Updated November 2026
The short version
- SASE pairs SD-WAN with cloud-delivered security services.
- Security checks run close to users and apps, so remote staff are protected without routing traffic through headquarters.
- It fits businesses with several locations, staff who work from home or travel, or heavy use of cloud apps.
What SASE means
Gartner introduced the term SASE in 2019. The idea is simple: the network edge is no longer one office. People work from many places and use apps in the cloud, so the protections need to follow them.
SASE moves security checks into the cloud and combines them with the network that connects your sites, so one set of policies covers every office and every remote worker.
What SASE includes
On the networking side, SASE uses SD-WAN. On the security side, Cisco lists four core services:
- Secure web gateway (SWG): inspects web traffic and helps block harmful sites and risky downloads.
- Cloud access security broker (CASB): adds visibility and control over how staff use cloud apps.
- Firewall as a service (FWaaS): applies firewall rules from the cloud instead of only at each office.
- Zero trust network access (ZTNA): checks the person, device and context before granting access to a specific app.
SASE and zero trust
Zero trust is a security approach described by NIST in Special Publication 800-207. It means no user or device is trusted just because it is on the company network; each request is checked before access is granted.
SASE is one common way to put zero trust into practice, because its access checks run for every user and app, wherever they connect. SASE and zero trust are not the same thing: zero trust is the approach, and SASE is a way to deliver it.
SASE compared with a traditional setup
- Where security runs
- Traditional setup: Firewalls at each office
- SASE: Mostly in the cloud
- Remote staff
- Traditional setup: Often connect back through a VPN to the office
- SASE: Connect through the same cloud protections
- Cloud apps
- Traditional setup: Traffic may detour through headquarters
- SASE: Checked close to the user and the app
- Policies
- Traditional setup: Set at each location
- SASE: Set once and applied everywhere
Who needs SASE?
SASE is a good fit if
- You have staff at home or on the road
- You rely on cloud apps
- You have several locations
SD-WAN may be enough if
- Most staff work in the office
- You already have firewalls you trust
- You mainly need better connectivity
SASE is built on SD-WAN, so many businesses start with SD-WAN and add SASE later.
How 5x5 Telecom can help
5x5 Telecom provides SASE and can also provide the internet connections underneath it, so one team supports the network, its cybersecurity and the connections. The security services in your plan are set in your service agreement.
Start with a free security consultation: a look at how your locations and staff connect today, a few questions and general recommendations. Detailed testing and hands-on work are scoped in the plan we propose.