Unified SASE-as-a-service provider Aryaka released a new report in which it noted that SASE and SD-WAN are quickly becoming “essential” tools for navigating complex environments.
According to the Secure Network Transformation Report 2024, CIOs, CISOs and other IT leaders tend to struggle with the complexity of managing hybrid workforces, cloud adoption and an evolving threat landscape.
The findings – which are based on the responses of 202 IT, security and network professionals in North America, EMEA and Asia, all at director-level or above – included:
- Increases in instances of hybrid work arrangements, coupled with hybrid infrastructure and security deployments, is fueling a need for adaptable, secure network solutions, with 81 percent noting that hybrid work drives demand for SASE and zero-trust networking.
- SASE and SD-WAN are no longer regarded as niche solutions, with 84 percent believing SASE is either “mature” or “somewhat mature.” Ninety-one percent agreed regarding SD-WAN.
- Seventy percent see value in converging SASE and SD-WAN solutions, with benefits such as more robust network operations and security (34 percent), less operational burden (24 percent) and vendor consolidation (19 percent) leading the way.
- Sixty-four percent consider zero-trust security as a crucial component of SASE for hybrid work deployments.
The report also delved into industry trends such as AI and other cloud-based applications and services straining traditional network architecture. These modern applications require secure, high-performance connections that can dynamically adapt to changing traffic patterns, with 67 percent seeing managed services and SASE playing a greater role in managing them.
Aryaka also explores a shift in enterprises moving away from expensive legacy MPLS services, with 76 percent planning to eliminate MPLS either in the immediate future or in the next 2-3 years. Ten percent, it was also noted, have already eliminated MPLS completely.
“Our report shows that the IT and network security landscape is undergoing a major transformation driven by the rise of hybrid work models and the ever-increasing adoption of AI and cloud-based applications and services,” said Aryaka CRO, Pete Harteveld. “Aryaka is listening to its customers and the IT industry at large to deliver innovative solutions that address businesses’ most pressing needs. Our Unified SASE as a Service combines a unified single-pass architecture, global private network backbone, and security, observability and application performance capabilities into a single platform. That alone is unprecedented, but we also deliver it as a service, providing the security as well as the flexibility and affordability today’s IT leaders require.”
To download the full report, click here.
