5 Reasons Why You Need SASE Architecture
Secure Access Service Edge, or SASE, is a network security architecture that converges diverse solutions with a Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) to enhance secure and fast cloud transformation through a single cloud-based system. The SASE model converges SD-WAN with Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), Firewall-as-a-Service (FWaaS), Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB), and Secure Web Gateways (SWG).
A SASE architecture identifies devices and users, implements policy-based security, and grants secure access to the appropriate data or application. With this approach, employees can securely access organizations’ resources and perform their duty from around the globe. So, regardless of the location of a device, application, or user, SASE enables them to connect to the network they need.
Pronounced ‘sassy,’ SASE has been described by its originators in two market research reports. First, in “Market Trends: How to Win as WAN Edge and Security Converge Into the Secure Access Service Edge” and “The Future of Network Security Is in the Cloud.”
The security landscape is consistently becoming more complex and severe. However, SASE brings in some innovation to network and security and benefits organizations in several ways—-you can find more on NordLayer. But meanwhile, here are five reasons organizations consider the SASE Architecture.
1. SASE Distributed Model
The distributed feature of the SASE architecture helps in bolstering efficiency. With centralized management in a cloud instance, endpoints and branches can connect to a cloud instance or use a dedicated CPE device that offers the required security mechanisms. As a result, traffic flows are routed optimally to their destination. And the cloud-based framework can often act in high defense when faced with Denial of service attacks (DoD).
SASE delivers a well effective network characteristic that outperforms VPNs for corporate data centers, where security was traditionally applied. In addition, the secured traffic can deliver cloud services directly to users and devices.
2. SASE Reduces Latency and Enhances Performance
The SASE architecture helps improve an organization’s and its employees’ experience on the network. VOIP telephony, production control, video, mission-critical application use, production control, and access to business productivity apps have diverse performance requirements.
Some of the apps are latency-sensitive, and others aren’t. The IT management team can develop policies with the SASE architecture to direct traffic appropriately, leveraging the right channels.
Implementing SASE also erases backhauling traffic to just one policy-enforcement point and eliminates the hindrances to scalability and the cause of increased latency. In addition, with a SASE architecture, you can utilize security at traffic and user locations and accommodate the dynamic nature of seasonal traffic fluctuations, which include an on-demand pay-as-you-go model.
3. Reduced Costs
One big SASE benefit to organizations is the huge reduction they enjoy after migrating cloud-ward. Paying for managing, provisioning, and monitoring a wide array of point security solutions often comes at high cash demands. However, deploying SASE will mean focusing on a single cloud-native solution—eliminating the additional costs that would have been from acquiring appliances. This also eliminates complexity in the network.
The cloud-based solution will furthermore improve traffic flows by leveraging cloud connectivity giving to major SaaS vendors, which can improve application availability.
4. Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)
SASE helps organizations unify policy enforcement and implementation. SASE brings security and network solutions closer to its users, devices, and applications, regardless of location. The Zero trust feature of the SASE architecture ensures that access is strictly given to authorized resource use within a permitted time.
It continuously checks connections initiated on a network to ensure that the resource environment is void of compromise. So, even after a user or device has been authorized and authenticated, they are still not given complete access to all network assets.
Access is only restricted to resources needed for completing a task per time. SASE offerings are created to eliminate granting implicit trust to users, a key characteristic of the legacy networking model. It repeatedly assesses adaptive risks and trust levels based on context and identity for every connection, whether on-premise or remote.
5. Integrated Security Features and Routing
Unlike the legacy model that requires dealing with different security vendors, making the entire process long and complicated, SASE integrates multiple functions into one system.
These functions include intrusion detection, DNS reputation, secure web gateway, zero-trust network access, malware protection, intrusion prevention, firewall as a service, and cloud access security broker. In addition, SASE will perform network behavior analysis when there is the right structure. This analysis will help identify cases where internal infrastructure is exploited and attacked by malware.
Consolidated function in a single vendor product will significantly address the complexity of deploying complicated security features and functionality. It will also be easy to manage since it is delivered from a single cloud environment.
For instance, if you have to manage NGFW, VPN, SD-WAN, and SWG appliances from different locations of your company, you’ll need more funding and IT resources than a single location. With SASE being a single cloud-based management application, management complexity doesn’t occur.
