Why SASE Should Be As Flexible as the Organization

SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) adoption has seen huge momentum since the term was coined in 2019 and hasn’t stopped since. According to a recent report by Dell’Oro Group, the SASE market is expected to nearly double by 2029. That accounts for a market value of over $17 billion in revenues and represents a 12% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). 

What’s accounting for this growth? We’re currently in the midst of a new phase of digital transformation that involves hybrid work and cloud migration, driving enterprises of all sizes to start the transformation toward zero-trust access architectures. This shift took place rapidly, and as a result, organizations are grappling with a new set of challenges like expanded security threats, inconsistent policies, and legacy systems that aren’t able to scale. While larger enterprises were early adopters of zero-trust access architectures, companies of all sizes are starting to recognize the benefits and plan an adoption strategy that begins with a hybrid approach of traditional perimeters and zero-trust architectures.

SASE is at the heart of this transformation. SASE is a technology architecture that combines internet connectivity and security all in one. It combines functionalities of multiple different fundamental network and cybersecurity technologies, like software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN), firewall-as-a-service (FWaaS), and zero-trust network access (ZTNA).

SASE itself isn’t a catch-all, however. There are different types of SASE, and the differences between them can make or break whether or not they’re the right fit for your organization. However, hybrid SASE is gaining relevance as a solution that accounts for multiple different scenarios your organization might face. The move to a zero-trust access architecture that leverages SASE at its core can be a daunting one; thus, a strategy that involves small but meaningful steps is critical to success. These intermediate steps are enabled by a hybrid offering and are critical to a successful transition.

The Pitfalls of Classic SASE

Traditional cloud-only-based SASE eventually began to show some pitfalls. This approach needed to evolve to meet the growing trend of organizations requiring all-in-one management across on-premises and cloud-based systems. Many vendors providing SASE solutions overlook the importance of integrated on-premises environments, often due to the feasibility aspect of moving everything to a zero-trust access architecture for organizations. 

If your SASE solution isn’t accounting for your data on-premises and in the cloud simultaneously, that adds complexity, defeating the point of utilizing the solution in the first place. To compound these challenges, utilizing a SASE solution that isn’t able to meet your organization where it is just creates more work. What if your company needs to operate somewhere in between a traditional perimeter-based architecture and a zero-trust, cloud-based one? If your SASE solution is only cloud-focused, you’ll struggle to see improved security or planned ROI. Your SASE solution should adapt with you, not the other way around.

Benefits of Hybrid SASE

Hybrid SASE combines technology from multiple network architectures to reach their respective endpoints and resources, offering enhanced security and streamlined management for diverse environments. More specifically, its architecture is uniquely designed to deliver value and benefits to teams that rely on both zero-trust, cloud-based and traditional on-premises, perimeter-based technology. This means easier visibility across systems, more consistent security controls, and even lower costs for IT teams and managed service providers (MSPs), which are third-party companies that manage organizations’ cybersecurity needs.

It’s not hard to deploy, either: it allows administrators to configure and enforce security policies from a single interface, which simplifies management by using consistent policy structures and terminology. On top of all of its advantages, hybrid SASE is a perfect solution for companies in the middle of a transition to zero-trust access-based architectures. When you have a solution that can manage both on-premises and cloud-based systems, there’s no need to spend additional time, budget and resources implementing yet another new SASE solution once the transition is complete. It’s also great for companies of any size. Many companies feel that SASE is an exclusively enterprise-level solution, but that’s not the case. Hybrid SASE vendors often have many different pricing options that can be tailored to your organization’s needs that won’t break your bank.

Your organization is constantly adapting to the needs of your customers and partners. Your SASE solution (and vendor!) should too. That’s why hybrid SASE is really picking up steam. It’s definitely a solution that should be considered, especially if your organization struggles with visibility into and security around remote workers accessing public cloud, private cloud and on-premises resources. It’s important to pick a SASE vendor that’s right for your organization, too. Your vendor can help outline what implementing hybrid SASE could look like for your organization and the potential benefits that would come along with it.