In January, GTT Communications added a single-vendor SASE offering from Fortinet to its managed Secure Connect portfolio. The expansion combines Fortinet’s leading security and networking technologies — including ZTNA, CASB, secure web gateway and firewall-as-a-service — with GTT’s portfolio of managed SD-WAN and professional services.
In this Q&A, GTT vice president of solutions architecture Americas Rich Vidil and vice president of channel development Americas Blaise Brady sound off on the evolving SASE market, the growing need for managed SASE and what to look for in a vendor.
ChannelVision: Why should SASE be top of mind for channel partners in 2024?
Rich Vidil: SASE continues to be at the epicenter of telecommunications, IT and security initiatives for enterprises in 2024. The key drivers behind it, migration to the cloud, remote/hybrid work, zero trust, etc., remain as strong and relevant as ever — and they show no signs of abating any time soon. In a recent study by Gartner, companies have over 125 SaaS applications deployed, and in a recent Forbes article, 84 percent of the workforce is now hybrid, further substantiating the trends of cloud, hybrid work and zero trust.
Blaise Brady: SASE is a great entry point for partners to start the selling conversation with existing customers or prospective buyers. It has been said time and time again that SD-WAN and SASE are still growing, and the customers who bought the technology 3+ years ago are realizing they didn’t get the full bang for their buck, or the technology is an addition to their network, not a true solution. Managed SASE from suppliers like GTT are allowing customers to take full advantage of the solution and improve operational efficiency.
CV: How is the SASE market evolving?
RV: The market is still relatively young, and as such it remains a dynamic mix of established security vendors filling in gaps in their portfolios and new/start-up companies focused squarely on the full SASE stack. Furthermore, the tightly bound union of SD-WAN with cloud security that Gartner posited back in 2019 has evolved into more of a practical interoperability between mature SD-WAN technology and established secure service edge solutions, not necessarily from the same vendors or deployed at the same time. The total market opportunity of SASE will grow at a strong compounded annual growth rate of 26 percent through 2026 according to Gartner.
BB: As stated above, SASE is improving in technology and truly delivering on the solution promise to the enterprise. One of the biggest evolutions of late is the niche suppliers offering just a piece of the puzzle, like ZTNA. It is my opinion that customers and partners should look for a supplier that can address the full stack and have the flexibility to offer just the pieces they need to add today.
CV: What types of adoption trends are you noticing?
RV: Despite the fundamental SASE concept of a full suite of integrated services inclusive of previously optional elements like DLP and CASB, many vendors continue to license such portions of their stack separately/incrementally, and many enterprises are moving towards full SASE in incremental steps rather than a single leap, particularly with respect to the security elements of the solution.
BB: We are still seeing a lot of customers dragging their feet for a full adoption and as Rich said, customers are buying a portion of the solution. I agree with Rich, in that some customers are being forced based on the suppliers. Additionally, the cost of change and the time related are causing others to buy just portions instead of a full stack swap. Those partners and customers need to find a supplier who can provide professional and managed services. Allowing the customer to focus on the mission-critical business needs and allowing the provider to coordinate a successful migration.
CV: What should channel partners look for in a SASE vendor? What should they prioritize?
RV: The complexity of the SASE landscape, including the rapid pace of innovation and the dynamic vendor ecosystem, makes SASE a strong candidate for delivery as a managed service rather than a DIY proposition. In that regard, channel partners should look for MSPs who offer best-in-breed technology combined with the scale and experience needed to properly design, deploy, and manage telecom networks and security services at regional, national, and global scale. Among such providers, those who can incorporate their own backbone networks as part of the solution can offer better optimization, engineering, and service assurance than those who are 100 percent over the top.
BB: I agree with Rich, as usual, he’s spot on. To add to his thought, I like to think that every customer is on their operational effectiveness journey. Imagine a staircase, and with each leap of operational improvement, they take another step up the staircase. Eventually, every customer is going to meet their limit. That’s when they should be looking to a managed service provider to enable their growth. Maybe they need additional expertise or technology integration. Maybe they just need help managing the day-to-day to allow their team time needed to focus on mission-critical application improvements.
This interview originally appeared in the March-April issue of ChannelVision Magazine. To access the full issue, click here.
