Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) has revolutionized how we look at networking and security. SASE is an evolving technology that brings together cloud-delivered networking, security, and user experience insights into a single solution to securely connect all users to all applications, no matter where they are. Palo Alto Networks is excited to introduce new Prisma SASE enhancements for Managed Service Providers (MSPs) aimed to simplify management and support SASE services – such as security and SD-WAN – for their customers.
This blog is part of a multipart SASE for MSPs blog series, exploring enterprise network security transformation with a Managed SASE.
Benefits of SASE for Enterprises and MSPs Alike
Today’s organizations demand immediate, uninterrupted, secure access for their users, no matter where they are located. With the rise of hybrid workforces, enterprises are looking at SASE as a way to move away from disjointed networking and security products, which simply no longer provide the level of security and access control that digital organizations need.
SASE is the most extensive network and security transformation in decades. Successfully implementing a complete SASE approach requires careful planning, deployment and managing potential new tools and capabilities. As organizations have long benefited from outsourcing network and security services, it is natural for them to turn to an experienced MSP to reduce risk, improve time to deployment, streamline the process, and ensure success.
Over the next five years, the market for secure access service edge will grow at a CAGR of 36%, reaching almost $15 billion by 2025[1]. SASE is an excellent opportunity for service providers to launch or expand their managed secure SD-WAN services portfolio to support their customers’ digital transformation. In fact, according to ESG, “Over the next 12-18 months, 45% of organizations surveyed indicated that they will work with managed services providers to implement or optimize their SASE strategies.”[2]
“Modern IT environments have highly distributed application and worker environments, creating more complexity and larger attack surfaces. The resulting complexity has made managed service providers (MSP) an attractive option as they are built to rapidly scale integrated SD-WAN and security services while efficiently managing daily operations,” stated Bob Laliberte, Principal Analyst, ESG. “Managed services leveraging Prima SASE enable organizations to accelerate adoption, but still maintain control of network and security policies and spend more time focused on strategic initiatives.”
The SASE architecture also provides new options for MSPs to enhance their managed services with more comprehensive, integrated networking and security services to meet a wide variety of customer needs. However, existing disjointed networking and security solutions are limited in the functionality required for the complete SASE architecture. The lack of a unified mechanism to integrate security and networking services leads to tedious, manual efforts and massive operational overhead for MSPs in order to meet each customer’s unique security and networking requirements.
Introducing New Prisma SASE Innovations for MSPs
Palo Alto Networks Prisma SASE is introducing a hierarchical multi-tenant cloud management portal and open APIs for Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to simply manage and support their SASE services for customers. This portal can enable MSPs to manage a customer’s entire SASE services lifecycle, granularly segment customers, and offer differentiated value-added services. With open APIs, MSPs can seamlessly integrate with their backend infrastructure and automate configuration and management, providing the greatest level of flexibility and simplicity for MSPs.
As a leading global MSP, BT will help customers achieve this value add for their organization and support their deployment needs.
“We can successfully help organizations with unified access and protection to support the dynamic needs of their hybrid workforces across all verticals,” said Scott Cowling, Director, Software Defined Networks, BT. “With the new MSP capabilities in Prisma SDWAN and Prisma Access, BT will be able to accelerate the number of Secure SD WAN deployments in one place and help our customers with a new modern approach to SD-WAN, and network security at scale.”
MSPs can explore these new enhancements from Prisma SASE:
- Cloud-Based Management Portal: This highly flexible portal offers hierarchical multi-tenancy to provide fully-managed or co-managed SASE services to any customer of all verticals. With sophisticated role-based access control (RBAC), MSPs have total flexibility in segmenting their customers while ensuring control across their entire SASE services lifecycle, using granular sets of permissions. Additionally, this portal offers insights into networking and security metrics while highlighting critical issues across all managed tenants. This helps MSPs accelerate troubleshooting and guarantee SLAs for all their customers.
- Open APIs: This API gateway provides an Open API framework that enables MSPs to seamlessly integrate with their back-end infrastructure and automate day 0 and day 1 workflows. This API gateway is incredibly flexible and supports tenant management APIs, per-tenant configuration management, log management, reporting and licensing APIs, and a developer portal. With Prisma SASE Identity Access Management (IAM), MSPs can utilize their identity stores to avoid duplication of users and roles across different systems, significantly strengthening security and governance.
- Flexible Service Creation: Enables MSPs to create new differentiated services on a per-customer basis. The inherent hierarchical multi-tenancy for Prisma SASE allows MSPs to assign different roles and service capabilities across all tenants and subtenants.
With Prisma SASE, MSPs can:
- Improve productivity with great controls and automation for rapid customer deployment, onboarding, and management.
- Provide optimal customer experience with a single pane of glass management of networking and security, accelerated troubleshooting/monitoring to guarantee SLAs.
- Ensure an advantage position in the managed SASE market with new differentiated services to accelerate revenue growth.
Massive Opportunities Ahead for MSPs
Like all networking and security technology solutions, SASE is a constantly evolving journey. MSPs can help organizations seamlessly migrate to SASE by serving as a trusted advisor in the transformation through cross-functional delivery and management and converged visibility. Palo Alto Networks Prisma SASE can truly empower MSPs with the right tools to accelerate enterprises' SASE transformation. Learn more about our Prisma SASE offering.
Read our press release announcing Palo Alto Networks SASE for MSPs.
- Forecast Analysis: Secure Access Service Edge, Worldwide ↑
- ESG Research 2021 SASE Trends Survey Final Results ↑