The Hidden 40% Fee

SASE Pricing is Broken. We Fixed the Math.

Most managed SASE providers hide 30% to 50% of your true TCO in “below-the-line” fees. We’ve eliminated the tiered support, ticket taxes, and hardware cliffs. One fee, everything included, uncapped service. 

Why “Cheap” Offers are Often the Most Expensive 

What ultimately defines the quality of a managed SASE service isn’t the subscription price, it’s what that price actually includes. The table below highlights the operational foundations that determine whether a service will run smoothly or create downstream cost and effort. 

A comparison table in the February release notes shows service elements (24x7 NOC, Expert Support, Unlimited calls, 2x Dedicated Success Engineers, Lifecycle Management) across Open Systems and a Typical SASE Vendor, highlighting extra costs (30–50% markup) for SASE.

The Bottom Line: Once you factor in the operational elements missing from the base offer, the real price commonly climbs to nearly twice the initial proposal.

–> How Kemet cut costs in half by partnering with Open Systems


The Hidden Markup Audit: Is your SASE Budget Surprise-Proof?

Managed SASE solutions typically look cheaper on paper because the quote only covers partial support. The real costs appear after the contract is signed, in the exceptions, the add-ons, and the support gaps. We’ve mapped the most common industry pitfalls so you can quickly evaluate where hidden markup usually creeps in, and which elements simply disappear under Open Systems’ all-inclusive model. 

A graphic titled "The 'Explanation' Tax," featured in our February release notes, shows a head with a speech bubble and circuit icon, explaining that traditional L1/L2 help desks waste time, while Open Systems connects users directly to experts.

A graphic titled "2. The After-Hours Gap" shows a clock icon with a piggy bank and dollar sign, noting that, as highlighted in the February release notes, Open Systems offers fee-free 24x7 support, unlike others who charge for off-hour incidents.

A banner titled "3. The Request Surcharge" with a phone and coin icon. Text notes that per-ticket, per-call, or per-change fees are common, but Open Systems—per the February release notes—includes unlimited operational requests and support.

A graphic showing a person pointing at a whiteboard with a dollar sign, alongside text highlighting how Open Systems provides ongoing network strategy or operational advice without hourly billing, as featured in the February release notes.

A graphic titled "5. The Lifecycle Burden" with an icon of stacked servers and a dollar symbol. Text explains that hardware end-of-life costs are predictable but often not included in contracts—except with Open Systems, as noted in the February release notes.

When you consider these common cost drivers, it becomes clear why many SASE contracts drift far beyond their base price. With Open Systems’ surprise-proof model, these uncertainties disappear, giving both new and existing customers a service that’s complete, predictable, and free from fine-print add-ons. 

–> See how you can improve ROI without the hidden fees


Open Systems Pricing: Two Variables. Zero Guesswork.

Most pricing models in the SASE space require you to track a shifting mix of tiers, add-ons, usage thresholds, and lifecycle events, all of which make long-term budgeting harder than it should be. Open Systems removes that complexity from the start by basing your subscription on just two inputs: number of users and deployment platforms.  

Because the model stays constant, future-state TCO becomes easy to calculate. Whether you’re planning new sites, onboarding more users, or evolving your security posture, you always know exactly how those changes translate into cost, without decoding a long list of optional line items. 

It’s a pricing structure built for teams that value clarity and predictability: two variables, everything included, no fine print to navigate.

–> See how reducing complexity accelerates ROI

Leave Complexity
Behind

To learn how Open Systems SASE Experience can benefit your organization, talk to a specialist today.

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