SASE: the future of IT security. How Criticalcase and Cato Networks lead innovation

According to the recent “Magic Quadrant for Single-Vendor SASE” report by Gartner, the market for Single-Vendor SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) services is experiencing a period of strong growth and dynamism, with an increasing number of providers expanding available solutions and offerings.

Network management Infrastructure and Operations (I&O) teams must work closely with Cybersecurity counterparts to move beyond marketing hype and select vendors that best meet their needs.

Specifically, a Single-Vendor SASE provides a combined offering where networking and security functionalities come in a single solution, including Software-Defined WAN (SD-WAN), Secure Web Gateway, Cloud Access Security Broker, Firewalling, and Network Zero Trust. All of these are delivered through a cloud-centered architecture.

One of the most noteworthy predictions in Gartner’s report is that by 2027, 65% of new SD-WAN network purchases will be part of a Single-Vendor SASE offer, a significant rise from this year’s 20%. This projected increase highlights the growing importance of SASE solutions in the IT landscape, driven by the rising demand among companies to unify networking and security functionalities.

Cato Networks: a new industry leader

One of the report’s most interesting highlights is Cato Networks’ new position as a leader in Gartner’s Single-Vendor SASE quadrant. The company’s unified SASE Cloud platform, which provides an integrated user interface for management with a relatively short learning curve for operators, contributed to this position.

Cato’s services are now seeing significant adoption among mid-sized companies, and if current trends continue, the company’s future innovations – focused particularly on AI and simplified security policy management – will cement its role as a market leader. 

This is why Criticalcase positions itself as an expert consultant and partner for Cato solutions, such as Cato’s SASE Cloud platform, providing additional value through professional, tailor-made services.

Criticalcase and Cato Networks for customized SASE services

Criticalcase chose to partner with Cato Networks because its solutions represent the first SASE framework implementation that enables secure, optimized access for users and applications through a global, cloud-native architecture.

Criticalcase doesn’t merely operate as a Cato Networks reseller; rather, it offers unique added value through its integration, technical support, and optimization services to meet specific customer needs. 

Starting with a provider capable of connecting all of a business network’s resources (branches, mobile workforce, on-premise data centers, and cloud-based services) Criticalcase provides an SD-WAN service with extremely high levels of security and control. This enables companies to migrate from traditional, often costly, networks, such as MPLS, to secure, global, cost-effective, and easily managed networks.

Use Case: a solution for data- and access-security with optimized performance

To demonstrate the partnership’s focus on solving real-world challenges, a successful use case involved a manufacturing company with a distributed workforce and multiple production centers. 

In this case, the client needed a solution to secure confidential data and ensure secure access to industrial applications, given the risks posed by unauthorized access due to managing multiple facilities and high traffic volumes.

Criticalcase provided a suitable solution through an implementation based on Cato Networks’ SASE services with Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), achieving:

• application of security policies focused on both identity and context, resulting in limiting traffic to only the necessary volumes for operations and ensuring legitimate access

• reduced latency in inter-facility communications thanks to Cato’s integrated SD-WAN network, optimizing network traffic

• use of firewalling and traffic-inspection features to protect managed data

Criticalcase’s solution enabled a 15% productivity increase, proving that it’s possible to combine security, performance, and high ROI even in structured organizations aiming to maximize business process efficiency.

Criticalcase customizes Cato Networks solutions

For Criticalcase, choosing Cato Networks aligns with its mission to relieve users of IT infrastructure complexities, investment optimization, and security, allowing them to focus on productivity.

For this reason, Criticalcase’s professional services go beyond third-party platform provisioning, offering:

• business needs analysis
• tailored planning and implementation of proposed solutions
• technology integration
• proactive network management
• 24/7 support

Through its partnership with Cato Networks, Criticalcase supports clients in adopting the SASE model, a framework that consolidates SD-WAN and network security services into a single, unified, secure, and fully cloud-based service model. Unlike legacy architectures, its SASE-centered approach reduces operating costs by up to two-thirds.