Whether organizations call it digital transformation or just using technology to create opportunities for new, easier ways to work, one thing is certain. Businesses increasingly need to find simpler ways to securely build and manage new kinds of connections that support an era of: This is exactly the drive behind the latest collaboration between the cybersecurity and networking experts at AT&T and Cisco.

Here’s the reality: hybrid and remote work are here to stay. This means access to your corporate data can now come from anywhere, on any device and any network. In order to tackle this new norm, Gartner has defined a new cybersecurity framework called Secure Access Service Edge (SASE).

We are going through a period of huge security and networking upheaval. Transformation projects are afoot in the vast majority of organisations and architectural ideologies are shifting towards SASE and Zero Trust. We are all seeing and experiencing this first hand, but anecdotal tales of how organisations are handling these changes are inconsistent. Some are seeing security teams expanding, while others are decentralising the team and distributing security expertise across project taskforces.

A few months ago, I wrote a blog on “SASE as a Service” that described how managed services providers (MSPs) can be a catalyzing force for transforming to SASE and bridging the gap between networking and security teams. Since then, AT&T has released a series of managed SASE offers that bring together intelligent networking and cloud-based security in support of our customers.

Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASB), also known as Cloud Security Gateways, were created to address the increasing cloud security problems facing organizations as cloud and application usage increased over the last decade.

Like other organizations that are adopting a permanent hybrid or remote-first work environment, Lookout is using our Secure Access Services Edge (SASE) platform to implement cybersecurity that is not tied to the physical office spaces where employees used to work. SASE is a security framework defined by Gartner that has been adopted by many organizations to enable intelligent Zero-Trust access from anywhere without hindering productivity.

AT&T Business is all-in on Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) as an essential framework for security-driven networking. As the AT&T Cybersecurity team endeavors to help organizations transition to SASE frameworks, it’s picking up accolades not only from valued AT&T customers but also the broader cybersecurity community.

SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) is a network architecture that unifies network and security solutions into a cloud-based service to enhance accessibility, efficiency, and cybersecurity. The concept of SASE was introduced in Gartner's 2019 report 'The Future of Network Security Is in the Cloud'. The concept emerged from organizations' increasing demand for reliable access across transforming network approaches.

In 2019, when the term Secure Access Service Edge, or SASE, was first coined, it was to define a useful way of setting up the network and security infrastructure to satisfy a cloud-first future with services at the edge. Since then, SASE has been long on hype and discussion, but short on actual, practical advice. What does SASE mean for your digital transformation strategy?

The global pandemic further accelerated a trend toward remote work that was already underway, even in federal, state, and local agencies that previously resisted it. But as agencies continue to offer telework options to employees, they must also rethink their security stack to better mitigate the cybersecurity risks that remote work catalyzes. Traditional, perimeter-based approaches to security will no longer work in a cloud-first environment where data can, and is, accessed from just about anywhere.