From firewalls to SASE: Securing your business in a cloud-first world
Threats to your business are both varied and complex, these threats are evolving, defending against loss of sensitive data and maintaining business continuity requires modern solutions. Security solutions such as Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFW), Secure Service Edge (SSE) and Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) form a vital part of your defence against disruption to your business.
What are these technologies? Why do they matter to your business? How can leading solutions from Microsoft, Palo Alto Networks, and Cisco Meraki delivered by Innovaro can help keep your business safe?
Next-Generation Firewalls
The days when a firewall simply allowed or denied traffic based on IP addresses, protocols and ports at the network edge are long gone. Modern threats require more a much more advanced feature set, that’s where Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs) come in.
An NGFW is like a high-tech security checkpoint that doesn’t just check passports — it scans for weapons, looks for suspicious behaviour, and even watches where travellers are headed. In other words, it combines traditional firewall functions with deep, intelligent threat prevention.
Key capabilities you’ll find in NGFWs like Palo Alto Networks’ solutions include:
- Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) – Detects and blocks attempts to exploit vulnerabilities in your systems before they can cause damage, with new detections being automatically synchronised.
- DNS Security – Stops users from being tricked into visiting malicious domains, cutting off phishing and malware at the very first click.
- Application Visibility & Control – with technologies like App-ID you can identifies apps regardless of port or protocol, letting you block risky ones and prioritize business-critical tools.
- Advanced Threat Protection – Uses machine learning and threat intelligence to spot zero-day attacks that haven’t even been catalogued yet.
- User-Based Policies – Applies rules based on who the user is, not just their device or IP address, making remote work security much more precise.
- SD-WAN – Intelligently route and prioritise your traffic to your cloud services or branches across multiple internet connections, providing improved resiliency and performance.
Security Service Edge: An entry into zero trust and borderless networks
Security Service Edge (SSE) is the next step in network security. Instead of securing just one office location, SSE is cloud-delivered security. It applies protection wherever your users are, whether they’re on a laptop at shared office space or on their phone travelling to a meeting. It is akin to an always on VPN connection with more security features, more performance and more scalability and resiliency.
SSE typically includes features like:
- Secure Web Gateway (SWG) – protects against web-based threats such as malware, phishing, and other malicious activity by filtering web traffic, categorizing URLs, and inspecting content.
- Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) – sits between users and cloud services, helping to enforce security policies and protect data as it moves between users and cloud environments.
- Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) – enforces Zero Trust security by granting access to resources based on user identity, device health, and other factors.
- Data loss prevention (DLP) - DLP solutions monitor and prevent unauthorized transfers or leaks of sensitive information.
The big shift here is that SSE assumes no one, inside or outside your network, is automatically trusted. That’s especially important when your data lives in multiple cloud platforms, not just in your server room.
Secure Access Service Edge: The full package
Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) takes the features of SSE and builds upon it by combining networking and security into one cloud-based framework. This is achieved through integrating features like SD-WAN to ensure your staff have the best possible resiliency and performance when it comes to connecting to cloud services.
At a high-level, the comparison between traditional and SASE approaches is:
- Traditional networks: Users connect to your office network, which connects to the internet, which connects to your cloud apps.
- With SASE: Users connect directly to a secure cloud platform that handles both the networking (connecting them to apps) and the security (protecting data and controlling access). With this you can tightly control access to your cloud applications and data
Why your business should care
These aren’t just the latest buzzwords. Cyber threats to your business are evolving as is the technology your business is leveraging in your day-to-day operations, your challenges are not just criminal groups, but you also face issues within your business, be that intentional or accidental. With remote work, cloud adoption, and mobile devices now being standard practice, legacy perimeter-based security such as basic firewalls are not enough.
Conclusion
The technology landscape has changed, the threats we face have evolved, the tools required to mitigate these threats need to keep pace. Firewalls are still important, but in a world where work happens everywhere, SSE and SASE offer the modern, flexible protection that businesses need to stay safe.
Investing in a robust next-generation firewall, SSE or SASE solutions should be a key consideration for any business. Whether you choose Microsoft’s integrated security suite, Palo Alto’s NGFW or Prisma Cloud or Cisco Meraki’s simple, cloud-managed appliances, each offers powerful capabilities to protect your business from today’s cyber threats. By understanding your requirements and leveraging modern security technologies, you can safeguard your data, empower your team, and achieve peace of mind.
If you are still relying on a firewall-only approach and you are ready to explore your options? Contact Innovaro and our team of experts can help you determine the appropriate solution your business, with options from leading vendors like Microsoft, Palo Alto or Cisco Meraki we will have something to meet your requriements.
#Security #NGFW #SSE #SASE
