Windstream Enterprise launches managed SASE on Cato Networks

Windstream Enterprise, a managed communications services company, launches a comprehensive and managed secure access services edge (SASE) A solution in partnership with cloud-native SASE provider Cato Networks.

Windstream can use Cato’s technology to provide a SASE solution to meet the growing demands of customers for providing security as a comprehensive network and service, said Mike Frane, Vice President of Product Management at Windstream Enterprise. I am.

“”Windstream Enterprise provides concierge-level configuration, analysis, and optimization through the Technical Service Management (TSM) team, with comprehensive security monitoring and management by the Cyber ​​Security Operations Center (CSOC). Wraps extensive managed service expertise in SASE services. “Fran says.

SASE, as defined by Gartner, is a security framework that regulates the transformation of security and network connectivity technologies into a single cloud delivery platform for secure and fast cloud transformations.

By bundling Cato’s SASE technology with Windstream Enterprise’s managed services, you can quickly deploy a wide range of networking and security features across locations, users, and applications, enable digital transformation for your customers, and support user-application migration. It will be like. To Fran.

SASE blends modern network and security obligations

Cato’s cloud-native SASE framework can now be implemented through Windstream Enterprise’s own WE Connect portal. It is designed to enable the composition, analysis, and automation of technology components.

• As a network foundation for SASE that enables optimized application performance, network routing, global connectivity, WAN and Internet security, cloud acceleration, and remote access.
• For traffic inspection across all ports and protocols with application-enabled firewalls, antivirus, intrusion detection and prevention features.
• Ensure that cloud-based access complies with data privacy regulations and corporate security policies.
• Enforce regulatory compliance and security policies for all users, devices, locations, and networks.

“Customers can further streamline their operations and increase their productivity through our seamless integration. UCaaS Solutions, OfficeSuite UC, and managed LAN services, with a variety of managed access options to choose from, including Ethernet, broadband, and cellular, “Frane adds.

Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) is a cloud-delivered unified that supports six communication functions: voice and telephony, conference (voice / video / web conferencing), client, messaging, presence (individual and team), and communication. It is a communication model. Valid application.

The new managed SASE offering features a dashboard packed with multiple SASE components with provisioning to monitor and configure network access and security. The Network tab includes Sites, Bandwidth Management, DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) Configuration, Last Mile Monitoring, DNS, IP Assignment, and Remote Port Forwarding. Security functions include Internet firewall, WAN firewall, IPS (Intrusion Prevention System), Next Generation Anti-Malware, Content Restriction, TLS (Transport Layer Security) Inspection, Application Control, and Redirect Page Customization

In addition, the dashboard is a mix of access configuration methods such as directory services, browser access, client access, single sign-on, device posture, client connection policies, user awareness, and MAC authentication. The WE Portal provides overall visibility into network topologies, events, threats, cloud apps, application analytics, and audit trails.

Windstream Enterprise is an existing MPLS. (Multi-protocol label switching) and Internet customers move to the SASE integration framework because they see a minimal learning curve compared to the benefits associated with adoption.

“In many respects, Cato products complement SD-WAN and other technologies already in our portfolio of security services, enabling us to expand our addressable market,” Frane said. “However, the new SASE solution is mostly self-contained, which means it is built as an integrated offering and cannot interoperate with other platforms, so we focus our sales efforts on new opportunities that are not with existing customers. I’m still using Windstream Enterprise’s SD-WAN. ”

SASE theoretically reduces complexity and cost by allowing users to scale up or down and bill accordingly, but some industry players say the effectiveness of the cloud-native approach. And question the ability of the enterprise to integrate with traditional or legacy network architectures.

“Incorporating traditional network security approaches into a more modernized framework is at the heart of rapid change, but in SASE, the all-cloud / all-time infrastructure nirvana downplays the reality of hybrid and on-premises. It’s not without critics who believe that it doesn’t change how a vast business operates today, “said Liz Miller, an analyst at Constellation Research.

According to Miller, tech experts emphasize that not all companies have moved to the reality of 100% cloud. Providing security and policy enforcement throughout the infrastructure will remain a complex task for some time.