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It’s been a long journey toward securing and optimizing the enterprise branch, from the days of rigid MPLS networks to the agile era of SD-WAN. Now comes the next stage of that journey: Secure access service edge (SASE), which, when architected correctly, converges the most important network and security capabilities into a single cloud-delivered service. Before we talk about how, though, let’s examine why SASE’s moment is now.
Today, most branch infrastructure is complex, expensive, and uses too many point products. It does not detect or prioritize tens of thousands of vital cloud apps nor does it secure you from the explosion of IoT devices and the threats they create. Further, legacy SD-WAN appliances are too thick and complicated for a remote-first world. Your IT infrastructure realistically needs to change to accommodate the needs of the modern branch office.
Legacy SD-WAN is now a roadblock to branch transformation. Let’s look at some important emerging challenges.
An explosion of cloud apps leaves a big blind spot for legacy SD-WAN
In modern business, cloud applications keep us productive and thriving, but legacy SD-WAN is now lagging far behind. In 2013, when SD-WAN was starting to make waves, it could handle just 2,500 applications at most—which, back then, was sufficient. But fast forward to today, and the average number of cloud applications in use by businesses is projected to be 72,000 by 2024, up from 21,000 in 2021. Legacy SD-WAN can’t optimize what it can’t detect and control. Then, when we recall that conventional SD-WAN optimization benefits were solely to on-premise data centers, it’s overwhelmingly evident these are not fit for a cloud-first era.
The shift to hybrid can mean a loss of productivity
With 74% of businesses embracing permanent hybrid work models, the traditional branch office is becoming a relic. Remote employees, however, often miss out on the benefits of SD-WAN. The refrain, “Turn off video for better audio,” hampers productivity, and shipping hefty SD-WAN appliances to remote locations only escalates costs. Existing remote access VPNs lack visibility and security, complicating matters further. Adding more clients for cloud security is not the answer. The crucial question remains: How to seamlessly extend the same SD-WAN and SSE capabilities in the branch office and to remote users, ensuring a consistently smooth user experience? Legacy SD-WAN doesn’t have any answers for this.
An explosion of IoT devices leaves the branch vulnerable to attacks
Smart IoT devices now proliferate, from office cameras to factory sensors. A staggering 94% of IT professionals fear the catastrophic consequences of a data breach caused by unsecured IoT devices. But traditional SD-WAN solutions fall short in meeting the robust security requirements critical for modern branches. Furthermore, the remote management of IoT devices within the branch can be a formidable challenge, frequently leading to costly truck rolls. Legacy SD-WAN infrastructure isn’t equipped to handle these elevated management and heightened security requirements.
The cost and complexity of bolted-on security drives up costs and creates management headaches
With 53% of internet traffic headed to SaaS and the public cloud, securing your users, no matter where they consume cloud services, is paramount. Surprisingly, a substantial 65% of threats now originate from the cloud. Disjointed point products, whether on-premise IPS, NGFW, IoT Security, or cloud security services like CASB and SWG, are driving up costs and complexity because they’re not well integrated and as a result are creating inconsistent, ineffective security policies between branches and remote users. Fragmented security policies are costing more than just money; they’re costing security itself.
Rising efficiency gaps lead to burnout
Modern IT teams face significant burnout concerns, with at least 65% of help desk teams feeling overwhelmed by support operations. Legacy solutions fall short in automating tasks, leading to management inefficiencies, especially when deploying human vs. machine resources. Current WAN monitoring tools lack crucial WAN insights, complicating digital experience management. But the challenge extends to managing diverse networking solutions. Separate management consoles for SD-WAN, remote access, Wireless WAN, Multi-cloud, SWG, CASB, and DEM create data silos, hindering fast issue resolution. The key question is how to make legacy solutions more efficient and reduce operational overhead. Streamlining automation, integrating tools, and enhancing analytics are critical steps in addressing these challenges.
The branch “stack” is needlessly complicated
Adding new services to a branch invariably demands additional servers, further intensifying the intricacies involved with branch security. Legacy SD-WAN, which was once key to the dream of a more efficient branch, is now part of a nightmare of complications.