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Deliver Protected Networkingand Security ServicesAnywhere, AnytimeHow to Bring a Robust SASE Solution to Your Organization

More than ever, the landscape driving digitaltransformation is increasingly complex. The accelerationof cloud-based application adoption and the rising riskof cybercrime create new challenges for enterprise ITteams who need to ensure easy access and absolutesecurity for an often dispersed, remote workforce.

What’s inside?467910111213New era, new challengesWhy yesterday’s networks won’t cut itNetworking and security convergeThe 5 componentsThe real boost to your businessLimitations and opportunitiesAre you ready for a SASE solution?Why get started with Windstream Enterprise today?

New era, new challengesFollowing a surge in remote work at thebeginning of this decade, organizationshave become more reliant on systemsand technologies that operate outsideof an official office structure. Froman enterprise IT perspective, theorganizational perimeter is no longerlimited to a location. Now, it’s a setof diverse locations and capabilitiesdelivered from the cloud when needed.86%86% of organizations expect to beimpacted by a cyberattack within a year.1At the same time—and not by coincidence—cyberattacks have become a moredangerous and imminent threat. Breaches are no longer a question of “if” but“when,” and organizations that fail to adequately protect their cloud-baseddevices, applications, services and data are playing with fire.As a result, the intersection of networking and security is quickly becoming morecomplex than ever. While workplace flexibility provides new opportunities fororganizations and their employees it also presents heightened security risks, withremote workers logging on from home or any public WiFi hotspot using a mixedbag of personal and company devices.Forward-looking organizations are turning to emerging technology frameworksto deliver protected networking and security services and support the persistentmovement toward digital transformation and workforce mobility.Deliver Protected Networking and Security Services Anywhere, Anytime How to Bring a Robust SASE Solution to Your Organization4

“ The assumptions underlying legacy WAN architectures—that most users work from branches, that almosteverything lives in a central data center—no longer apply.”2SASE & ZTNA For DummiesDeliver Protected Networking and Security Services Anywhere, Anytime How to Bring a Robust SASE Solution to Your Organization5

Why yesterday’s networks won’t cut itTraditional hub-and-spoke networks and their associated securityarchitecture were built for a set purpose: using Multiprotocol LabelSwitching (MPLS) made them an ideal way for organizations to runmultiple business-critical applications from their own data centers.However, in today’s environment, the “data-center-centric” approachis showing its limitations.GeographySecurityTrafficFlowSpeedWith Virtual PrivateNetwork (VPN) connectionsinto the data center, thesenetworks aren’t equippedto serve a remote workforcethat’s more geographicallydistributedTraditional network securitymodels were designed toaccommodate employeedevices and systems thatwere located within a physicalperimeter, assumptions thatno longer hold trueThese networks also aren’tbuilt to scale with theincreased volume of trafficthat traverses public, private,hybrid and multi-cloudenvironments en route toits destinationConstantly routing trafficto and from data centersthrough a static centralizedsecurity stack and ultimatelyout to the Internet createsnetwork congestionAll these factors and theresulting congestion combineto hinder application performance, which affects endusers’ experiences andproductivityDeliver Protected Networking and Security Services Anywhere, Anytime How to Bring a Robust SASE Solution to Your Organization6

Networking and security convergeTo enable secure and reliable access to cloud-based assets, enterprises are turning to SecureAccess Service Edge (SASE)—an emerging “as a Service” network and security framework.SASE is more than a single technology: It’s a layered, interwoven fabric of network and securitytechnologies that work together to protect an organization’s data and systems from unwanted access.ConnectProtectNetwork as aServiceNetwork Securityas a ServiceThe convergence:Network as a Serviceand Network Securityas a ServiceThrough its five components, SASE dynamically extends the edge of the private network right upto multiple clouds (such as AWS, Azure and Google Cloud Platform) and to popular SaaSapplications. For end users, this provides a virtual on-ramp to those cloud providers’ services.The computing and communications devices in the hands of those end users are also protectedend-to-end by a full set of network security technologies. The policies for those technologies canbe managed and orchestrated by the organization from the cloud using an intuitive self-serviceportal, reducing complexity and simplifying management.Deliver Protected Networking and Security Services Anywhere, Anytime How to Bring a Robust SASE Solution to Your Organization7

In short, SASE offers aunified, secure connectivitysolution that is availableanytime and anywhere.Deliver Protected Networking and Security Services Anywhere, Anytime How to Bring a Robust SASE Solution to Your Organization8

The 5 componentsSASE is a complement of five components thatbring networking and security capabilities intoa single-service, cloud-native model.123Software-Defined Wide-Area Networking (SD-WAN)SASE is built upon a solid foundation of SD-WAN, intertwinedwith software intelligence, which enables optimal WANmanagement. SASE leverages SD-WAN capabilities to provideoptimized application performance, network routing, globalconnectivity, WAN and Internet security, cloud acceleration,and remote access. SD-WAN also provides an ideal platform tosecure unified communications applications including voice,video and chat.Firewall as a Service (FWaaS)FWaaS is a new type of a next-generation firewall, it eliminatesthe appliance form factor, making network security capabilitiessuch as URL Filtering, Intrusion Prevention System (IPS), nextgeneration anti-malware (NG-AM) and Managed Detection &Response (MDR) available everywhere.45Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)ZTNA offers a modern approach to securing application accessfor users replacing legacy VPN. It embraces a zero-trust policy,where application access dynamically adjusts based on useridentity, location, device type and more.Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB)CASB helps enterprises adapt and protect against new threatsthat come with cloud computing like when connecting to IaaSand SaaS. CASB applies security policies as users accesscloud-based resources to protect against cloud security risks,comply with data privacy regulations and enforce corporatesecurity policies.Secure Web Gateways (SWG)SWG solutions protect users against malware, phishing andother web-borne threats. SASE offers SWG protection to allusers, at all locations and eliminates the need to maintainpolicies across multiple point solutions.Deliver Protected Networking and Security Services Anywhere, Anytime How to Bring a Robust SASE Solution to Your Organization9

The real boost to your businessA robust SASE solution can not only positively impact your endusers’ experiences, but also reduce your IT team’s managementcomplexity and increase your organization’s bottom line.Enterprise-level securityfor users that allows accessto apps and data over anyconnection type with peaceof mind that security isin placeCentralized operationsthat put policy managementin the cloud and distributedenforcement points closeto the user, app or devicethrough a “single pane ofglass” portalDevice consolidationvia the reduction of the amountof single-purpose customerpremises equipment (CPE) ata branch to a single agent orSD-WAN device, reducing costand complexityHybrid WANthat can seamlessly runsecurity over the top ofboth existing private MPLSconnections and publicInternet bandwidth withoutrequiring a network ripand replaceImproved performanceleveraging multiple accessconnections to improveresiliency and performance forcritical applications includinglatency-sensitive appsLower operational overheadwith SASE providers fullymanaging, monitoring andmaintaining security softwareand devices, so IT doesn’t needto constantly update, patch,upgrade and replace appliancesDeliver Protected Networking and Security Services Anywhere, Anytime How to Bring a Robust SASE Solution to Your OrganizationSecure Remote Access (SRA)that helps ensure encryptedconnections and bases networkaccess on the identity of theuser, device or application,enabling a work-fromanywhere model10

Limitations and opportunitiesStanding up a SASE solution isn’t like flipping a switch, andnot all vendors are created equal. Organizations maybe limited by legacy network and security point solutions,or their provider’s capabilities and readiness to deploy SASEtechnologies. Barriers to adoption may include:Vendor focusYour provider’s capabilities andofferings may be focused exclusivelyon networks or on security, but it’spossible they aren’t proficient inboth areasVendor approachWell-integrated features, in-lineproxy experience and contextawareness are all key to successfulSASE implementation. If a vendorlacks them, it can increase costsand decrease performanceDeliver Protected Networking and Security Services Anywhere, Anytime Vendor historyYour provider’s legacy experiencemay be with on-premiseshardware in the “data-centercentric” approach, which cancreate resistance to a cloudnative mindsetHow to Bring a Robust SASE Solution to Your Organization11

Are you ready fora SASE solution?60%If these trends and challengesapply to you, a SASE solution maybe right for your organization:Need protection from malware and exposure tosecurity vulnerabilitiesDisjointed management of siloed security andnetworking technologiesApplications reside in the cloudEnd users connect to your network from outside acontrolled environmentLimited visibility to cloud compute and end-user resourcesEnd user performance experience is degradingBy 2025, at least 60% of enterprises willhave explicit strategies and timelines forSASE adoption, up from 10% in 2020.3Unable to control all device connection to your networkIncreased network complexityEnd users expect more direct access to resourcesDeliver Protected Networking and Security Services Anywhere, Anytime How to Bring a Robust SASE Solution to Your Organization12