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In 2021, Gartner's Forecast Analysis: Secure Access Service Edge, Worldwide report trumpeted a 36-percent CAGR for the adoption of Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)-based solutions for a standard six-year research period. Whether the 95-percent increase is a hefty improvement or hype, what’s happening?
A March 2021 report by Gartner cited powerful drivers adding demand for secure, efficient connectivity and security. They are challenges that you probably deal with each day:
Do modern IT solutions solve today’s connectivity and security problems? Until recently, the answer would be no, but things are changing. Here are several use cases snatched off the wires of online IT journals:
In each case, an ongoing IT operations problem needs a modern solution to make IT security and networking processes more efficient and MSP services more profitable for service providers. The solution: SASE.
SASE is not a technology or service. It’s a new approach, which unifies network connectivity and security in the form of a single, cloud-based service.
The reason is simple—using SASE services can help your business stay competitive and discover new business opportunities. That means installing, maintaining, and protecting network and security infrastructures with less time and fewer resources.
Gartner researchers understood that standard connectivity and security products and services weren’t meeting growing consumer and client expectations. Gartner developed the SASE framework to meet these new expectations. The trend was plain: staying competitive meant that service providers must help clients develop effective, edge-centred infrastructures.
Making SASE the centre of MSP services can help your business provide the latest in security and networking support services.
Providers | Capabilities | Advantages | Disadvantages |
Managed service providers | Offer complete portfolio of security and networking functions wrapped in a scalable cloud service. | SASE combines security and networking functions into a scalable cloud service, which fits with modern remote and hybrid work models. | There are thousands of SASE clients looking for help. Thousands of MSPs offer a wide variety different products and services. It’s not easy to define what’s needed and find a vendor to supply it. |
Managed vendors | SD-WAN vendors offer capabilities and solutions that focus on SD-WAN and security. These capabilities support underlay, private backbone, and gateway connectivity solutions. | SASE capabilities enable vendors to set up security, networking, and management functions with less time and effort (therefore lower costs) than with traditional frameworks. | Most SD-WAN vendors prefer to use distributers and partners instead of service providers. Once more, clients might have problems finding the service provider. |
Partners | Offer a platform that uses agent-based capabilities and facilitate policy-based access to unified security and networking capabilities. Delivered as a cloud service. | Partner services are easy to find. Globally, there are thousands of partners, who offer a wide variety of capabilities and thousands of service options. | Vendors often provide services indirectly via trusted partners. Partner capabilities vary widely by experience and accreditation. Partners might create a hidden layer of services, which clients don’t know about. |
SASE is an umbrella term for an approach to unified, cloud-only, networking and security services. As the table above shows, service providers create different relationships with clients and each other to deliver managed SASE services. The following entries describe the major components described in Gartner’s 2019 SASE reference architecture document.
SD-WAN is a software-defined networking approach. It moves network traffic management from hardware appliances and specific locations. SASE services use next-generation, cloud-based software to provide flexible data management and visibility. SD-WAN uses a centralized control function, in which user-defined application and routing policies provide flexible, highly secure, application-aware network traffic management. But in the following entries, we’ll also add something a bit different—the time and other resources needed to develop DIY initiatives.
In MSP services, expert teams of security specialists provide client organizations with managed firewall services. The solutions they offer include operations, traffic monitoring and management, and data administration and maintenance services. Managed firewall services might also include assessments of network security threats and traffic monitoring.
A DIY equivalent would require IT team members with development, networking, SecOps, and administrative skills that enable the same capabilities on-premises.
A SWG protects users from web-based threats and applies and enforces corporate use policies. Deploy SWGs to:
Building a SWG inhouse requires time, money, and effort to:
Also, limitations in apps and platform software might apply.
A CASB is on-premises or cloud-based software, which lies between cloud network users and cloud-based applications. Its function: monitor all network traffic activity and enforce security policies.
To build your DIY broker, look at CASB solutions for basic functionalities that offer:
ZTNA describes an approach to the design and use of cloud-based security systems. ZTNA enables service providers to deliver continuous monitoring of network activity, such as inspection of who and which devices get access to your network. ZTNA uses intelligent data analytics tools to help monitor what is happening to your network in real time. To build your own ZTNA functions, you must include these core capabilities:
Managed SASE capabilities also provide other functional components, dozens and dozens of them. They are not one of the five original SASE building blocks, but they play increasingly important roles in advanced SASE security and connectivity functions.
This feature goes beyond detecting security threats on an organization’s network. It also identifies and neutralizes threats before they can do damage to the IT infrastructure.
MDR software identifies active security threats throughout an organization and responds by investigating, containing, or eliminating them. An effort to duplicate MDR services inhouse would require integrating a security platform with data analytics and expert-led services, which provide threat detection and response recommendations throughout cloud, hybrid, and on-premises endpoints and environments.
To create SIEM support inhouse, IT security pros (perhaps in an enterprise security operations center) would monitor the company’s security readiness. They would be responsible for avoiding or mitigating cyberattacks and complying with regulatory requirements.
SIEM software supports threat detection, compliance, and security incident management. DIY efforts must collect and analyse near-real-time and historical log and event data produced from applications, devices, networks, infrastructures, and systems.
IT teams around the world are adding AI to significantly improve their network management. Combining SASE with Artificial Intelligence for IT Operations (AIOps) enables providers to spot network problems early, perform automated outage, breach and failure remediation (self-healing), as well as improve efficiency and productivity across the enterprise.
Consider the items below when creating your vendor shortlist.
How do managed SASE services help MSPs improve human processes and system performance?
Here are some of the key benefits you can expect when you provide SASE-based services:
The Managed SASE market recently (2021) was valued around $2.9 billion and is expected to be valued around $15 billion by 2025. The market growth is substantial and currently, it is estimated that market adoption will grow exponentially for the foreseeable future with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 36.3 percent.
(measured in billions USD)
Five-Year Market Growth = $9.045 Billion (CAGR 41.8%)
Source: Gartner SASE Forecast, 2019-2024 (2018)
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