How Netskope Intelligent SSE and Aruba Secure SD-WAN Integrate for SASE Success

At Netskope, our primary focus in the marketplace is to help customers protect their data. More and more data exists outside the traditional enterprise perimeter and is growing at an ever-rapid pace. More than 80% of users are using personal apps and instances from managed devices, and of those applications being accessed, roughly half would be given a “Poor” risk rating by the Netskope Cloud Confidence Index. This data management problem is further challenged by the risk introduced as a result of user activity. More than half of the web traffic today is cloud-related while at the same time, roughly half of the malware today is being delivered by the cloud.

To protect that data, organizations need contextual awareness about how that data is being accessed, who is accessing the data, and what their role is in the organization. What should they be able to do with the data? Are principles of least privilege being applied? What device is being used to access the data and where is that device currently located? How is the data being accessed and is it being handled in an appropriate fashion?  What is the behavior of the user over time? What services is the user trying to access? Are these software-as-a-serviceSaaS applications, or corporate workloads that have been moved to an infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS)? Can those services and destinations be trusted? 

Then there is the concern of protecting the user and device itself from compromise due to the threats they will eventually encounter as malware delivery from the cloud continues to grow. Solving these challenges is the guiding principle in the solutions that Netskope have delivered to the market. 

Gartner defined the secure access service edge (SASE) framework in 2019 to address the challenges of the eroding traditional security perimeter by providing advanced cloud-centric security solutions and the need to intelligently route and steer traffic in a secure fashion to the cloud. In short, this identifies the need for advanced SD-WAN and security capabilities, with next generation cloud security capabilities. This cloud-centric approach is critical, as today’s workforce is working from anywhere, whether they’re at the office, their home, or in a coffee shop.

SASE combines necessary WAN Edge functions with necessary, converged cloud-delivered security functions. 

Aruba EdgeConnect Enterprise is an advanced, secure SD-WAN platform that supports the necessary WAN Edge functions needed for SASE including SD-WAN, routing and essential security functions to protect the branch from incoming security threats with a built-in NGFW, IDS/IPS, advanced segmentation, DDoS defense and WAN OP–all from a single platform. Recently, Aruba EdgeConnect Enterprise also received an industry-first Secure SD-WAN certification from ICSA Labs.

An industry leader in cloud-delivered security, Netskope provides the perfect complement to Aruba EdgeConnect Enterprise by supporting the necessary cloud-delivered security functions, otherwise known as security service edge (SSE). SSE defines the set of security services that help deliver on the security vision of SASE. These security services include firewall-as-a-service (FWaaS), secure web gateway (SWG), cloud access security broker (CASB), zero trust network access (ZTNA) and related security functions such as remote browser isolation (RBI), data loss prevention (DLP) and cloud & SaaS security posture management (CSPM/SSPM). At Netskope, we call this Netskope Intelligent SSE.

Seamless connectivity for a multi-vendor SASE solution

Most enterprises today prefer a best-of-breed SD-WAN technology and best-of-breed SSE solution, so as not to compromise on either the networking component or the cloud security component of a SASE solution. However, to make a multi-vendor SASE solution as easy to deploy and update as a single vendor SASE solution, customers need seamless connectivity and a truly converged SASE solution. To implement cloud-delivered security and deliver the best cloud application performance, Aruba EdgeConnect Enterprise provides seamless connectivity to Netskope using integrated service orchestration. With Integrated Orchestration, secure IPsec tunnels are automatically established between branch locations and the Netskope cloud security enforcement points. Today, the Netskope NewEdge security private cloud is powered by data centers in nearly 60 regions globally, all with fast low-latency on-ramps, plus extensive peering. By connecting to the Netskope cloud security enforcement points that are close to that branch location, the delay can be minimized, resulting in the best application performance and quality of experience for users. 

As part of SASE Week, we will be discussing how the solutions work together. Netskope Intelligent SSE is complemented by the context-aware, business-driven Aruba EdgeConnect Enterprise SD-WAN platform, providing a robust, converged SASE solution. This best-of-breed combination ensures users can safely connect from anywhere, remain secure and protected regardless of their location, plus address the growing number of IoT devices, all while ensuring superior network and application performance.

If you’re interested in learning more, register for my session with Aruba Product Marketing Manager Karan Singh Dagar on September 13.