How can SASE overcome cloud migration challenges?

Enter SASE

Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) is a term coined by Gartner in 2019. In August 2019, Gartner published a new research report titled ‘The Future of Network Security is in the Cloud’. In the report, Gartner outlined the ‘increased demand for a consolidation of networking and security-as-a-service capabilities into a cloud-delivered Secure Access Service Edge (SASE, pronounced “Sassy”). This new SASE offering was positioned as a ‘digital business enabler’ that will bring speed and agility to digital transformation projects. At a high level, SASE is a framework that consolidates a range of network and cloud security solutions in a unified platform.

Fully managed SASE offers businesses a solution to eradicate obstacles to a smooth migration. In this blog I’ll be looking at the 5 key areas where it can really help.

Security

The security offering bundled in with cloud services is often not robust enough to protect a businesses network effectively. With a wide and varied perimeter in the new hybrid working model, and without a zero-trust or even semi-trusted network, the scope for exploitation is high. Organisations must have a complete understanding of their entire ecosystem to be able to ensure a smooth cloud migration.

SASE securely connects to multiple cloud service providers which provides ubiquitous security enforcement. Workloads can be migrated easily as new cloud technologies are adopted across the business as part of digital transformation plans.

Cost and complexity

Increasing the number of cloud-based technologies and services being provided by various suppliers will prove a challenge to many businesses, with multiple agreements to monitor and manage.

SASE provides a single pane of glass solution which gives visibility and control of all networking and security needs. This reduces the number of vendor agreements that need to be managed and can also consolidate tech, bringing cost and complexity reduction benefits. SASE solutions provide a highly flexible platform to start small and scale your cloud adoption, migration and transformation plans. By having all of the options available when it comes to infrastructure and transformation, cost becomes something which can truly be managed.

Speed and skills

It’s widely understood that a lack of in-house skills is causing a persistent barrier to cloud migration, with many projects stopping IT teams in their tracks. With so much time needed to manage migration projects, resources need to be diverted from other critical activities which severely affects the ability of the IT department to work on business growth projects.

A fully managed SASE solution provides control and flexibility with IT teams freed to work on added value projects, knowing that their network foundation is fully secure and monitored. As an agnostic solution, SASE also allows multiple cloud connections to be deployed at a rapid pace. This goes hand in hand to ensure better protection against lock-in vendor contracts and escalating costs.

Risk and redundancy

Businesses must be able to choose the right tool for the job. That could be public cloud, private cloud or on-prem. That could also be from one vendor or from multiple vendors. Using a SASE solution to manage networking and security, provides a full choice of cloud migration, at a risk profile that suits the business.

When it comes to redundancy, our recommendation would be to have multiple ingress and egress traffic running through a unified, secure SASE platform to the cloud environment which the workload is being migrated to.

Business disruption

With a thorough understanding of network architecture, sizing and latency, the business will be able to mitigate against the risk of unexpected or unplanned downtime.

A hybrid cloud strategy approach mitigates downtime risk and a secure SASE solution ensures that users and customers receive uninterrupted services and continue to be happy during migration and transformation deployments.

Take the first step

It goes without saying that before embarking on your journey to the cloud, clearly establish what you want to accomplish. Make sure that requirements are fully understood before moving forward to choose the right solution for the business. Due to data sensitivity or performance issues, some workloads are better suited to private or hybrid cloud environments. Does the business deal with sensitive data or need a high performance network? Some workloads are better suited to private or hybrid cloud environments in these cases.

With SASE, businesses can now select the technologies required in a timescale and budget that meets requirements. As the needs of the business evolve and as new disruptive technologies emerge, there is no longer any reason to be locked-in to a vendor who isn’t innovating or delaying your transformation projects in any way.

For a deeper look at the challenges and solutions outlined above, have a read of our 5 Cloud Migration Challenges and Solutions ebook.