Implementing Secure Access Service Edge solutions

Stephen Amstutz at Xalient outlines five steps to a secure and streamlined SASE rollout

 

As the world continues to turn up the dial on digital transformation, businesses need faster, more agile, and secure solutions to support evolving operations. Traditional legacy infrastructures are increasingly inadequate, as organisations integrate new technologies and roaming identities into existing networks, creating complex, layered architectures that expose them to new security risks.

 

Combined with the rising costs of maintaining traditional networking, these systems are becoming increasingly unsustainable.

 

A Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) solution offers the promise of a unified and cost-effective approach to modern networking: enhancing security, performance, and scalability to meet dynamic business needs. By merging networking and security requirements, SASE protects remote access points, providing secure hybrid work environments whilst improving the performance of SaaS based apps and network performance.

 

SASE solutions, whether single-vendor or multi-vendor, bring many benefits to organisations. However, implementing a SASE solution is a strategic decision that goes beyond simply upgrading network security. It requires detailed planning and an outcomes-based approach to ensure that the implementation meets both operational and security needs. 

 

Here are five key steps to bear in mind when approaching a SASE deployment.

 

1 Define core objectives

Whilst this sounds like an obvious first step, in our experience it our experience it is not given the attention it deserves. When embarking on a SASE project, requirements and outcomes need to be considered from both a networking and security perspective at the same time.

 

Unfortunately, this is often overlooked, underestimated, or hastily pulled together at the start of the project and not reviewed until post-delivery – at which point it is too late. Oversights such as these can lead to security gaps, poor performance for its intended use, and further costs from having to rectify these issues.

 

This will help to better guide the design and implementation of your SASE solution. By anchoring the project in clear, business-driven objectives, teams can create a vision of the ideal SASE setup, ensuring that it aligns with broader digital transformation strategies.

 

Important factors to consider include your hybrid/remote work set up and cloud adoption, including whether the organisation plans to integrate any further technologies and databases or change their work structure, as these decisions will impact on the SASE solution you ultimately deploy.

 

Recent findings from Xalient’s global research, ‘Why SASE is the Blueprint for Future-Proofing Your Network in 2025’, which surveyed 700 organisations that have already implemented a SASE solution, identified that the main driving factors for SASE implementation were addressing performance issues with business-critical SaaS apps (15%), securing remote access for the hybrid/remote workforce (14%), and addressing the rising cost of traditional network architecture (13%).

 

However, security was also a key concern, as 99% of organisations had suffered a security breach in the last 12 months, and 44% identified remote, hybrid, or roaming workers as a leading risk factor for these breaches. These findings indicate that business strategies must be aligned with IT security and networking goals before embarking on the procurement journey.

 

2 Identify gaps in existing infrastructure

Once business objectives are defined, the next step is to evaluate the current IT infrastructure, as organisations need to identify gaps that could hinder the implementation of SASE. A further benefit from this exercise is to identify any areas where SASE can add value.

 

Whilst addressing the existing infrastructure, teams should also consider their current security policies and any upcoming regulations that may affect them, such as NIS2 or DORA, to identify any further areas for improvement. With this context, teams will be equipped with the information required to customise SASE architecture to ensure compliance and fit the specific needs of the organisation.

 

3 Pilot with a Proof of Concept

Before deploying SASE across the organisation, it’s helpful to test the solution on a small-scale pilot with a limited number of sites, applications, or users to ascertain whether the correct solution and approach has been selected. This proof of concept not only minimises disruption but allows teams to showcase the outcomes and benefits of a SASE solution to key stakeholders.

 

Whilst needs and benefits will vary from organisation to organisation, Xalient’s global research indicates that the top benefit, experienced by 30% of organisations, was improved performance of business-critical SaaS apps. This was followed by updated threat protection without hardware and software upgrades (28%), and the third most common benefit was improved security surrounding breaches with consistent policies (27%).

 

4 Scaling SASE throughout the organisation

Once the pilot phase is completed and validated, the next step is to scale the SASE solution across the organisation. This requires a phased rollout to avoid disrupting operations and to balance the pace of change with operational risk.

 

Implementing SASE broadly means expanding coverage to additional sites, applications, and users, ensuring that policies are consistently applied across the entire infrastructure to ensure compliance is woven through every process.

 

5 Ongoing management of SASE

The final essential step all organisations must think about is that SASE is not a set-it-and-forget-it solution. Once deployed, the system requires ongoing monitoring, policy adjustments, and lifecycle management to ensure that it continues to deliver value and maintains the flexibility to respond to any upcoming laws and regulations.

 

IT teams must regularly assess network performance, security posture, and user experience. Through this, IT teams can ensure that their SASE investment remains relevant and effective in the long term.

 

Taking an outcomes-based approach to SASE implementation ensures that both business and IT security objectives are met, and that organisations can tackle current and future challenges with confidence.

 

Additionally, by following a structured and phased deployment, organisations can derive maximum value from their SASE solutions, achieving improved security, better network performance, and enhanced user experience.

 

Partnering with a specialist MSP who has implemented SASE solutions for other organisations may be beneficial to help address these five steps. The MSP’s expertise can be leveraged to help organisations navigate the complexities of SASE deployment with confidence.

 

In today’s modern hybrid environment, SASE is the future of networking and security, robustly converging network and security functions and security. Businesses of all sizes that take advantage of this powerful technology can improve their security posture, reduce complexity and increase scalability. 

 

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Stephen Amstutz is Director of Innovation at Xalient, a specialist provider of expert advisory and managed services in identity, cyber-security, and networking

 

Main image courtesy of iStockPhoto.com and gremlin