This post is part of G2's 2023 digital trends series. Read more about G2’s perspective on digital transformation trends in an introduction from Emily Malis Greathouse, director, market research, and additional coverage on trends identified by G2’s analysts.
As the market gains momentum, secure access service edge (SASE) will see continued investment
Prediction
In 2023, the SASE market will witness continued growth as the combination of networking and security services is driven by hybrid work scenarios.Securing the cloud and the network
In previous generations of networks, traffic flowed to different endpoints (such as branch offices) and used numerous point solutions to enable access, security, and identity management, which caused latency. As digital transformation was accelerated by global events such as the pandemic, network traffic has been inundated with SaaS applications to support remote and now hybrid workers.
In the past eight months, G2 witnessed a 192% increase in traffic to the Cloud Edge Security category. This increased traffic, combined with customer and seller-side demand, led to the creation of the Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platforms product suite category.
What are Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Platforms?
SASE is an architecture that combines network and security solutions into a cloud-based service to bring more accessibility, efficiency, and security to an enterprise’s network.As proof of enterprises experiencing more network traffic due to hybrid work scenarios, some of G2’s Collaboration & Productivity categories have witnessed significant growth. For example, the Virtual Workplaces subcategory, which includes products that simulate a physical office environment, grew 178% in 2022.
The components of SASE
SASE aims to address the latency of traditional network architectures by allowing organizations to scale their networking and security capabilities directly across all endpoints at any location through its cloud delivery model. With SASE platforms, companies can combine the functionality of secure applications and network access through a software-defined, cloud-native solution. This can be delivered as a single SaaS offering or a collection of integrated security solutions specifically designed to meet the needs of the enterprise.
The core components of a SASE solution include the following technologies:
- Cloud access security broker (CASB): CASB tools help continuously authenticate users and secure connections between end users and cloud service providers.
- Zero trust network access (ZTNA): ZTNA solutions utilize adaptive authentication to continuously verify user permissions and allow for network segmentation to simplify and broaden policy enforcement.
- Secure web gateway (SWG): SWGs provide filtering and scanning of web content for viruses, spam, or other malware. They also help identify and block potentially dangerous URLs or web traffic.
- Data loss prevention (DLP): DLP tools focus on distribution control, ensuring users do not send sensitive information outside of corporate business networks.
Technologies such as software-defined wide area networks (SD-WAN), firewalls, and software-defined perimeter (SDP) tools are complementary to the efforts of SASE. For example, SD-WAN helps to create a more reliable, scalable, and secure remote connectivity through which SASE can build its network and identity services.
G2 reviewers appreciate the simplicity that comes with SASE
As enterprises are looking to SASE to help manage their increased network traffic in the cloud, the SASE reviews on G2 state that what they appreciate most is the simplicity that it is giving their IT teams—simplifying security tasks by eliminating redundancies and even reducing staff.
A reviewer of FortiSASE Solutions says:
“Without sacrificing performance security, I can increase user coverage and speed up data transit between users to protect customer data, reduce the need for redundant security systems, and decrease the number of security specialists to hire.”
And a reviewer of Zscaler Cloud Security Platform gives the feedback:
“The best part about zscaler zero trust exchange is it does not require any physical or virtual hardware to deploy or manage. Just set it up according to your security needs and it is ready to get started. Securely connect users, apps & devices to any network.”
As enterprises seek continued support for hybrid work scenarios via cloud applications both off and on-premises, the investments in SASE platforms will increase in 2023 as organizations continue to strive for improved accessibility, efficiency, and security of their networks.
Edited by Sinchana Mistry
Want to learn more about Secure Web Gateway Software? Explore Secure Web Gateways products.
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Sarah Wallace
Sarah is a Research Principal at G2. She has worked as an industry analyst for over 20 years and focuses on cybersecurity for areas such as cloud and networks.