By Byron V. Acohido

Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) has come a long way since Gartner christened this cloud-centric cybersecurity framework in 2019.

SASE blends networking architecture, namely SD-WAN, with cloud-delivered security services such as security web gateways, Zero Trust network access and more.

Several distinct variants of SASE have come to be supplied by diverse sources. This includes new players, like Versa Networks and Cato Networks; security stalwarts, like Palo Alto Networks and Zscaler; and even tech giants, like Cisco and Akamai.

Just after RSAC 2024, I had the chance to visit with Ken Rutsky, CMO at Aryaka, which is supplying yet another flavor: Unified SASE as a Service.” For a full drill down, please give the accompanying podcast a listen

We discussed how the SASE market has shifted post Covid 19. Early SASE solutions often stitched together disparate networking and security products resulting in operational inefficiencies, Rutsky told me.

Aryaka unifies networking and security architectures at a foundational level. “In a lot of scenarios, organizations are forced into this untenable trade-off between performance and security, and we know who usually wins,” he says. “We think unified SASE is the way to break that trade-off between performance and security.”

Acknowledging that organizations must rationalize past security investments, even ones that no longer quite fit, Aryaka does not ask customers to rip and replace anything.  Instead, it meets them where they are, he says, then guides them through adoption in stages.

This is a prime example of the wider trend of cybersecurity solutions becoming more integrated to meet complex pressures. I’ll keep watch and keep reporting.

Acohido

Pulitzer Prize-winning business journalist Byron V. Acohido is dedicated to fostering public awareness about how to make the Internet as private and secure as it ought to be.

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(LW provides consulting services to the vendors we cover.)

June 24th, 2024