New Palo Alto SASE Solution Adds 5G-Friendly SD-WAN

Palo Alto Networks‘ new secure access service edge (SASE) takes advantage of its CloudGenix SD-WAN acquisition.

The cybersecurity vendor on Tuesday unveiled its new Prisma SASE solution. The offering brings together Palo Alto’s Prisma Access offering and SD-WAN offering. As a result, hybrid workers can access the internet and their cloud-based applications more fluidly and securely.

Palo Alto’s Anand Oswal

“Hybrid work is here to stay, and organizations are in need of a solution that enables them to secure access to all applications used by their employees on their network regardless of location — remote, mobile or from the office,” said Anand Oswal, senior vice president of products at Palo Alto. “Prisma SASE is a massively distributed cloud service that provides the industry’s most complete SASE solution on the market, making it extremely easy for organizations to scale and secure their hybrid workforce while delivering an exceptional user experience.”

New Features

Palo Alto last year acquired SD-WAN provider CloudGenix. Later that year Palo Alto unveiled a new “Next-Generation SD-WAN” offering, which integrated the CloudGenix solution with Prisma Access.

Now Palo Alto has launched a new SD-WAN appliance that caters to 5G. The ION 1200 allows branch networks to use 5G as connectivity source.

In addition, Palo Alto has added autonomous digital experience management (ADEM) and an integrated cloud security web gateway. It also expanded integrations for its branch infrastructure platform, CloudBlades, to include ServiceNow, Microsoft Teams and Zoom.

From a security perspective, the offering bundles together cloud secure web gateway (SWG), cloud access security broker (CASB), zero-trust network access (ZTNA) and firewall as a service (FWaaS).

Customers can start buying Prisma SASE on Sept. 30. They can buy the ION 1200 starting Oct. 31. Palo Alto reports that 2,500 customers use its SASE solution.

Retailer Aaron’s has been using Prisma SD-WAN. Chief information officer Tommy Meek said the combination of Prisma SD-WAN with Prisma Access will speed up Aaron’s digital transformation.

“With Prisma SD-WAN, we’ve been able to transform our retail stores and enable completely new ways to engage with our customers, providing a fluid experience between online and in-store shopping,” Meek said.

Analyst Perspective

ESG said organizations view the integration of network and security as their top priority in 2021.

“Organizations are actively deploying applications across data centers, public clouds and edge locations for workers at home, corporate or remote locations,” ESG senior analyst Bob Laliberte said. “These highly distributed environments are driving the need for secure connectivity.”

ESG’s Bob Laliberte

AT&T is using the offering.

“Palo Alto Networks’ release of Prisma SASE aligns with our strategy to connect and protect users at scale to drive innovation at the edge,” said Rupesh Chokshi, vice president of AT&T Cybersecurity.