What You Need to Know About SASE: Basics & Benefits

Secure Access Service Edge aka Sassy is popular security networking architecture in the cloud-edge computing market since it was first introduced by Gartner in 2019. Nowadays, many businesses consider implementing the SASE framework as it has many security benefits. Sassy strengthens cloud security, provides secure access to remote employees, enables greater visibility and control across the enterprises, and prevents network congestion, and so on.

Sassy is a single integrated security networking architecture, it isn’t a single product that you can purchase from a vendor. It is an architecture that has five main components. It provides networking and security features as a service in the cloud. But, it isn’t limited to these five components, businesses can add or remove tools according to their needs. In the long-term Sassy is cost-efficient, and makes network security less complex.

Businesses should keep in mind that transitioning to SASE is a process that requires auditing, monitoring, and analysis of existing infrastructures, and finding what is necessary and required for complete integration. You can read more to learn about SASE adoption. Let’s explain the basics of the Sassy framework and its benefits.

Basics of SASE

Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) intensifies security measures and networking features in the cloud. It uses wide-area networking to enable secure and direct access to employees regardless of their location. In short, wide-area networking and cloud-based security services operate together to provide enhanced security and safe access.

SASE’s five main components are SD-WAN as service, Secure Web Gateway (SGW), Firewall as Service (FWaaS), Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB), and Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA). With these components, SASE can provide secure access, mitigate the risks of potential cyber-attacks, distribute network traffic, monitor data flow, authenticate employees, limit their movement and access to the network, and alarm IT teams when malware is detected.

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Core Capabilities of SASE Framework

Due to the pandemic, many employees are still working remotely. That’s why businesses need tools that ensure secure access to a remote workforce, meaning they have secure many end-points in their network. Using SD-WAN as a service enables secure access as it creates a virtual high road to cloud-based resources and applications. Additionally, it distributes the network traffic across the WAN to provide the best performance.

Before granting access to the corporate network, Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) demands authentication from employees. After the verification of their identities, Zero Trusts enables access but limits their movement through the network. So, Zero Trust ensures that only authorized users are in the corporate network.

Secure Web Gateway (SGW), and Firewall as Service (FWaaS) are security components that distribute user-generated traffic across the cloud and enable better network security. Both SGW and FWaaS constantly monitor and search for unauthorized access or unwanted malware. Meanwhile, Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) functions as a middle-man between users and applications and it monitors all the data flow between them.

Benefits of SASE

1- Enhanced Cloud Security

SASE provides enhanced cloud security as it combines security components with networking features to operate as one. It ensures that only authorized employees can reach corporate resources. Additionally, even If there is unauthorized access or unwanted malware in the network, security components are capable of detecting these threats and alarming IT admins at once. With this framework, IT admins can rapidly respond to threats and isolate them. In short, SASE mitigates the risks of potential and existing cyberthreats and reduces these threats’’ impacts on businesses.

2- Better Network Performance

SASE is designed to provide the best network performance, lighter traffic, and direct and secure access. With this service, employees can reach corporate resources from any location easily and quickly. Better network performance helps them to become more productive in their daily-basis tasks. Additionally, all the user-generated traffic is distributed across the cloud to maintain lighter traffic, and prevent network congestion. In short, SASE ensures the best network quality and mitigates the risks of data loss during transfers.

3- Cost-Effective and Scalable

Centering security measures around data centers is expensive as businesses require purchase tools from numerous vendors. Meaning they create a disjointed security structure that is more complex to control. Today, legacy security models are no longer sustainable and efficient to maintain security, and these need to be modernized. By implementing SASE, businesses can reduce their security costs, and still have an enhanced jointed security setup that is more flexible, less complex, and easy to control.

In the long term, SASE is cost-effective and scalable. As businesses center their security in the cloud, their IT team no longer needs to spend their time on hardware updates, patches, etc. Additionally, IT admins can manage and control the entire service from a single control panel. In this regard, SASE reduces the time and resources that businesses and their teams spend.

Last Words

In today’s world, maintaining enhanced security doesn’t have to be complex or expensive. SASE architecture unifies security and networking features as a service in the cloud. It makes security less complex while ensuring the best network performance and enhanced network security.

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