MEF State of the Industry Report Highlights Critical Need for Certified SASE Solutions to Combat Rising Cyber Threats
June 25 2024 - 9:07AM
MEF, a global industry association of network, cloud, security, and
technology providers accelerating enterprise digital
transformation, today released “State of the Industry Report: SASE
– Validating Cyber Defense in an Era of Unprecedented Threats,” a
comprehensive report that explores multiple factors dramatically
increasing the risk of major cyberattacks worldwide. These
ever-expanding threats are rapidly outpacing the ability of
governments, organizations, and cybersecurity professionals to
manage them. The report explains how enterprise networking and
cybersecurity decisionmakers can utilize MEF standards-based SASE
certification to choose the best solutions with validated cyber
defense effectiveness and application performance.
According to the report, many organizations are responding to
today’s high-risk threat environment by prioritizing investment in
SASE, a cloud-based cybersecurity model, to advance secure digital
transformation. SASE solutions protect users, devices, and
applications at scale regardless of their location, combining
network connectivity via SD-WAN, cloud-based security including
Zero Trust (ZT) and Security Service Edge (SSE), and subscriber
policies, to provide a high level of application performance and a
tightly integrated set of security capabilities.
Key findings include:
- Industry Collaboration Essential: Stronger
collaboration to develop effective, standardized and scalable
cybersecurity solutions to protect critical infrastructure is
essential. The SASE market is a logical focal point for
collaboration.
- Increased Investments: Global spending on
cybersecurity, the top area of technology investment in 2024, is
expected to increase at double-digit rates. According to Gartner,
nearly 40% of CIO’s will or plan to deploy SASE solutions by
mid-2025.
- MEF Standards and Certification Drive
Adoption: SASE industry standards and certification
programs like MEF's are crucial for ensuring consistent
terminology, interoperability, and validated security effectiveness
of SASE solutions, building trust, and accelerating adoption.
Benefits of Standards-Based SASE
CertificationThe MEF SASE certification program detailed
in the report represents the latest major development in a
decade-long networking transformation, emphasizing adoption,
standardization, and certification of SD-WAN, SASE, ZT, SSE, and
Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) solutions. This effort aims to align
stakeholders on common terminology, instill confidence in services
and technologies, enhance industry efficiency, and accelerate SASE
adoption and market growth. MEF SASE certification comprises three
individual certification programs for SD-WAN, ZT, and SSE. Upon
achieving all three separate certifications, a final SASE
certification is issued.
"With cybercrime projected to cost the global economy $10.5
trillion by 2025, the risk of cyberattacks against enterprises and
critical infrastructure has never been greater," said Pascal
Menezes, CTO of MEF. "MEF’s latest report makes clear that
certified SASE services provide the comprehensive protection needed
for digital transformation. As organizations transition from SD-WAN
to SASE and ultimately to NaaS with integrated SASE, standardized
solutions delivered across automated ecosystems will be crucial to
effectively combat rising cyber threats.”
Research Firms Shed Light on SASE In addition
to MEF’s own analysis of market trends, the report incorporates
major findings from numerous market research firms on the evolving
SASE market, including market growth estimates, key adoption
drivers, migration challenges, and steps organizations can take to
overcome these challenges. MEF coordinated with the following firms
for inclusion of research content in the report: AvidThink,
Dell’Oro Group, Frost & Sullivan, Gartner, IDC, Omdia,
TeleGeography, and Vertical Systems Group.
Organizations Supporting SASE Certification
ProgramThe following five SASE technology suppliers
currently are engaged in the MEF SASE certification program: Cisco,
Fortinet, Palo Alto Networks, Versa Networks, and VMware by
Broadcom. The program is also supported by MEF’s Board of
Directors, which includes senior executives from AT&T Business,
Colt Technology Services, Comcast Business, Console Connect by PCCW
Global, Liberty Latin America, Lumen, Microsoft, Orange Wholesale
International, Sparkle, and Verizon Business Group.
To access the full report and gain deeper insights into the
importance of standardized and certified SASE solutions, visit
www.MEF.net/SASE.
CyberRatings.org is MEF’s Accredited Test and Certification
Partner (MEF-ATCP) for SASE, utilizing testing methodologies
powered by Keysight and Spirent. To learn more about MEF’s SASE
standards and certification program, visit MEF 3.0 Certifications
for SASE.
To engage with MEF on SASE and learn how service and technology
providers can participate in the SASE certification program contact
SASE@mef.net.
About MEFMEF is a global consortium of service,
cloud, cybersecurity, and technology providers collaborating to
accelerate enterprise digital transformation. It delivers
standards-based frameworks, services, technologies, APIs, and
certification programs to enable Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) across
an automated ecosystem. MEF is the defining authority for certified
Lifecycle Service Orchestration (LSO) business and operational APIs
and Carrier Ethernet, SASE, SD-WAN, Zero Trust, and Security
Service Edge (SSE) technologies and services. MEF's Global NaaS
Event (GNE) convenes industry leaders building and delivering the
next generation of NaaS solutions. For more information about MEF,
visit MEF.net and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
Media Contact:Melissa PowerMEFpr@mef.net