What is SASE?

Secure Access Service Edge (SASE, pronounced “sassy”) brings network optimization and secure access together to create a unified framework for network optimization and secure data access. It combines simplicity, flexibility, and security into the IT infrastructure of your business. IT teams favor SASE because it reduces risk, marrying individual solutions together to reduce security gaps and employ consistent policy management. SASE is cloud-based, enabling easier maintenance, enhanced security, and better performance and agility.

SASE is designed to be a simple, unified access and security solution. What is SASE, exactly?

SASE provides the ability to connect people and devices from anywhere under a consistent model, optimized and secure simultaneously.

SASE is a cloud-delivered service that combines network security and optimized network connectivity into one solution. It makes sure users, applications, locations, or devices can securely connect to other resources anywhere in an efficient, high performance, and secure way.

Think about it like a highway and checkpoint rolled into one service. The highway lets your data travel from anywhere to anywhere in a more efficient and reliable way than the back roads, while the checkpoints along the way make sure that data being both transmitted and received is done securely.

This combination of cloud-based services means you can use a secure, reliable route to connect to your network and your data is secured along the way. This service becomes important as businesses grow to accommodate travel, multiple locations, and remote work.

SASE works by combining network optimization and network security into one manageable, secure system by combining the intelligence of Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) and the cloud-delivered security of Security Service Edge (SSE), a collection of cloud-delivered tools that help ensure safe access to internet functions. Here is how it comes together:

1. Connection at the edge
SASE allows employees to connect to the nearest service point via the cloud, meaning they can connect to a secure network from anywhere using the same login and password. With the local connections they use, they have reduced latency and uniform policy enforcement. This simplification encourages network connectivity and security compliance—essential tools for highly-regulated industries or businesses that handle personal information.

2. Intelligent traffic routing
SASE automatically prioritizes your most critical traffic, like payments or conferencing tech, while less urgent traffic makes space if bandwidth concerns arise.

3. Built-in security protocols
SASE routes network traffic through built-in security solutions, like Firewall as a Service (FWaaS). Security policies for remote and on-site employees alike are applied automatically, no matter where the user is connecting from. That means SASE enables compliance from every employee.

4. Unified visibility
SASE improves control and reduces security risks by collecting privacy and networking insights into one, integrated, automatic view for all employees to keep systems simple, reliable, and secure.

SASE unifies network connectivity and security under one umbrella to increase system security and make network and security compliance easier. It also provides unified insights and compliance, meaning you don’t have to monitor or manage multiple employee or network application systems simultaneously. But what goes into building a SASE architecture?

While the end result of SASE for you as a user is a simplified system, it combines technologies that work together to achieve that simplicity. The two main systems that link together under SASE are SD-WAN and SSE. SD-WAN serves to connect you and your employees to your network, while SSE secures your network and data to keep your privacy intact.

What is SD-WAN for SASE?

SD-WAN is the access component of SASE for network compatibility and efficiency that operates from a central location. It intelligently routes traffic across locations and applications for optimized performance of your wireless network. This prevents critical apps from competing with lower priority traffic and improves performance.

In the event of an outage, SD-WAN instantly reroutes traffic, helping maintain your network continuity. And because everything is managed centrally, your team can roll out changes once and apply them everywhere.

It’s important to note that SD-WAN as a connection technology can be used independently of a SASE architecture, though it plays a critical role in SASE itself. As an independent tech, SD-WAN is a modern approach to traditional Wide Area Networks (WAN) that uses software to define its principles and boundaries to enable a modern, scalable network.

[Read: What is SD-WAN]

What is SSE for SASE?

SSE is the other major component of SASE, which unifies your security services via the cloud to secure your applications and data. It’s typically composed of:

[Read: 7 tips for implementing Zero Trust]

What these technologies do by working together is provide a simplified, automatic system of network connection that gives your employees access wherever they are to a secure, automatically locked-down network. But you may be wondering: is SASE the right security solution for my business?

While both SD-WAN and SSE can be used independently for smaller businesses with less intense security needs, is the optimal security and connection solution that is a) scalable over time, b) centrally controlled, and c) a stronger multi-layer system.

When choosing your security protocols, consider how SASE benefits:

Once your SASE architecture is in place, you can grow it at the pace of your business through the right managing partner to simplify deployment, billing, and more. With that mindset, however, you might be looking to simplify your business even further. Partnering with the right managed SASE provider can take a load off your IT employees while still giving you the benefits of SASE.

Even with a unified architecture, many businesses prefer to have an experienced partner to further reduce complexity and free up their in-house teams. A managed SASE solution will reduce your risk, optimize network performance, and make your business more flexible and resilient without additional headcount.

Explore how AT&T can help you simplify and strengthen your network with a fully managed SASE solution. Backed by our expertise in Cybersecurity Services, Managed SD-WAN, and Enterprise Network Security, AT&T delivers the reliable connectivity and protection your business needs to move forward with confidence.

See how ultra-fast, reliable fiber and 5G connectivity protected by built-in security gives you a new level of confidence in the possibilities of your network. Let our experts work with you to solve your challenges and accelerate outcomes. Your business deserves the AT&T Business difference—a new standard for networking.