{"id":51423,"date":"2023-04-11T15:55:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-11T15:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.networkworld.com\/article\/3692827\/why-is-the-transition-from-sd-wan-to-sase-so-painful.html#tk.rss_security"},"modified":"2023-04-11T15:55:00","modified_gmt":"2023-04-11T15:55:00","slug":"why-is-the-transition-from-sd-wan-to-sase-so-painful","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.threatshub.org\/blog\/why-is-the-transition-from-sd-wan-to-sase-so-painful\/","title":{"rendered":"Why is the transition from SD-WAN to SASE so painful?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The transition from software-defined WAN (SD-WAN<\/a>) to secure access service edge (SASE<\/a>) is proving to be difficult for many enterprises, according to new research from Enterprise Management Associates (EMA).<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re a network or security professional, you\u2019re probably familiar with SASE, a new class of solutions that integrates SD-WAN, secure remote access, and cloud-delivered, multi-function network security. Many enterprises are now evolving their SD-WAN implementations into a SASE solution, either by adopting their SD-WAN providers\u2019 SASE capabilities<\/a> or integrating their SD-WAN with third-party, cloud-based network security solutions.<\/p>\n

EMA polled 313 IT professionals about their WAN strategies for its new report, \u201cWAN Transformation with SD-WAN: Establishing a Mature Foundation for SASE Success.\u201d Only 11% of survey respondents described the transition from SD-WAN to SASE as very easy. In fact, 30% described it as genuinely painful. Large enterprises (10,000 or more employees) were especially likely to express challenges with this transition.<\/p>\n

Why is this SD-WAN-to-SASE transition so painful? EMA\u2019s research data uncovered several roadblocks to success.<\/p>\n

Multi-vendor SD-WAN complexity<\/h2>\n

Nearly 43% of the enterprises in EMA\u2019s research reported having multiple SD-WAN vendors. Respondents with multiple SD-WAN vendors reported experiencing the most difficulty with a SASE transition. Some of the problems they reported included difficulty implementing consistent security policies and controls across their network. They also struggled with skills gaps in the network team.<\/p>\n

Why is multi-vendor SD-WAN so common? There are several drivers. Some companies have different sites that have different vendor requirements, such as factories versus sales offices. Others have independent business units that make their own decisions around IT strategies. Others are transitioning slowly from one vendor to another. Regardless of the reasons behind this vendor complexity, IT organizations need to find ways to mitigate the issue.<\/p>\n