WAN Edge Security

Welcome to the Secure Edge Network

For many businesses, networks that exist inside controlled, secure perimeters have long passed. The advent of cloud computing, the Internet of Things, and other technologies has led to a profusion of edge networking. The rapid acceleration of remote workforces further means edge network security requirements need to shift. As a result, the focus for many IT organizations has moved out to the edge, where users, the internet, and their applications intersect.

User evaluating MPLS replacement

The Challenge of Maintaining a Secure Edge

When organizations began connecting their local area networks (LANs) across multiple sites, they created wide area networks (WANs). This WAN perimeter was the network’s original edge. Then, along came the internet and cloud, and these WANs became more complex with more service edge access requirements—including mobile devices.

Today, the sprawl of many users and devices living on the network’s edge creates security challenges. The numerous methods of connecting to the edge network further compounds these challenges. Plus, the global pandemic has resulted in an explosive demand for remote access to applications and the internet. This traffic is often back-hauled across the WAN, thereby saturating any available bandwidth and slowing down performance.

As companies grapple with supporting this new edge computing reality, network security requirements need to evolve. Part of the solution involves unifying the edge networking and edge security infrastructure.

Secure SD-WAN and SASE

The next phase in this evolution, Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), unifies the network and security infrastructures into one service. Among the advantages of this unified edge network is that the software security stack creates a secure edge, which is coupled with low-latency access to network services. This edge network secure access offers benefits across various industries, especially in IoT/OT, healthcare, and network-heavy environments. The SASE model also enables an efficient remote workforce without the drawbacks of users relying on cumbersome VPNs.

Zero Trust Network Access

Adding a Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) edge model to SASE further enhances security for edge networking services. The ZTNA architecture follows an adaptive trust model, operating on a need-to-know, least-privilege basis. As a result, only authenticated and authorized users, network edge devices (endpoints), and applications are granted access to corporate resources. In addition, access is centrally managed, policy-based, and granular, ensuring flexibility and security.

Enabling Digital Transformation

One of the main drivers for SASE and ZTNA has been the rise of digital transformation. Moreover, the rapid increase of mobile and cloud computing means users and applications have moved to the network edge. The best way to connect to edge networks is over the internet, which significantly increases the cyberattack surface. Having an extended remote workforce makes the challenge for enterprise IT twofold: ensure cybersecurity across an extended attack surface without adversely affecting performance and the user experience.

Open Systems SASE+ with ZTNA+

Open Systems has built upon its early lead in SD-WAN to create the industry’s most flexible SASE solution. Our SASE+ managed solution secures users no matter where they work while delivering direct, fast, and reliable connections to the internet and cloud. This access is centrally managed and easy to expand to reach anywhere and anything.

SASE+ provides this secure edge with a single unified service that is cloud-delivered, policy-driven, automated, and seamlessly orchestrated. Open Systems has also added its ZTNA+ to extend SASE+ to include even more users working on a broader range of devices at the network edge.

Open Systems SASE+ customers are backed by our global team of security experts who monitor your environment around the clock and are ready to assist with whatever you need – when you need it.

Contact Open Systems today for more information on how SD-WAN and SASE+ solutions can help you tame the growing security risks at the network edge. A team member can explain how these solutions deliver the secure access and performance required to support today’s remote workforces. Contact us to learn more.

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