Why the future of network security is in the cloud

Digital business transformation has accelerated rapidly in recent months in response to the way the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way organizations handle day-to-day operations. This shift has a direct impact on network security needs, and many organizations are struggling to adapt.

In the new report “The Future of Network Security Is in the Cloud,” Gartner offers guidance on this important topic. You can download your complimentary copy of the report today. To help you get the most out of the report, we spoke with Klaus Gheri, vice president of network security at Barracuda, about some of the key takeaways.

Q&A with Klaus Gheri, VP of Network Security

What are the most important takeaways from this report?

The key takeaway for many organizations will be that the report introduces them to a new concept that’s commonly referred to as the secure access service edge (SASE). Basically, the whole purpose is to bring out the notion that traditional network architectures people have built over the years with the data center as the centerpiece are increasingly getting outdated and are no longer meeting the needs of the digital business that many organizations are pursuing. So, that outdated architecture becomes an inhibitor to fully embracing and utilizing the potential that comes with new opportunities. As assets and workloads increasingly get moved to locations outside of the corporate perimeter, the network architectures need to stay in line with that kind of paradigm shift. This is what SASE is all about.

How do you think this report will help people get clarity on SASE?

SASE is something that's still fresh, and the authors of this report are frank about the fact that this transition will take time. It's nascent, but many of the building blocks are readily available. I think as a reader, what you can benefit from quickly is that it gives you a brief introduction to SASE, what the issues are, and what to look for. For me personally, we've seen a lot of vendors hop onto the SASE bandwagon recently in terms of labeling themselves as a SASE solution, so there's a lot of confusion out in the market. I think this report can help potential buyers get past the smoke and mirrors and get to the root of the issue and find out what it is they need to go do.

What do organizations need to consider when implementing SASE solutions?

The SASE paradigm is all-encompassing. It's not just about the security side of things. It also affects network topology, especially around the wide area network. So, it creates an opportunity for organizations as they go through a new buying cycle, for instance with their communication fabric on the WAN side, to reconsider what they've been doing, plan for re-architecture, and possibly make use of some of the new constructs.

Another takeaway is that as you move your assets to the public cloud, it may make sense to consider going with SASE offerings that make use of the public cloud. That way there's proximity between where you enter the network and where the assets are, and you get the benefit of the global architecture that the public cloud platform providers have been investing in for a good 10 years now.

When you are looking at SASE solutions, you also have to make sure you look at what the vendors’ roadmaps look like. What are they covering today? What will they be covering in the future? It’s important to remember this is a gradual process. It's not like you flip a switch, and you're SASE. This is a transition that will take time. Eventually, you want SASE to cover secure office connectivity, zero-trust network access for workers from anywhere, and increasingly so as part of digital transformation also for networked things that organizations build their business around, e.g., predictive maintenance of a cooling system with the monitoring application hosted on the public cloud.

Don’t miss what Gartner is saying about SASE solutions and the future of network security. Get your copy now.

You can also join us for a webinar on August 26  about Secure SD-WAN that is easy to deploy, easy to manage, and fully Azure-integrated. Save your spot today!