CISCO SASE – Infographic
Keep every user secure and connected, in every cloud, with Cisco SASE
IT teams are under more pressure than ever before to keep their organizations secure, reduce operational costs, and make things simpler to manage.
But it’s not easy when:
- Applications extend across multiple clouds
- Workforces and workspaces are hyper-distributed under hybrid work models
- IT teams must rely on a patchwork of point solutions from many vendors
76% – of IT teams say that remote workers are harder to secure.
51% – of organizations are having problems connecting workers to company resources
70% – of IT leaders agree or strongly agree that managing a multi-vendor networking and security stack is too complex
Security and networking need a better path forward, together
Using yesterday’s approaches to provide secure connectivity for today’s hyper-distributed, dynamic environments is proving more costly.
There has been a dramatic rise in Internet traffic as organizations have continued to adopt cloud applications and storage, and run more workloads from the cloud.
Backhauling traffic to corporate data centers via expensive MPLS lines and VPNs and forcing it through security appliances before forwarding it on no longer makes sense.
With many people working anywhere, on any device—at home, on the go, at the branch or
campus offices—networking and security teams must:
Security Teams
- Achieve a consistent approach to security, anywhere users work, with simpler solutions that ensure a seamless experience and eliminate gaps in coverage.
- Increase security efficacy and mitigate the cyber risk posed by an expanding attack surface and vectors to assure regulatory compliance, by adopting new security models such as Zero Trust.
- Reduce complexity and the risk of human error as security stacks evolve to support faster adoption of cloud infrastructure and software as a service (SaaS).
Network operations teams
- Support an excellent hybrid workforce experience by ensuring optimal connectivity to any cloud and improving control of, and visibility into, the complete service delivery chain.
- Resolve network performance issues driven by soaring Internet traffic and new traffic patterns that create bottlenecks in legacy network topologies and result in a poor user experience.
- Reduce operational costs associated with providing secure connectivity between complex IT environments (public, private, and hybrid clouds), using SD-WAN with end-to-end traffic modelling for optimal routing.
Security and networking teams can’t handle these challenges alone. They’ve got to come together to:
- Control costs
- Simplify operations
- Keep their organization secure
SASE: Where IT worlds collide—and thrive
As work dynamics shift again, networking and security
teams can’t keep working in silos, reacting in parallel to
the same problems. They need to be ready for the next
disruption.
Secure access service edge (SASE) converges
networking (SD-WAN), cloud-based security (CASB,
FWaaS, SWG, and ZTNA), analytics, and insights into a
single, cloud-based solution, delivered as a service, to
provide optimal, secure connectivity from every user and
device to every cloud:
SD-WAN
Centralized management
A centralized, highly visual dashboard that facilitates device configuration, network management, monitoring, and automation. Includes zero touch provisioning at the network edge.
Cloud network extension and middle mile optimization
Extensive cloud on-ramp integrations to enable seamless, automated connectivity with any site-to-cloud and site-to-site configuration. Includes optimized middle mile connectivity through SDCI and colocation integrations.
Application experience
The ability to monitor and validate the usability and performance of web applications. The detailed metrics and waterfalls show the sequential fetching and loading of web components to identify errors and bottlenecks and understand the impact on application performance.
Flexible and scalable infrastructure
A wide range of physical and virtual platforms that deliver high availability and throughput, multi-gigabit port options, 5G cellular links, and powerful encryption capabilities. Optimizes WAN traffic by dynamically selecting the most efficient WAN links that meet the service level requirements.
AI-enhanced troubleshooting
Robust AI/ML for optimizing network performance, automating routine manual tasks, and accelerating troubleshooting. Provides intelligent alerting, self-healing,
and predictive internet rerouting capabilities.
Integrated security
Robust security capabilities that work hand-in-hand with cloud security to protect branches, home users, and cloud-based applications from infiltration.
Identity-based policy management
Micro-segmentation and identity-based policy management across multiple locations and domains.
Advanced insights
Enhanced visibility into application, internet, cloud, and SaaS environments with comprehensive, hop-by-hop analysis. Enables the isolation of fault domains and provides actionable insights to accelerate troubleshooting and minimize or eliminate the impact on users.
Cloud Security
Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)
A security framework that mitigates unauthorized access, contains breaches, and reduces attackers’ lateral movement across the network. ZTNA should be coupled with strong identity and access management to verify users’ identity and establish device trust before granting access to authorized applications.
Secure Web Gateway (SWG)
A gateway that logs and inspects web traffic to provide full visibility, URL filtering and application control, and protection against malware.
Cloud-delivered firewall with Intrusion Prevention System (IPS)
Software-based, cloud-deployed services that help manage and inspect network traffic.
Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB)
Software that detects and reports on cloud applications in use across a network, exposing shadow IT and enabling risky SaaS apps and specific actions, like posts and uploads, to be blocked.
Data Loss Prevention (DLP)
Software that analyzes data in-line to provide visibility and control over sensitive data being pushed or pulled beyond the organization’s network or cloud environment.
Remote Browser Isolation (RBI)
Software that isolates web traffic from user devices to mitigate the risk of browser-delivered threats.
DNS-layer security
Software that acts as the first line of defense against threats on the Internet, blocking malicious DNS requests before a connection to an IP address is even established. Strong DNS security can greatly reduce the number of threats a security team has to triage on a daily basis.
Threat Intelligence
Threat researchers, engineers, and data scientists who use telemetry and sophisticated systems to create accurate, rapid and actionable threat intelligence to identify emerging threats, discover new vulnerabilities, and interdict threats in the wild before they spread, with rule sets that support the tooling in your security stack.
How the SASE model evolved
Cisco SASE enables you to deliver:
Dynamic
connectivity that’s fast, flexible, and predictive
Secure
access across every point of service
Seamless
experiences from every user and device to every cloud
Supporting today’s use cases
Designed for today’s hybrid work environments, SASE lets you minimize the complexity of managing more remote users, devices, applications, and data across multiple clouds—while minimizing risk in a changing and ever-expanding threat landscape.
Secure Edge
Connect your sites securely and seamlessly to applications and data anywhere.
Incorporates global points of presence (PoP), infrastructure as a service (IaaS), and colocation facilities.
Local traffic secured and forwarded to destination without first traveling to data center focal points.
Secure Remote Worker
Connect your users from off corporate network remote locations to applications and data anywhere.
Identity-based security – individuals, groups, office locations, devices, Internet of Things (IoT), and services.
Option to use client (AnyConnect) or client-less (VPN) for user end-point security.
Cisco’s SASE solutions are based on open standards and support extensive APIs, enabling you to address immediate secure connectivity needs and business demands, while driving strategic transformation:
75% – of customers were able to give their IT teams the ability to focus on cost savings.
73% – Improvement in latency and traffic consistency (jitter).
85% – of customers were able to cut malware infections by half.
Consulting Services
Our team of n2grate experts offers a broad array of services to identify and resolve current IT
infrastructure challenges, reduce risk, and proactively prepare you for the future. Leveraging proven
methodologies, every engagement can be customized to fit your specific needs and can include:
Lifecycle Services
We determine your current IT infrastructure age and makeup, collect performance data, and provide an analysis of current system health. We provide regular health checks and recommendations for remediation and optimization. We also provide ongoing configuration compliance & software compliance services, including comprehensive programs for critical maintenance and upgrades, tailored to your industry’s regulatory requirements.
Technology Initiatives – Using data collected in our discovery process, combined with the goals of your business, we develop recommendations for any necessary remediation and a roadmap of transformative technology initiatives. Our team of best-in-class engineers will execute on those projects to make sure your system gets healthy and stays healthy.
Enterprise Strategic Planning – Working with n2grate means your team will have a partner to help develop a technology strategy that delivers business results. Our Enterprise Strategic Planning services include development of a roadmap of transformative technology initiatives, Quarterly Business Reviews and forward-looking strategic recommendations.
Assessment Services
n2grate provides comprehensive assessment solutions designed to give you an analysis of your current business IT environment. Our assessments help you determine current state and identify areas to grow and improve to strategically align IT with your business goals. n2grate’s assessments include insight analysis from our technical experts, recommendations aligning with current and emerging technologies, and process improvements.
Implementation Services
n2grate’s experts come with decades of experience architecting, deploying, and maintaining IT infrastructures from simple networks to complex hybrid projects. Through careful planning and proven deployment strategies, we can minimize disruptions, reduce downtime, mitigate risk, and efficiently spin up core infrastructures and complex networks. Using best practices, we can build or rebuild core networks to carry high-speed data, voice, and video, from server to endpoint including wireless networking and mobility support. Through careful planning and extensive experience, our networks are flexible, scalable, and ready to provide a long-term return on investment.
Migration Services
n2grate takes the stress out of migrations while protecting the essential day-to-day operations of the business. Because of our teams’ extensive experience, we can anticipate dependencies and complexities, thereby avoiding delays, downtime, and budget overruns. We plan alongside your team and make every step of the migration known ahead of time to remove uncertainty and mitigate every possible risk.
Integration Services
Staging Facility and Pre-Implementation preparedness – Additional to the painstaking pre-planning n2grate is known for, covering everything from wiring to configurations, every aspect of the implementation is thoroughly tested prior to go-live. We leverage one of our two national integration labs to assist with: Hardware assembly, Burn-in process, Installation of OS software, Code upgrades, System configuration, Full asset/inventory tracking, Package (palletized or boxed and wrapping available) and ship, On-site assistance for unpacking, racking and stacking, Implementation services – on-site or remote, Post-cut over support.
Managed Service Offerings
Our portfolio of Managed Services will enable your team to move from managing your IT to managing your business outcomes. We provide scalable solutions, proactive support, and flexible consumption for the critical technologies that run your business.
Digital Ready Office
Small and medium business owners have a unique challenge, run at the pace of a large organization but with fewer resources and the need to scale at a moment’s notice. Maintaining technology is not at the core of your value proposition to your customers, but it is all we do for our clients.
Managed Network
In partnership with NetCraftsmen, we offer a unique service called Craftsmen Assurance®, which provides ongoing, fixed-fee engagements for your IT infrastructure needs which can include proactive, strategic consulting services.
Managed Security
Our Managed Security Solutions improve your overall security posture and provide the peace of mind your company longs for. Our highly versatile offering can be tailored to manage your unique business model, regardless of the industry or size of your enterprise. We help you focus on growing your business while we manage your security and compliance requirements.
