SASE or SSE: Which is the best secure cloud access solution?

Security should be foremost on the minds of CTOs looking for opportunities to drive growth and scale operations via the cloud. But a nagging question over the last couple of years is which kind of security solution they should adopt.

Secure Access Service Edge, better known as SASE, brings together security and networking solutions as one holistic umbrella offering, yet the ambition of its structure and the uncertainty around its definition is cause for pause among otherwise early adopters.

Security Service Edge, or SSE, has recently emerged as a simpler, clearer security-centric cloud solution gaining traction, particularly among midsized businesses. Can SSE deliver the same level of protection without requiring wholesale infrastructural realignment?

What’s different about SASE and SSE?

Both SASE and SSE offer these four critical features: Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB), Zero-Trust Network Access (ZTNA), Secure Web Gateway (SWG) and Firewall-as-a-Service (FWaaS). What SASE has that SSE does not is a robust network-as-a-service component, specifically Software-Defined Wide Area Networking (SD-WAN).

SASE has had a lot of excitement built up around its name since Gartner first coined the term in 2019 and spotlighted the solution’s potentially revolutionary impact on cloud services uptake. Yet SSE has been building up its own head of steam in a quieter yet still transformative fashion.

Convenience has been identified as a critical component behind SASE uptake. It is also a factor in the enthusiasm for SSE.

SASE’s wide-open future

However complicated a proposition SASE may be, enthusiasm for the integrated networking-and-security solution shows no sign of slowing down. 

A column in Forbes.com calls 2023 “the year SASE really takes off,” and goes on to call it “the most credible blueprint available today for how to address the growth of cloud adoption, the need to protect data wherever it goes and the omnipresence of security threats, all at once.”

SASE has a clear and obvious benefit for enterprises seeking holistic solutions that bring together security and networking features for cloud-focused growth. But in the four years since it entered the public consciousness, SASE remains something of a market enigma, with different providers offering their own ideas of what SASE should be.

"The market for well-architected single-vendor SASE offerings is immature but developing quickly,” Gartner analysts reported in 2022. Expectations for SASE’s market potential remain bright. But what constitutes the optimal SASE product? And what specific SASE solution makes the best fit for enterprises of different types and sizes?

Amid this uncertainty, it is understandable some businesses seek a less complicated alternative.

Why the excitement for SSE?

The ability to build out a holistic security solution without factoring in a simultaneously installed networking platform is enticing for many enterprises, particularly mid-sized companies with limited IT security resources. For these businesses, SASE may require a sizeable investment in technology and training.

SSE is a dedicated form of cloud security that streamlines and prioritizes the ample security concerns around cloud-based networking. It may work in different ways for different users of the service.

For those already satisfied with their current networking solution, SSE may be a full-stop answer to security concerns. An SSE platform can be selected for its ability to work with a managed-services platform like Managed SD-WAN, which has already been adopted and implemented to their enterprise’s needs; or incorporated into a secure SD-WAN environment set up by edge solution platforms, such as Enterprise Network Edge or Managed Network Edge.

For network managers, a cloud-based SSE solution improves security without overloading corporate networks. Some network managers even see the potential for increased, optimized network performance in adopting a solution that minimizes latency by securing DIA (dedicated internet access). SSE performance benefits can include the elimination of backhauled traffic flows and enhanced scalability for managing a hybrid work environment.

For end users, a cloud-based SSE solution optimizes user experience with a consistent client-to-cloud experience, regardless of location. 

For many who still want the protective shielding of SASE but want to take a gradual, layered approach toward fuller adoption, SSE can be the preferred play. “SSE is essentially a way for enterprises to focus more on cloud-based security as a stepping stone to a full SASE service,” reports an end-of-2022 Light Reading report on SASE uptake.

Which service is right for your organization?

Managing and elevating the role of security services in today’s increasingly disparate workplace is essential. Not every enterprise will want to take the extra steps needed to simultaneously rework their network services around a brand-new security solution.

One answer to resolving this dilemma is to consider a managed services partnership. Drawing on the consultative expertise of a solutions provider, IT leaders can get the right answers to specific questions about their needs and future service expectations.

Mid-sized businesses especially benefit from a managed services partnership that augments existing IT resources, rather than risks taxing them beyond their defined capabilities. Many SASE offerings require careful consideration both in their selection and in their implementation to ensure the best possible fit.

Ultimately, SASE vs. SSE may be a question more of timing than preference. A commentator with Forbes suggests SSE has more immediate appeal: “At this point, instead of rushing toward a complete SASE architecture, it may be wiser to focus on the business' needs during the SASE adaptation journey and prioritize SSE.”

How can your enterprise identify which solution works best when considering your SASE and SSE options? Learn how to exceed your business goals today and tomorrow with Spectrum Enterprise solutions.