Why Always-On Infrastructure Requires a Co-Managed Model

Digital transformation is no longer about deploying technology. It is about running it – securely, globally, and without interruption.

When SASE infrastructure connects production sites, cloud environments, remote engineers, IoT devices, and SaaS applications across continents, 24×7 operations become business-critical. In this environment, a firewall rule is not just a configuration. A routing decision is not just a technical adjustment. A DNS change is not just maintenance.

It is business continuity. The real differentiator is not the SASE platform itself. It is how that platform is operated.

What 24×7 Operations Mean in a SASE Environment

Secure Access Service Edge consolidates networking and security into one architecture – SD-WAN, firewall, SWG, CASB, ZTNA, backbone connectivity, threat detection.

Architectural consolidation reduces fragmentation. Operational complexity, however, increases. Because today’s SASE environments are:

  • Distributed across 180+ countries
  • Dependent on multiple ISPs
  • Interconnected with SaaS and IaaS providers
  • Subject to continuous security policy updates
  • Under constant regulatory and threat pressure

24×7 SASE operations mean:

  • Continuous monitoring of connectivity and security events
  • Real-time response to ISP outages and backbone anomalies
  • Immediate triage of performance degradation
  • Careful validation of firewall and routing changes
  • Secure rollout of Zero Trust policies
  • Coordinated lifecycle and change management

It is not simply monitoring dashboards. It is protecting the operational backbone of the enterprise.

Why Global Organizations Need True 24×7 IT Infrastructure Support

Imagine a production site in North America that suddenly loses primary ISP connectivity. Traffic must fail over automatically. Local contacts must be informed. The ISP must be escalated. Service quality must be verified once restored.

Now imagine that at the same time, a remote engineering team in Asia reports access problems to a cloud-based application due to a newly activated security policy.

These events do not wait for office hours. They overlap across time zones. They span both network and security domains. And they often require coordinated action across routing, firewall, ZTNA, and backbone layers.

With increasing cloud adoption, stricter compliance requirements, and more frequent infrastructure changes, operational stability has become more fragile. Recent global outages have demonstrated that even minor configuration adjustments can cascade across systems.

In many enterprises, internal IT teams are already stretched thin. The result: response times lengthen, risk accumulates. The question becomes less about technology selection – and more about operational execution.

The Open Systems Service Triad – How Co-Managed 24×7 SASE Operations Actually Work

True 24×7 SASE operations require more than a helpdesk. They require structured collaboration between customer control and expert execution. This is where the integrated Service Triad by Open Systems comes into play.

Rather than forcing customers into a single service model, it creates three interconnected layers that can be used depending on urgency, complexity, and strategic impact.

1. The Customer Portal – Where Visibility Meets Direct Control

Consider a CIO reviewing global ISP line utilization after noticing rising connectivity costs.

Instead of requesting a report and waiting days, they access real-time and historical utilization data directly. They filter by region, export bandwidth trends, and identify underutilized circuits in specific markets.

Or picture a local IT support engineer troubleshooting a real-time application that freezes during peak hours. Within the portal, round-trip latency metrics reveal congestion on one ISP link. With a controlled routing adjustment, traffic is prioritized differently – without impacting global policy integrity.

Or imagine a security administrator conducting an annual firewall review. They identify unused policy objects, request a four-eye validation, and safely clean up obsolete rules without risking unintended exposure.

The portal does not replace expertise. It enables informed action – immediately, safely, and transparently – for both network and security domains. Routine changes remain in the customer’s hands. Guardrails remain intact.

2. The 24×7 Operations Center – Where Expertise Becomes Immediate Action

Some situations cannot be solved through dashboards.

An ISP outage affects a critical site. A maintenance notification from a regional carrier threatens to disrupt production hours. Packet loss appears between a backbone PoP and a SaaS provider. Suspicious traffic patterns emerge across multiple regions.

In these cases, direct access to experienced Level-3 engineers makes the difference. When a site experiences degraded performance, telemetry analysis identifies whether the issue lies within the ISP, peering, backbone routing, or misconfigured policies. Temporary rerouting ensures continuity while the root cause is addressed with the provider.

When a complex firewall or ZTNA change is requested – for example, onboarding a new DMZ service – engineers analyze the ripple effects across NAT rules, DHCP configurations, DNS behavior, routing paths, and security zones before implementation.

Instead of tickets moving between escalation tiers, one engineer takes ownership until resolution. Automation supports detection and pattern recognition. Human expertise drives judgment and execution.

This approach minimizes downtime not only by reacting quickly – but by resolving issues precisely.

3. The Designated Technical Account Team – Where Operations Become Strategy

Operational excellence does not stop at incident resolution.

Enterprises evolve:

  • They acquire companies.
  • They open new regions.
  • They migrate workloads to cloud platforms.
  • They introduce stricter Zero Trust segmentation.

A designated technical account team provides continuity across these transformations.

When a new region must be integrated into an existing WAN, the team evaluates ISP sourcing, backbone capacity, routing design, firewall segmentation, and user access policies holistically – not as isolated components.

When compliance requirements demand stronger segmentation, they help design enforceable policies that balance security and operational efficiency.

When collaboration tools and service management systems must integrate with the SASE platform, they align governance and workflows so that operations feel like an extension of the internal IT organization.

Over time, this relationship reduces reactive firefighting and increases structural resilience.

Why Co-Managed SASE Is the Operational Model That Scales

DIY operations provide full control – but require 24×7 staffing, scarce expertise, and constant training across network and security layers.

Fully managed models reduce internal burden – but can limit flexibility and responsiveness.

A co-managed SASE model offers something different. It allows organizations to:

  • Execute standard changes independently
  • Escalate complex incidents instantly
  • Receive architectural guidance when transforming
  • Maintain governance through structured processes
  • Combine AI-assisted automation with human accountability

It adapts to operational maturity rather than replacing it.

Why Clarifying Your Operations Model Is Urgent

IT infrastructure complexity is accelerating:

  • Hybrid cloud architectures
  • Increasing SaaS dependency
  • Zero Trust rollouts
  • Regulatory pressure
  • Continuous platform updates
  • Expanding threat surfaces

Every configuration change carries risk. Most major outages in recent years were triggered not by attacks – but by internal infrastructure modifications:

  • DNS adjustments.
  • Routing misconfigurations.
  • Policy conflicts.

As change frequency increases, so does the probability of instability. Without a clearly defined operations model, organizations rely on ad-hoc escalation and fragmented responsibilities. That approach does not scale.

From Platform to Performance

SASE technology consolidates network and security. But it is 24×7 operations that determine whether consolidation translates into:

  • Business continuity
  • Predictable performance
  • Secure access everywhere
  • Rapid incident resolution
  • Sustainable transformation

Technology is strategic. Operations are decisive.

The Bottom Line

In a cloud-first, globally distributed, Zero Trust-driven world, infrastructure must be:

  • Always on.
  • Continuously validated.
  • Operationally resilient.

An integrated Service Triad – combining visibility, expert response, and strategic advisory – ensures that SASE is not just deployed, but continuously executed.

And in today’s environment, execution is everything.