help your organization in several ways:
- Flexibility: With a cloud-based infrastructure, you can implement and deliver security services such as threat prevention, web filtering, sandboxing, DNS security, credential theft prevention, data loss prevention and next-generation firewall policies.
- Cost savings: Instead of buying and managing multiple point products, utilizing a single platform will dramatically reduce your costs and IT resources.
- Reduced complexity: You can simplify your IT infrastructure by minimizing the number of security products your IT team has to manage, update and maintain, consolidating your security stack into a cloud-based network security service model.
- Increased performance: With a cloud infrastructure, you can easily connect to wherever resources are located. Access to apps, the internet and corporate data is available globally.
- Zero Trust: A Zero Trust approach to the cloud removes trust assumptions when users, devices and applications connect. A SASE solution will provide complete session protection, regardless of whether a user is on or off the corporate network.
- Threat prevention: With full content inspection integrated into a SASE solution, you benefit from more security and visibility into your network.
- Data protection: Implementing data protection policies within a SASE framework helps prevent unauthorized access and abuse of sensitive data.
What are the primary SASE benefits?
- Reduces Costs and Complexity
- Applies Least-Privilege Access
- Enables New Digital Business Scenarios
- Increases IT Staff Effectiveness
- Centralized Orchestration
- Threat Prevention and Reducing Risk
- Secure, Seamless User Access
- Increased, Optimized Performance
- Secure Remote / Mobile Access
