When it comes to home improvement, there are different opinions regarding what’s the best practice for home remodeling or repairs. Should you try to do the job by yourself or instead hire a professional contractor to orchestrate all the moving parts that go into the perfect home project? The same can be said for Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) and managed service providers (MSPs).
Each of the options comes with pros and cons. For many, DIY comes with the pride of showing off a job you did by yourself, and that’s more than enough even when the cost savings are minimal. The choice between DIY and hiring a contractor is more than just a matter of dollars. It’s a careful balancing act between money and a long list of other factors such as less hassle, faster results, safety, and professional-quality work. The quality of the finished work is also critical for other projects that might follow. This explains why so many homeowners decide in favor of hiring a professional, despite the higher cost.
Much like a home project, reaching the SASE destination is a balancing act of its own. SASE is not just another buzzword, it is considered by many as one of the biggest network and security transformations in decades. Implementing a complete SASE approach requires significant transformation, which involves planning, deployment, and management of potential new tools and capabilities.
Every organization is unique. While some companies fully embrace SASE and proactively embark on their journey with a “do it yourself” model, others are often reluctant to begin because they believe it is difficult, costly, and disruptive. One option for these organizations is to use an MSP. Engaging an MSP in the journey to SASE can offer benefits in planning, implementing, and operating these solutions.
Five Compelling Benefits of a Managed SASE Solution
#1: Reduced Cost for Cybersecurity Labor and Tools. A managed SASE eliminates heavy initial investments and dramatically reduces management and operations overhead. It can free up in-house IT for value-driven work.
#2: Extensive Cybersecurity Knowledge and Experience. By deploying robust security solutions and best practices, service providers help organizations to abide by stringent government policies, secure customer data, and ensure business continuity with minimal downtime.
#3: Faster Deployment and Issues Resolution. Service providers have in-depth knowledge of common and rare network security issues thanks to the extensive experience gained from other industries and verticals that makes them adaptable and flexible. As a result, deployments can be faster and more cost-effective.
#4 Complementary Network Managed Services and Expertise. Service providers bring solutions and expertise in other areas such as transport and network that complement the cloud-delivered SASE offering. As a result, organizations benefit from solutions, expertise in network design and integration, solution bundles, and more.
#5 Custom, Complete SASE Solution. Service providers can customize their SASE offering to the needs of an enterprise and define the required security policies that best fit.
On this note, when selecting a service provider, organizations should look for partners with a comprehensive SASE solution that enables consistent cloud-delivered security from the multi-cloud architecture and provides users with the best quality of experience. Look for a SASE solution that delivers the following three values:
- Convergence without Compromise: Best-of-breed security and SD-WAN, natively integrated without trade-offs
- Complete, Best-in-class Security: Consistently secures all apps used by your hybrid workforce, regardless of location
- Exceptional User Experience: With integrated Autonomous Digital Experience Management, backed by industry-leading SLAs
Future-proof your SASE investments
It’s clear that SASE can help you modernize your network and security to achieve a new level of cost-efficiency, business agility, and growth. Many organizations will likely need to make big strategic decisions over the next 12 months on how to reach the SASE destination. In order to give you a range of deployment options, Palo Alto Networks has partnered with global service providers and enabled them to deliver a unique managed SASE solution that is built on the industry’s most complete SASE solution.
Listen to our on-demand session “Delivering the Value of SASE with a Managed Services Approach”, where Rupesh Chokshi, vice president of Cybersecurity AT&T talks about the benefits of SASE delivered as a managed service. Want to see us in person? Visit us at MWC Los Angeles 2021 at booth #1850 South Hall on October 26 - 28th to talk to us about your SASE needs.