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by Bob Schweiss, Bluewave’s SASE Solution Advisor
When I was growing up, hospitals had huge smokestacks that were part of a power plant. When many of these hospitals were built, the power grid was not robust enough or reliable enough to support the hospital’s power needs. Having your own power plant mitigated the risk of using utility power. As the power grid evolved, these smokestacks became a relic and reminder of just how far power utilities have evolved.
A similar trend is happening in Information Technology as it relates to communications networks. With the evolution of technology, our communications networks are evolving into utilities. No longer do we need to build and maintain our own networks; we can subscribe to networking from providers who specialize in being the best at what they do—communications networks!
SASE Networks are the latest iteration of a modern technology infrastructure. SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) is a network architecture that combines wide-area networking (WAN) with comprehensive security services, all delivered through the cloud. This convergence ensures that users, regardless of their location, have secure and efficient access to applications and data. This has become particularly important in a post-pandemic world with employees working outside of traditional workplace environments.
SASE is not a product. It is a suite of products that interoperate with each other to provide both security and connectivity.
The SASE suite of technologies works together to provide secure access to users sitting in an office or working remotely, ensuring the same level of security, access, and performance. A SASE network design with proper network segmentation ensures that employees and devices only have access to applications and resources required to perform their respective job functions.
Today, various solution providers may need access to your environment to update software on devices like copiers or manufacturing equipment. A SASE environment and proper network segmentation offer additional protection that limits access to a very limited cross-section of your network. A SASE environment mitigates the exposure of your entire network to a threat actor who may gain access to your network with compromised credentials or a compromised device. A properly deployed SASE solution would allow for easier detection of malicious activity, remediation, and restoration, limiting your business’s financial and operational impact.
Several years ago, a large US-based retailer provided access to a vendor to manage HVAC platforms at hundreds of their retail stores. Unfortunately, credentials were compromised, and a threat actor could gain access to the point-of-sale platform in every store. They compromised the credit card processing devices and stole the credit card information of tens of thousands of customers. Removing and restoring the environment to a secure state took several weeks. More importantly, the retailer’s brand and revenue damage continued for a number of years.
Bluewave works with our customers to analyze current security and networking elements within their environments and recommend solutions and service providers to deliver a SASE environment. Depending on the current makeup of your network and the cost associated with many legacy technologies, this can often result in cost neutrality or cost reduction, all while advancing the security posture of your information technology environment. Frequently, businesses make the mistake of attempting to weave together a collection of point solutions to specific security challenges; this approach often can be more costly and leave accountability gaps between various vendors’ solutions.
Companies employing SASE today realize the tremendous benefits of simplifying their technology ecosystem and improving connectivity and security. Additionally, repurposing valuable IT staff and aligning those resources improves support for revenue-generating elements of the business.
Any company not considering a SASE solution to support its communication needs is putting its data and infrastructure at risk today. When you’re ready to get the right SASE solution for your organization, you’re ready for Bluewave.
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