The value SASE empowers MSPs to deliver

Managed service providers (MSPs) serve key roles in managing organizations’ IT and cybersecurity needs. Recently, a major portion of those efforts includes enabling secure, seamless remote work access.

Although there are many options for doing so, Secure Access Service Edge, or SASE, has proven to be among the most effective methods. Let’s explore why SASE is the right choice for enabling remote work and the value it empowers MSPs to deliver to their clients.

Why is SASE good for remote work?

SASE unifies networking and security in the cloud, helping to strengthen security, improve connectivity, and elevate the user experience.

• Simplified management: SASE consolidates networking and security into a unified cloud service, reducing the complexity of managing multiple appliances and vendors. MSPs can centrally configure and enforce policies for all client tenants, users, and locations through a single management pane.
• Improved security: SASE provides consistent security policies and controls regardless of the user's location or device. It integrates various security functions like software firewalls, Secure Web Gateway (SWG), and Zero Trust Network access into a single cloud-native platform. This ensures remote employees have the same level of protection as on-premises workers.
• Enhanced performance: Through a global network of Points of Presence (PoPs), SASE allows remote users to connect to the nearest PoP for secure access to cloud resources and the internet. This minimizes latency and improves application performance compared to traditional backhauling through corporate data centers.
• Scalability and agility: The cloud-native architecture of SASE enables rapid scaling of network capacity and security services based on demand. MSPs can quickly provision secure access for new client organizations, remote employees, or locations without additional hardware deployments.
• Cost optimization: By eliminating the need for traditional remote access VPNs, SASE reduces infrastructure costs associated with backhauling traffic and deploying security appliances at multiple sites. Its cloud delivery model offers a flexible, pay-as-you-go pricing model.

The value of SASE for MSPs

Understanding these, the value that MSPs can deliver through SASE is clear.

• Better remote security: Options like VPNs and RDP have known vulnerabilities that lower their appeal as remote access solutions. SASE makes it simple to ensure end users have access to remote resources regardless of where they operate.
• Streamlined end-user experience: VPNs require constant logins and can create increases in latency and lower connection speeds. SASE is an always-on VPN alternative that performs faster than VPNs. That way, MSPs can rest assured that end user connections are quick and secure without having to worry about users not logging in or other VPN headaches.
• Increased trust: MSPs can use SASE to tightly control access to resources based on identity with multi-factor authentication (MFA) enforcement to enhance security. Content filtering and Secure DNS allow for even more granular control over what sites users can access, resulting in less malicious activity and better worker productivity.
• Faster deployment and onboarding: MSPs can rapidly support new clients, new users, and expansion thanks to SASE’s scalability with its entirely software-driven approach. MSPs simply download the SASE agent onto user machines through their RMM, leading to efficient remote work security. This helps them get clients up and running with secure remote work policies.
• Lower costs: With one solution, MSPs can enable seamless, secure remote access to resources through SASE. Not only does this eliminate the need for VPNs but it can also remove firewall hardware from the equation in certain networks. This shift from capital to operational expenses helps MSPs reduce their costs, which in turn gives downstream benefits to their clients’ bottom line.

Dive deeper into SASE

Learn more about how to reap the benefits of SASE as an MSP and deliver value to your clients. Read our eBook to see how you can find your optimal SASE solution.

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