VMworld 2021 delivered a deep dive look at VMware SASE. In the weeks leading up to the event, we rolled out a weekly blog series that explored all things SASE, which covered cloud security, VMware SD-WAN™, VMware Edge Network Intelligence™, SASE deployment tips, and much more.
To recap the SASE sessions at VMworld and our blog series, SASE is an architecture that combines VMware SD-WAN and remote access with cloud-delivered security functions under a single-pane-of-glass management portal and orchestration framework.
What’s the engine that powers SASE? As we mentioned in this blog, it’s a global network of SASE points of presence that deliver these cloud services to users who work from anywhere (WFA). This effectively delivers efficient and optimal app connectivity to work from anywhere on any device while also providing end-to-end security.
Best of all, VMware SASE is very simple to roll out and maintain as its centralized management model eliminates the requirement for skilled technicians at branch locations. This helps drive easy adoption, reduces operational complexities, streamlines maintenance, and slashes operating expenses.
VMware SASE also boosts efficiency by enabling IT teams to procure, oversee, and troubleshoot SD-WAN, remote access, CASB, and SWG functionality from a single vendor — removing the need to stitch together different third-party solutions, which can be costly and leave security gaps.
As you roll out and maintain your SASE solution, incorporate these six performance pillars, which will help power your enterprise edge services strategy now — and into the future.
Pillar one: Intrinsic security
Leveraging a cloud-delivered security model that delivers built-in protection against network-based attacks, VMware SASE incorporates Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) principles to ensure remote users — employees, contractors and guests — get access to only those enterprise resources and applications they are entitled to use. VMware SASE ensures users and infrastructure are protected when they access risk prone internet applications.
SASE’s exhaustive security suite spans contextual access, network security, app protection, and network segmentation, integrating cutting-edge concepts in zero trust.
Pillar two: App quality assurance for anyone, anywhere, anytime
VMware SASE ensures access to and top-notch performance of business-critical apps in support of the office, branch, home or anywhere — even when the network encounters degradation or congestion.
By integrating app recognition, traffic prioritization, and dynamic remediation with the means for measuring network path performance, SASE directs traffic on a packet-by-packet basis to provide a tremendous end-user experience. This distinct advantage ensures that users do not experience session timeout in the middle of a video call, call drops during a conversation or file sync failures on shared drives.
Additionally, the solution removes common IT bottlenecks like requiring VPN concentrators in the data center. Using SASE decreases latency and increases network bandwidth usage for those connecting to cloud and SaaS apps.
Pillar three: Multi-cloud interconnect
SASE’s simplified cloud on-ramp and multi-cloud interconnect automatically discovers IaaS routing domains, automates and segments full-mesh routing across domains, and links ZTNA devices via cloud gateways, similar to the multi-cloud on-ramp provided now for SD-WAN branch users.
The benefits for multi-cloud interconnect are vast, including helping teams automate deployment of VMware Edge devices into IaaS and auto-provisioning tunnels from edges and cloud gateways to IaaS and security providers.
Pillar four: User experience with AIOps
VMware Edge Network Intelligence provides IT visibility into user experience for each application by leveraging artificial intelligence and big data analytics. The solution manages millions of end-user and IoT devices and helps shift the operating paradigm to a proactive mode.
In this manner, it detects end devices, finds anomalies, determines root causes, and automatically remediates problems to enable self-healing. This significantly boosts end-users’ application quality of experience (QoS).
Pillar five: 5G intelligence
Telcos and service providers bundle services as well as transport with VMware SASE — and that partnership will soon expand.
For example, 5G mobile technology will empower mobile networks to be primary WAN links due to their speed, low latency, and QoS alternatives. And unlike MPLS or broadband, 5G can serve as an excellent underlay, enabling enterprises to dynamically alter bandwidth and QoS so that WANs can be rapidly and easily adapted.
Pillar six: Edge compute
VMware SASE is built as an extensible platform architecture that will enable organizations in the future to run workloads on-premises at the edge or in the cloud, closer to the user.
The time to deploy VMware SASE is now
SASE is tremendously easily to deploy and highly secure. Don’t wait — reach out to your VMware and service provider representative to get the latest data on VMware SASE and learn how you can seamlessly roll out this solution.
And there’s no need to rush your implementation. Start with a slow, measured approach, then use cloud agility to ramp up each of your projects and scale when needed. Lastly, be sure to build a consensus of stakeholders across your organization to drive adoption.
