If your organization has poor network performance resulting in connectivity challenges and weak security, it can be detrimental to your business.
These challenges can lead to decreased employee productivity and network vulnerabilities contribute to cyberattacks that often cost your organization hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair the network and restore operations.
For this reason, it is important that your organization prioritizes reliable network connectivity and strong security capabilities.
However, there are many available solutions on the market that accomplish these objectives making it difficult to choose the right solution for your organization.
Understanding the relationship between SD-WAN and SASE will enable you to determine which solution is better for your organization.
Coeo understands how important reliable network connectivity and security are to an organization and has delivered thousands of solutions to organizations to improve their network connectivity and security and help them avoid cyberattacks.
By the end of this article, you will understand the relationship between SD-WAN and SASE, how they can be used together or individually, and which solution is the better choice for your organization.
The relationship between SD-WAN and SASE
SD-WAN and SASE are both cloud-based network solutions used to improve network connectivity and security.
However, SD-WAN uses software-defined networking principles to route traffic dynamically to connect multiple geographically dispersed locations such as branch offices, remote workers, and data centers over a WAN.
SD-WAN is designed to enhance network performance and reduce latency by utilizing multiple network connections and enabling the network to fail over to a more reliable connection when others have high latency.
SASE on the other hand, focuses more on security by integrating WAN capabilities into a security framework.
SASE provides security features such as Secure Web Gateway (SWG), Firewall as a Service (FWaaS), and networking as a service simultaneously.
Most of the time SD-WAN and SASE solutions are deployed together to address network connectivity and security issues in a cloud-based environment with SD-WAN improving the network connectivity and SASE improving network security.
Integrating SASE and SD-WAN involves deploying security functions as part of the SD-WAN solution. This integration ensures that consistent network security is applied throughout the entire network.
Because of these integration benefits, many people believe that a SASE solution must be used with SD-WAN to achieve reliable service. However, contrary to popular belief, these solutions can be used independently while still delivering significant benefits.
If you would like to speak with our team to learn more about SD-WAN or SASE or ask any questions you may have you can schedule an appointment.
How SD-WAN and SASE can be used independently
SASE is typically deployed with an SD-WAN solution. While SD-WAN and SASE solutions are often integrated into an organization’s network together, it is not the only way that these solutions can be deployed.
SD-WAN and SASE can also be implemented into a network individually. Both solutions can be independently delivered based on the needs and priorities of an organization.
SD-WAN can be deployed independently to an organization’s network to address their network connectivity and WAN optimization needs without SASE’s comprehensive network security features.
Some SD-WAN providers, like Coeo, deliver security features through their SD-WAN solutions without the need for SASE if the customer does not have the need for the features of a SASE solution.
Coeo’s SD-WAN solution has security add-ons such as Next-Gen Firewall (NGF) and Universal Threat Management (UTM) that can be integrated to provide better network security without the need for a SASE solution.
Additionally, SASE can be adopted as a standalone solution even if SD-WAN is not in place for secure access to data and applications.
SASE also brings cloud-native security services to any organization that supports remote users and branch offices accessing cloud applications with or without an SD-WAN solution.
Is SD-WAN or SASE the right fit for your organization?
Now you understand the relationship between SD-WAN and SASE and how they can be used independently. However, it is also important to understand which solution is the better choice for your organization.
If your organization has poor network connectivity and is experiencing high latency, slow load page times, or call breakups and drops leading to decreased employee productivity, an SD-WAN solution may be the right fit for your organization.
Additionally, for organizations looking to connect employees working in different geographical areas either remotely or in different branch offices, an SD-WAN solution may be the better solution for your organization.
If reliable network performance already exists and latency issues aren’t a problem in your network but you’re looking for reliable network security, a SASE solution may be the right fit for your organization.
However, if your organization is looking for an all-in-one solution to improve both network connectivity and security, integrating SD-WAN and SASE together into your network may be a good solution for your organization.
How to determine whether SD-WAN or SASE is the better choice for your organization
Now you understand the relationship between SD-WAN and SASE, how they can be used individually, and which solution is the better choice for your organization. This information will help you determine which solution your organization should invest in.
No one wants to deal with a poor-performing network that results in poor network connectivity and security.
Poor network connectivity and weak security can lead to decreased employee productivity and network vulnerability issues that can cost organizations hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair their network.
As a result, it is important for all organizations to prioritize reliable network connectivity and security to avoid the consequences caused by poor network performance.
However, because there are many network solutions available on the market, it can be difficult for your organization to determine which solution is the right fit for your organization.
Understanding the relationship between SD-WAN and SASE will help you determine which one is the right fit for your organization.
Coeo understands how important reliable network connectivity and strong security are to an organization and has delivered thousands of solutions to organizations to improve their network connectivity and security.
We want you to understand the relationship between SD-WAN and SASE so you can determine which solution is the right fit for your organization.
If you would like to speak with our team to learn more about SD-WAN or SASE or ask any questions you may have you can schedule an appointment.
Now that you understand the relationship between SD-WAN and SASE and how they can be integrated separately into an organization’s network, check out this article to learn about the new SD-WAN and SASE features Coeo offers:
