Verizon Taps Versa, Zscaler for Managed SASE Play

Verizon today became the latest U.S. carrier to get in on the secure access service edge (SASE) hype, unveiling a fully-managed service based on Versa Networks’ SD-WAN and Zscaler’s cloud-based zero-trust network access, secure web gateway. Verizon today became the latest U.S. carrier to get in on the secure access service edge (SASE) hype, unveiling a fully-managed service based on Versa Networks’ SD-WAN and Zscaler’s cloud-based zero-trust network access, secure web gateway. The Gartner coined product category — which stitches elements of SD-WAN, managed security, and edge compute into a single cloud-delivered package — has gained tremendous steam in the nearly two years since it was established. Networking, security, and even content delivery network providers have spent millions — sometimes billions — of dollars to fill gaps in their perspective SASE offerings. Meanwhile, the pandemic shift to remote work accelerated SASE adoption as workers and enterprises alike grappled with the new reality of remote and hybrid work. In the wake of these new realities, Verizon is joining the SASE fray with its own take on the service. The Versa-Zscaler combo won’t be the only option under the company’s Advanced SASE moniker for long. The carrier plans to roll out additional options for SD-WAN and online security, including Cisco’s Viptela and Palo Alto Networks’ Prisma Access products, in the near future, according to Vincent Lee, director of product management at Verizon Enterprise Solutions. The decision to stick with a multi-vendor offering that blends SD-WAN and security from multiple companies does run contrary to Gartner recommendations, and will likely draw the ire of some SASE vendors critical of “telecom bundles.” However, Lee argues that Verizon’s customers don’t have the appetite for a rip-and-replace transformation. “Our enterprise customers won’t tolerate us telling them they have to rip out their SD-WAN just to get the security side or vice versa. That’s the reality,” he said. “When you get down market the installs are a little less complex, then you can have those conversations about … a full transformation.” “From a customer perspective, a SASE solution for an enterprise is very different than a SASE solution for a medium businesses or even small business,” he added. Lee did say that Verizon was investigating single-vendor SASE offerings — he mentioned Cato — for smaller enterprises and businesses, but didn’t say if and when these might become available. The announcement comes months after AT&T tapped Fortinet for its first managed SASE service. The AT&T offer bears some resemblance to Verizon’s newly unveiled service. Like Verizon, AT&T plans to expand its SASE service to additional SASE vendors in the future. But rather than starting its journey with a combination of Versa and Zscaler, AT&T took a single-vendor approach that uses Fortinet’s SASE stack — this includes SD-WAN and security capabilities — and it’s fully managed by AT&T Cybersecurity. Additionally, AT&T SASE With Fortinet integrates with AT&T Alien Labs Threat Intelligence platform, which provides security analysts unified visibility across clouds, networks, and endpoints.