Traditional security solutions were not designed with the cloud in mind, creating complexity with network infrastructure, which results in extensive administrative costs and incomplete protection problems. In today’s hyper-connected world, where both users and data are everywhere, cybersecurity is more important than ever and should be everywhere. For cybersecurity to be everywhere, it has to be delivered as a cloud-based service. Secure access service edge (SASE) is a new framework changing the game by bringing networking and security into a single, cloud-based service model. Policies are globally applied to ensure consistent security and a seamless user experience.
Many organizations are considering SASE as part of their network security transformation. According to the Gartner® Market Guide for Single-Vendor SASE, “by 2025, 80% of enterprises will have adopted a strategy to unify web, cloud services, and private application access using a SASE/SSE architecture, up from 20% in 2021.”
While they can make this journey to SASE directly, they can also turn to a trusted managed service provider (MSP) partner who can help address cybersecurity challenges derived from the increasingly complex threat landscape and the shortage of skilled cybersecurity personnel.
MSPs bring many benefits to organizations by focusing on their specific security requirements, which may vary depending on the type of business, industry and plans for future development. There are five compelling benefits of a managed SASE solution:
A managed service eliminates heavy initial investments and dramatically reduces management and operations overhead. It can free up in-house IT for value-driven work. A managed SASE solution comes with a predictable operational expense (OPEX) model that effectively enables organizations to manage their future expansion plans.
MSP’s cybersecurity workforce compensates for organizations' lack of high-skilled security professionals to handle challenging environments. By deploying robust security solutions and best practices, they help organizations to abide by stringent government policies, secure customer data, and ensure business continuity with minimal downtime.
MSPs have in-depth knowledge of common network security issues that many in-house IT cybersecurity teams lack. They often also have experience with rare issues. This is because they leverage extensive experience gained from other industries and verticals, which makes them adaptable and flexible. As a result, deployments can be faster and more cost-effective.
MSPs bring solutions and expertise in other areas, such as transport and network, that complement the SASE offering. Organizations benefit from unique solutions, network design and integration expertise, solution bundles and more. Additionally, established relationships with service providers provide possibilities for discounts and bundle offerings, ultimately lowering the overall total cost of ownership.
Each organization is unique and has different requirements fitting its business needs. MSPs can customize the SASE offering to the needs of an enterprise and ensure that the security policies that abide by the Zero Trust principles make sense to the evolving business.
On this note, organizations should look for partners with the right SASE technology when selecting a trusted partner. Only a comprehensive solution, such as Palo Alto Networks Prisma SASE with the superior security of ZTNA 2.0, can help deliver a consistent security posture and exceptional user experiences without compromising business outcomes while driving down costs and complexity.
Customers evaluating MSPs should investigate if they can access their platform and analytics via a unified dashboard or disparate systems. Performance and visibility can be a differentiator for MSPs that work with an integrated platform from a single vendor versus solutions that cobble together offerings from multiple vendors. Finally, the selection of networking and security services must meet an organization’s short and long-term business objectives. One benefit of a single-vendor, cloud-delivered SASE solution is the flexibility of network and security services based on changing business needs.
In today’s uncertain business environment, enterprises are scrutinizing costs across the board, and even fundamental IT security projects need cost justification.
The benefits of SASE are well-documented. Improved application performance and reliability, consistent security, better visibility and control of users, data and apps. Adopting Prisma SASE helps reduce risk, speeds up cloud and digital transformation, and reduces costs overall. A large enterprise can expect a return on investment with Prisma SASE of up to 241%.
Organizations can truly benefit from single-vendor SASE solutions delivered as a managed service. A clear reduction of initial investments and management costs, along with cybersecurity expertise, is a compelling proposition to make the business case for moving from a traditional security solution to a managed SASE solution, seamlessly delivered by a trusted partner.
Learn more about what goes into an effective SASE solution, and visit us at MWC Barcelona Stand #4D55 to hear firsthand what goes into a powerful managed SASE solution.
Gartner is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved.
Gartner, Market Guide for Single-Vendor SASE, 28 September 2022, Neil MacDonald, John Watts, Jonathan Forest, Andrew Lerner
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