20 essential SASE resources

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Going beyond being a mere buzzword, Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) is taking the security industry by storm. The irony is that it is not exactly a wholly new “technology” or a set of products, but rather an approach or a framework for employing diverse technologies and practices that should make up the future of IT security.

Despite this, SASE is still causing eye-rolls and apprehension, partly from being a new model, partly from the demand to present itself as a palatable solution to those who are still stuck with trusting their existing security architecture. Thankfully, new resources on this game-changing security/networking model now pop up everywhere and are describing SASE in layman’s terms. To cut your search short, you can check out our best-of list of 20 essential SASE resources that we found for you.

1) The Complete Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Guide. This guide on SASE goes on to describe the most common applications of this technology, with the focus on adoption and easy implementation. More importantly, it gives a new perspective on how the COVID-19 pandemic served only to speed up the adoption of SASE since it emerged as a cornerstone of the companies’ outside-to-outside strategy which connects users to nearby points of presence instead of routing them back to the data center. Also, its combo of network and security features is what will bring SASE longevity in the times to come.

2) What is Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)? Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) came to life as a newly coined word by Gartner, but the principles of its operation reflect the evolution in technology over the past decade. This includes increased reliance on data, the need to move the security concept beyond the perimeter protection, and the meteoric rise of the cloud. In this video, you will learn more about Zero Trust Network Access, the difference between SASE off-net and on-net endpoints, and the role of implementation of adequate policies if you are to utilize SASE to its full potential.

3) Driving the Revolution of Secure Networking with SASE. As part of the larger digital transformation push that is taking over the business world, SASE has already found itself on many agendas at various industry events. In this video, experts describe SASE as a force of transformation whose importance was only stressed with the emergence of hybrid work models, distributed workforce, and the need to return to the office with the lessons learned from the pandemic. SASE does away with siloed point solutions in favor of a comprehensive cloud-delivered service under a single roof.

4) 7 must-haves for Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) architectures. SASE is all about combining the best of numerous worlds. This focus on hybridity is, at the same time, the guarantee of its flexibility as its features are in high demand today. After all, the workforce itself has become hybrid beyond the point of no return. This guide will help you come up with a unified approach to deploying SASE architecture in line with the goal of using what you already have in terms of infrastructure. Check it out as a guide to mapping out the fastest and the least painful path to SASE implementation.

5) Journey Into the World of SASE. Some rightfully describe SASE as a “journey” and this cutting-edge book wants to serve as your guide on it. It describes in both professional and simpler terms what SASE means today, which components need to come together to turn it into a transformative solution, and what the enterprises need to provide in terms of blueprints to allow for the deployment of its architecture. For more advanced readers, you will also get to know about the benefits of the integration of SD-WAN and SASE and other valuable technical advice.

6)  Secure Access Service Edge A Complete Guide - 2021 Edition. This book seeks to explain SASE through a series of the most frequent questions various profiles of users may have about it. It is also updated with the latest in what is known about the best practices in the implementation of SASE. In it, you will learn how to prevent security breaches caused by rule changes, which network service providers can enterprises depend on for essential network services, how to divide applications and computing resources, and other vital information related to SASE.

7) Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) For Dummies. This book was written by a group of experts with more than 75 years of combined experience in the security and networking industry. SASE For Dummies describes everything you need to know about this model. You will learn what SASE features, how organizations can benefit from it, how SASE approaches the most common security issues, how to deploy it in the most painless manner and make the best use of its benefits.  To achieve this, you will want to know how SASE can protect your network perimeter, deliver optimal security and performance, less complexity, and substantial savings while centralizing security management.

8) Edge to Cloud Security: A New WAN and Security Edge. SASE is a pervasive phenomenon and its performance and adoption will also depend on the degree to which it establishes rapport with other technologies in use. This is also relevant in the light of increasingly advanced security threats faced by organizations. This book is a practical manual for deploying a cloud-first solution as a shield against all of these challenges. It will teach you how to pick out the SD-WAN architecture to support business applications in a secure manner, how SASE can provide a framework for securing remote and hybrid work regimes and many other things.

9) Definitive Guide to Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) - Unifying Security and Networking for a Work-from-Anywhere World. This eBook will not dwell on the technical aspects of SASE alone.  Instead, it will also look at concrete benefits of SASE for the organizations that now have to deal with the workforce best described as “work-from-anywhere-in-the-world”. It will show you how to adapt your resources to the challenges that come with having to provide direct access to public cloud-based services. It presents an argument that SASE will eliminate the complexity of security and network management, giving you more time to focus on other business-worthy endeavors.

10) Cipher Podcast: The SASE Leader Explains Secure Access Service Edge.​ Those who prefer to learn more about SASE while being on the move will gain access to key insights about it in this podcast. The host and the guests will first clear any foggy notions about the SASE acronym and present in clear terms what it actually means. Next, they discuss how companies and individual users can benefit from adopting SASE as a concept that can improve not only their security performance but productivity and cost-cutting potential as well.

11) Investing in a Long-Term Security Strategy - The 3 Keys to Achieving SASE. SASE is a disruptive phenomenon and deploying it for the optimum benefits requires you to have a long-term strategy. This eBook will help you design and apply it in no time. It will describe the key ways in which SASE-based networking can deliver high business performance in parallel with top-class security. All of this takes place as part of fast migration to the cloud environment with the decommissioning of networking and security silos. This book will show you why all of this needs to be handled with grace and at no additional cost.

12)  What is Secure Access Service Edge? SASE Explained. What is SASE? This article will describe it in detail yes, but do you want to cut to the chase and learn how its objectives can best align with your own? This is the guiding principle in this article which will tell you a story of how SASE emerged as a framework to help with the modernization of networks and security in line with changing business needs. With the goal of offering unified security across platforms and locations, paired with a granular level of visibility and control, you will surely find at least some of these points worthy of your attention.

13) The Definitive Guide to Secure Access Service Edge (SASE). Are you looking for centralized role-based access control (RBAC) as a cornerstone of your security system? How about unifying network management with a bird's-eye perspective when managing hybrid environments? Then SASE is an answer for you and this guide will help you learn as much about it, together with an attractive set of illustrations. You will also learn more about the way in which SASE can improve your governance of apps, data usage, and users, as well as reporting and audit trails.

14) What is SASE? - Secure Access Service Edge. Getting to know SASE better might as well start by comparing it with existing frameworks within traditional networking. In this article, you will be shown how to unlearn what you have thought you know about network security and update your outlook with the latest in the SASE trends. Once you get a full understanding of the four key SASE components, you can then embark on the SASE journey in order to optimize your network and security services by taking on its features at the pace you prefer.

15) A Pragmatic Path to SASE. When exploring the potential of new technologies, jumping on the bandwagon all too soon can lead to you being thrown off it as part of a rude awakening. Instead, you can adopt a pragmatic approach to SASE as proposed in this presentation on how to extract the best value out of this emerging technology. It will also give you valuable information on how to ensure optimal convergence of networking and security through SASE while keeping your productivity levels intact. You will also be provided with a virtual map with the pointers to where you should start on your path to implementing SASE.

16)  Evolve to The Future of Network Security Using the Secure Access Service Edge. This on-demand webinar serves as a shortcut and an entry point for all who want to venture into the technological wonderland of SASE. It handles several topics such as the need to stay up to date with the trends that push for the adoption of SASE, the selection of the leading vendors in this field, and the evolution of the best practices to deploy its framework at your organization.

17)   Guide to Adopting Secure Access Service Edge Network Security. In line with its name, this guide will focus not only on explaining what made SASE the framework it is now but on the nitty-gritty of its actual adoption. In it, you will learn how SASE can help you centralize the system management and ensure the convergence of disparate security systems into a unified powerful whole. The guide also describes the principles you should take into account when shopping for a set of components that will make up your future SASE environment.

18) What is SASE? - The Complete Guide to Secure Access Service Edge. Do you want to know how SASE differs from traditional network security solutions? This exhaustive guide wants to make this difference as clear to you as possible, while also offering other contrastive analyses that compare SASE with Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) and SD-WAN.

19) Secure Access Service Edge. Now for something a bit different – this blog encompasses a series of articles on SASE, not only from a strictly technical point of view but also from its broader implications in the legal and corporate world.

20) Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) or Zero Trust? SASE and Zero Trust approach coexist as part of the same ecosystem and learning to draw a clear line between the two is key when considering introducing either to your organization. This article describes both in clear terms and leaves no stone unturned when describing their interdependence and functionalities. 

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 A bonus SASE resource:  Perimeter 81. Israeli cybersecurity giant Perimeter 81 is a veteran in SASE adoption and promotion as well as a wizard in all things remote networking and zero trust architecture. In its quest to make the users look and see beyond their legacy firewall and VPN systems, it also operates a blog which often features stories on the latest in the SASE development and implementation. Give it a spin if you are even remotely interested in the potential of SASE, as learning stuff from first-hand practitioners in the field is the fastest way to gain valuable insights.  

Conclusion

SASE is still a somewhat mysterious elephant in the room when it comes to IT security. This is understandable if you consider that its core philosophy requires unlearning everything one has amassed over the years as part of mastering the fine arts of cyber security. Thankfully, as evidenced above, the resources on SASE are now adapted to the more mainstream audiences and will help you significantly if you are into keeping up with the latest in the IT security trends.  

Sead is a seasoned freelance journalist based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He writes about IT (cloud, IoT, 5G, VPN) and cybersecurity (ransomware, data breaches, laws and regulations). In his career, spanning more than a decade, he’s written for numerous media outlets, including Al Jazeera Balkans. He’s also held several modules on content writing for Represent Communications.