Bringing SASE and SD-WAN together offers a streamlined approach to enterprise networking and security
Imagine if buying a car meant only getting the engine without any safety features like airbags, anti-lock brakes, or collision detection systems. The vehicle probably runs fine, but the risk of driving it without these safety measures outweighs its benefits. Similarly, standalone software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) offers robust connectivity but falls short of providing essential security features needed to protect modern enterprise networks.
Just as we wouldn't settle for a car without airbags or seatbelts, businesses now demand more from their networking solutions. Enter Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) — an all-in-one solution that combines the power of SD-WAN for optimized connectivity with a comprehensive suite of security services. Much like a car equipped with advanced safety features, SASE ensures a smooth and secure journey for your business’ data.
What are SASE and SD-WAN?
With cyber threats evolving and the need for simplified management growing, many organizations are hitting the breaks on disjointed network and security setups. While merging SASE and SD-WAN offers a clear path forward, it’s important to understand how each technology works on its own. Let’s break it down.
What is SD-WAN?
SD-WAN technology is like having a smart air traffic control system. It enables organizations to manage and optimize their wide-area network (WAN) through intelligent traffic handling and link bonding. This provides better WAN resiliency, more efficient control over traffic flow, and better application quality of experience (QoE), creating a more reliable, cost-effective network.
While SD-WAN improves network performance, businesses are no longer satisfied with just the driving experience provided by the technology alone — they now seek the safety assurance that comes with integrated security solutions like SASE.
What does SASE mean?
Like a modern car combines performance with safety, a SASE architecture seamlessly integrates connectivity and security. The concept of SASE was first introduced by Gartner in 2019 and integrates network security and WAN capabilities into a cloud-native, software-defined architecture. It combines SD-WAN with security functionalities like a secure web gateway (SWG), cloud access security brokers (CASB), firewall as a service (FWaaS), hybrid mesh firewall, and zero trust network access (ZTNA) to protect against web-based threats.
Ultimately, SASE provides a more secure and centrally managed approach to connecting users to devices and applications, unlike SD-WAN, which prioritizes network optimization with security as an afterthought.
What is the difference between SASE and SD-WAN?
One of the major differences between SASE and SD-WAN comes down to deployment. Traditional SD-WAN requires businesses to deploy the network themselves, including both core components (located in the data center or virtual private cloud) and edge components. SASE is entirely cloud-based, which helps streamline the deployment process and offers a much simpler, more efficient approach to network management.
Does SASE replace SD-WAN?
Traditional SD-WAN offers significant benefits for connecting fixed and temporary sites, vehicles, and more. Still, in today’s cloud-centric world where network boundaries are dissolving, it may not be enough. Moving forward, all signs point toward 5G SASE replacing standalone SD-WAN, addressing the challenges of distributed enterprises by delivering security and networking in a single stack.
Why implement SD-WAN as part of SASE instead of on its own?
Instead of deploying SD-WAN independently, enterprises seeking a truly secure and scalable solution should integrate it as a core component within a SASE platform. This unified approach offers significant advantages, including:
Simplified management with one policy engine
SASE eliminates the complexity of managing separate network and security policies by combining them under one policy engine. Traditional setups are complex and often require juggling tools from different vendors, leading to inconsistencies and potential security gaps.
With SASE, a single, cloud-based policy engine governs network traffic management and security, such as firewalls and access controls. This simplifies policy creation for an improved user experience, reduces the risk of human error, and ensures consistent enforcement across the entire network.
Single management platform for better visibility
SASE simplifies IT management by centralizing control of both network and security functions. Imagine a single, cloud-based management platform where you can configure SD-WAN settings, manage security policies, and gain real-time network visibility. This eliminates the need to manage multiple siloed tools and allows IT teams to streamline troubleshooting and identify issues quickly. A SASE solution delivered as a service removes the burden of hardware maintenance and software updates, freeing up IT staff to focus on more critical tasks.