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.
Most recently AT&T Cybersecurity was recognized by the CyberSecurity Breakthrough Awards, winning the 2021 “Secure Access Service Edge Solution of the Year” award for the AT&T SASE with Fortinet Managed Security Service offering.
Rolled out earlier this year, the offering combines AT&T’s software-defined networking (SD-WAN) management with Fortinet network and security functions that are delivered in a SASE framework—all packaged into a service that’s managed by AT&T Cybersecurity experts.
As organizations strive for excellence in digital transformation and face the realities of an accelerated push to remote work, they’ve been called to rethink their networking and cybersecurity architecture. The more assets that move outside the data center, the more users operate outside the network, and the more compute that’s done at the edge, the less efficient and effective old-school castle-and-moat approaches are in securing today’s digital enterprise.
SASE helps future-proof cybersecurity architecture by decoupling security control from the data center. Combining the principles of SD-WAN and comprehensive, cloud-based security functions, SASE allows for global, distributed administration of security management no matter where the user or the asset operates. Users get lower-latency access to applications whether they’re in the cloud or hosted in the data center, and administrators can apply unified security policies virtually anywhere business is conducted.
Although SASE architecture greatly simplifies security management in cloud and hybrid environments, designing and executing on a SASE framework may require resources that already stretched thin technology and security teams may not be able to fully allocate. This is where a managed SASE model offers a lot of value.
“The rapidly evolving environment requires direct-to-internet access and cloud-based security, especially for remote sites and workers. However, most organizations, deeply entrenched in digital transformation initiatives, lack the time and skilled resources to deploy the network and security solutions required to get started on building out a SASE framework,” explained John Grady and Bob Laliberte, senior analysts for The Enterprise Strategy Group in a recent report, Exploring a Managed Services Approach to SASE. “Utilizing a managed service for SASE can eliminate much of the guesswork and drive significant operational efficiencies if the service provider has the right experience and capabilities.”
AT&T is uniquely positioned to provide a robust SASE managed security service offering due to its deep experience and partnerships in both networking and security. AT&T Business is already the leading provider of managed SD-WAN. Meantime, AT&T Cybersecurity’s trusted advisors capably manage SOC operations for a range of organizations across all industries and sizes.
The award-winning AT&T SASE with Fortinet broadens that reach, layering in controls like secure web gateway, firewall as a service (FWaaS), cloud access security broker (CASB) and zero trust network access (ZTNA) into the mix. It’s all backed with deployment, policy design, and 24x7 monitoring run by AT&T security experts. Additionally, it fully integrates with AT&T Alien Labs™ Threat Intelligence platform, adding an additional layer of visibility for SOC analysts and response teams.
CyberSecurity Breakthrough judged the service as the best SASE product of the year based on assessment from a panel of judges comprised of senior-level, experienced cybersecurity professionals that have personally worked within the information security space. From successful technology startup professionals to veteran industry leaders, the panel brought a balanced perspective of evaluation to all the nominees.
“In this new environment security professionals are looking for a solution based on SASE principles that are suited to a distributed computing environment, and AT&T Cybersecurity is delivering on this need, providing ‘breakthrough’ visibility and management for a more resilient network,” said James Johnson, managing director, CyberSecurity Breakthrough. “AT&T Cybersecurity’s combination of people, process and technology helps enterprises enhance security, increase network performance, and reduce complexity and costs.”
If you’re just learning about SASE, check out our recent post, A beginner’s guide to SASE. To learn more about the principals that drove the creation of AT&T SASE with Fortinet, watch our webcast Looking to the Future of Cybersecurity, the Network, and SASE, which features Phil Quade, CISO of Fortinet and Theresa Lanowitz, Director, AT&T Business.
