At the same time as some IT decision-makers debate what videoconferencing or team collaboration apps will provide the best experience for work-from-home (WFH) users, others are weighing how to optimize bandwidth and security for remote connectivity. For the latter, the
discussion today often focuses on whether to use SD-WAN or secure access service edge (
SASE) solutions, and enterprises have a bevy of solutions from which to choose.
The number of options for enterprises continues growing, with Masergy, Barracuda, and Oracle expanding their portfolios with new SD-WAN or SASE solutions.
Masergy, Barracuda Launch Services
Managed services provider
this week added SASE to its portfolio, for a new SD-WAN Secure solution. With SD-WAN Secure, Masergy allows a private broadband Internet connection, bring-your-own Internet connectivity, and integration into public cloud infrastructures. SD-WAN Secure's security features include a cloud-based firewall as a service, secure web gateway, a cloud access security broker, and zero-trust network access, Masergy said.
Masergy offers SD-WAN Secure in fully managed or co-managed options. For the fully managed service, Masergy engineers and project teams handle implementation and provide on-going support, while the co-managed offering allows enterprises to customize their configurations and make changes via Masergy's SD-WAN Orchestrator, Masergy said.
For its part, cloud security solution provider
Barracuda last week revealed CloudGen WAN, a secure SD-WAN service natively built on Microsoft Azure. Based on Barracuda's CloudGen Firewall, the CloudGen WAN allows enterprises to leverage the Microsoft Global Network as their WAN backbone, instead of MPLS or leased lines, according to Barracuda. Admins can centrally administer policies for all office locations and remote endpoints via the CloudGen WAN portal, Barracuda said.
For bandwidth optimization, CloudGen WAN includes automatic failover and load balancing, bandwidth protection, session balancing, and forward error correction. For security, it features advanced threat protection, intrusion detection and prevention, URL filtering, and malware protection, according to
a Barracuda datasheet. Enterprises can deploy CloudGen WAN service from Azure Marketplace as either a standalone product or with an existing firewall to create a SASE solution, Barracuda said.
Oracle Goes to the Edge
Oracle this week launched an SD-WAN management solution, Oracle SD-WAN Orchestration Cloud, designed with multi-cloud environments in mind. Via the SD-WAN Orchestration Cloud service, enterprises can define and enforce application policies, configure security and firewalls, and perform SD-WAN Edge software upgrades, according to
an Oracle data sheet. Orchestration Cloud also allows enterprises to integrate cloud-deployed Edge devices into the corporate SD-WAN, which allows admins to set policies on how application traffic is handled on the device, Oracle said. Admins can also view and monitor SD-WAN performance via a management console, Oracle said.
SD-WAN Orchestration Cloud is currently deployable either on-premises of virtually via Oracle Cloud Infrastructure, Amazon Web Services, or Microsoft Azure clouds, Oracle said.
Deciding on an SD-WAN, SASE Solution During COVID-19
While the conversation of whether enterprises should deploy SD-WAN and SASE has taken an unexpected turn with COVID-19 (why deploy a service that a branch can only utilize, if that branch is closed due to coronavirus?), it appears at least for now the SD-WAN and SASE markets aren’t slowing down. Other SD-WAN services are addressing the branch access “lockout” issue by providing a means for WFH users to access the branch via a VPN connection. SASE cloud platform includes a VPN client, and Aryaka and Silver Peak both provide means for WFH users to connect, to name a few.
But when it comes to choosing an SD-WAN solution, there isn’t a right or wrong answer, just what works best for the enterprise’s situation. And as IT decision-makers plan beyond COVID-19, they will most likely have to evaluate SD-WAN and SASE solutions — if they haven’t already — and decide if they can be a component of their digital transformation strategy.
