Windstream Enterprise writes the accelerated shift to a hybrid workplace, coupled with the fast-tracked adoption of new technologies and processes, means it’s time for businesses to rethink their networking security approach.
But that’s proving to be easier said than done because networking and security technologies are becoming increasingly complex, just as the stakes for securely distributed experiences have.
In a written blog on its website, Windstream Enterprise intimates organizations are turning to modern-day solutions that can support a unified experience for their hybrid workers, with secure access to applications and resources that are on their corporate networks and in the cloud.
Windstream Enterprise lists these four signs as indications that it may be time to switch to SASE:
Lack of agility and flexibility – Your network no longer is nimble enough to evolve with your organization’s future-proofing initiatives (e.g., supporting new cloud workloads, addressing a remote workforce and accommodating rapid expansion).
- Increased security vulnerabilities – Your security solutions are fragmented among physical locations, cloud resources and mobile users, and it’s becoming a challenge to monitor and remediate cybersecurity incidents across all perimeters. You fear your organization will become a cyberattack victim.
- Poor performance – Lagging business applications are affecting employee productivity. It’s clear your workers need more to stay efficient. They require secure, reliable, low-latency connectivity to cloud and data center applications.
- Limited visibility – You can’t control what you can’t see. Limited visibility makes it hard to control and manage application performance and security.
Windstream Enterprise writes many reasons may exist for deploying a SASE framework to support modern enterprise environments, but it cites these as the most common use cases:
- Rapid deployments – IT teams are no strangers to the challenge of connecting and securing new sites within tight timeframes. Often these teams are understaffed and are being asked to build out a disjointed security stack on top of inconsistent network infrastructure. SASE enables IT to optimize and protect traffic from all users, sites and data centers with just Internet connectivity and an edge SD-WAN device.
- Cloud adoption and migration – SASE can speed up application adoption and migration efforts by offering security services in a unified framework while managing applications from a single console.
- Mergers and acquisitions – M&As are stressful situations for IT team and result in multiple challenges, but SASE helps seamlessly integrate an acquired company’s resources through centralized management and global cloud delivery. This enables IT teams to enforce company-wide policies and deliver optimized access to these resources, regardless of the location.
- Remote access for business continuity – IT must enable a secure and optimized work-from-anywhere (WFA) environment to ensure business continuity. Unfortunately, legacy WAN architectures and VPN servers weren’t designed to support constant connectivity to everyone and from everywhere. However, SASE delivers scalable, high-performing and global remote access that eliminates these legacy solutions’ limitations.
It’s one thing to recognize the signs that indicate the need to start planning a SASE implementation. The bigger question is, how can you do it with the least amount of complexity?
Windstream Enterprise writes that embarking on the SASE journey should be considered and executed carefully. Because SASE is a long-term project that requires in-depth planning and personalization, the organization may need to decide on what to prioritize first, whether to address gaps in existing SD-WAN deployment or to deliver greater security to the remote workforce.
Windstream Enterprise offers a holistic platform that provides a high-performance network with integrated security that helps organizations consolidate security elements in the cloud.
