Integrating networking and Security to provide immediately and continued access to the network and cloud-based resources from any location, any device at any time.
As work environments have evolved so have user behaviour and endpoint protection requirements. Users no longer access information from a dedicated station within a predefined network parameter confined to a corporate office. Instead, users access information from a variety of locations such as, in the home, on the air, from hotels, and so on. They also access that information from different devices such as desktop workstations, laptops, tablets, and mobile devices. Adding to this network complexity is the rise of Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD), where users access enterprise systems through personal devices that are not part of the enterprise infrastructure.
Organizations today require that their users have immediate and continued secure access to the network and cloud-based resources and data, including business-critical applications regardless of location on any device and at any time.
Organizations must provide this access in a scalable and elastic way that integrates thin-edge network sites and remote users into this central infrastructure and favours a lean operation as-a-service model.
Finding solutions that must meet these requirements are challenging. The reasons for these are clear;
· Though networks have evolved to support the workloads, remote endpoints, and users, many outdated network security solutions remain inflexible and they don’t extend beyond the data centre to cover the ever-expanding network perimeter and/or attack surface. With the advent of the new thin-edge network, the challenge is exacerbating.
· Secondly, for these solutions to converge networking and security oversight require that all tracking whether coming from thin-edge locations or off-network users run through the core data centre for inspection. This results in;
- High cost
- Complexity
- Elevated risk exposure
- Latency and poor user experience; when accessing multi-cloud applications and data.
· The multi-edge network environment of today, has exposed the limitations of VPN-only solutions, which are unable to support the security threat detection and zero trust access policy enforcement present at the corporate on-premise network.
VPN-only solutions cannot scale to support the growing number of users and devices resulting in inconsistent security across all edges.
A new scalable, elastic and converged solution is required to achieve secured reliable network access for users and endpoints, one which addresses the security of many hybrid organizations defined by systems, users, and protocols for corporate and remote networks.
That solution is SASE (Secured Access Service Edge)
A SASE solution provides integrated networking and security capabilities, including peering, which allows direct network connections and traffic exchange across the internet without having to pay a third party.
SASE services deliver:
- Optimized paths for all users to all clouds to improve performance and agility.
- Enterprise-grade certified security for mobile workforces
- Consistent security for all edges
- Consolidated management of security and network operations
The goal of SASE is to support the dynamic secure access needs of today’s organizations. A proper SASE solution allows organizations to extend enterprise-grade security and networking to the cloud edge where remote, off-network users are accessing the network and the thin edge such as small branch offices.
Fortinet’s cloud-based SASE solution is called FortiSASE.
(FortiSASE is Fortinet’s scalable cloud-based service powered by decades of FortiOS innovations and FortiGuard Labs AI-driven Threat Intelligence delivers best-in-class security and consistent protection for the modern hybrid workforce across all edges.
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