We’ve collected details on the biggest product announcements and acquisitions by major SASE vendors this year.

Big Moves In SASE

With security and networking continuing to converge and remote access remaining a necessity for many organizations, the momentum around SASE (secure access service edge) continues to grow. As just one indicator, Gartner analysts recently forecast that 65 percent of purchases for SD-WAN will come through a single-vendor SASE offering by 2027, up from 20 percent as of this year.

[Related: Palo Alto Networks, Cato, Netskope Top Gartner’s SASE Magic Quadrant For 2024]

Another key indicator is the level of activity among top vendors in the space, as they have continued to introduce new versions and major updates for their SASE platforms. Two leading vendors, Netskope and Zscaler, started off 2024 by debuting new single-vendor SASE offerings focused on meeting the demand for securing remote and hybrid teams. Other vendors that have unveiled major SASE updates this year have included Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet and Cato Networks.

MSP executives have reported that the interest in SASE among customers is surging, even among smaller businesses. “The demand is really alive and well,” said David Gottesman, founding principal and CEO of San Francisco-based solution and service provider Epic Machines.

In addition to SD-WAN, the capabilities typically seen as necessary in SASE include secure web gateway (SWG), cloud access security broker (CASB), zero trust network access (ZTNA) and network firewalls. When offered separately from SD-WAN, these capabilities are often packaged as a security service edge (SSE) offering—though increasingly, many vendors are emphasizing a single-vendor SASE approach.

As part of CRN’s Cybersecurity Week 2024, we’ve collected details on the biggest product announcements and acquisitions by major vendors in the SASE market this year.

What follows are 10 SASE companies making moves in 2024.

Gina Narcisi contributed to this report.

Cato Networks

In January, Cato Networks expanded its Cato SASE Cloud platform with the inclusion of threat detection and incident response. The Tel Aviv, Israel-based company described the Cato XDR offering as “the world’s first SASE-based, extended detection and response (XDR)” platform. Cato also introduced a SASE-managed endpoint protection platform (EPP) as the company grows its SASE platform beyond networking, threat prevention and data protection, Frank Rauch, Cato’s global channel chief (pictured), told CRN.

Cisco Systems

In February, San Jose, Calif.-based Cisco debuted an array of new generative AI features for its Security Service Edge (SSE) platform. Those included the new AI Assistant in Secure Access feature that enables users to create security access policies using GenAI prompts as well as the new Securing AI feature in Secure Access, which automatically detects and protects intellectual property as it flows in and out of AI systems.

Cloudflare

Cloudflare has been expanding its SASE platform, Cloudflare One, including with the acquisition this week of cloud security startup Kivera. In May, the San Francisco-based company’s acquisition of passwordless authentication startup BastionZero brought zero-trust controls for protecting access to infrastructure—such as servers and Kubernetes clusters as well as modern databases—to the Cloudflare One platform.

Forcepoint

Recent updates to Forcepoint’s single-vendor SASE offering, Forcepoint ONE SASE, have sought to enhance its focus on data security through access control and protection of highly sensitive data. In April, Austin, Texas-based Forcepoint unveiled the launch of DSPM (data security posture management) to rapidly identify data risks including improper access, obsolescence and misplaced files.

Fortinet

In August, Fortinet unveiled updates to its Unified SASE platform, FortiSASE, including upgrades for remote browser isolation (enabling native configuration) and Secure SD-WAN (for improved performance). The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company also introduced native SCIM (cross-domain identity management) support to simplify management and provide access support for any application through updates to Universal ZTNA.

HPE Aruba Networking

HPE Aruba Networking has been steadily building out its SASE platform in recent years, including introducing new SSE and ZTNA capabilities based on Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s acquisition of Axis Security in 2023. In August, the Palo Alto, Calif.-based company also injected more AI capabilities that will allow third-party monitoring of customer networks. And looking ahead, the planned $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks will bring additional SASE capabilities under the HPE umbrella.

Netskope

In January, Netskope launched a new version of its SASE platform that aims to cater more effectively to the needs of midmarket customers,with the debut of its Netskope SASE for Midmarket. The offering stands out by providing capabilities and pricing tailored to providers of managed services, Netskope co-founder and CEO Sanjay Beri (pictured) said. Santa Clara, Calif.-based Netskope has designed its midmarket SASE offering to include “the right price points, the right functionality, truly integrated, delivered from our worldwide infrastructure” and with the requirements of MSPs and MSSPs at the forefront, Beri told CRN.

Palo Alto Networks

In May, Palo Alto Networks debuted its Prisma SASE 3.0 platform featuring a number of newly added features, including around data security and app acceleration. Key updates included improved accuracy for data classification through the use of large language models. The platform also now offers a major boost in application performance and adds support for unmanaged devices to its Prisma Access Browser, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company said.

Versa Networks

In January, Versa Networks launched a new line of unified SASE gateways, which the vendor said are capable of delivering more than 100 Gbps throughput. The increased performance that the two new gateways allow for will help partners and end customers consolidate networking and security functions into a single gateway, including switching, carrier-grade routing, SD-WAN, firewall, intrusion detection, said Kevin Sheu (pictured), vice president of product marketing for Santa Clara, Calif.-based Versa.

Zscaler

In January, Zscaler unveiled a new SASE offering with the launch of its Zscaler Zero Trust SASE. As part of the launch, the San Jose, Calif.-based company unveiled its first SD-WAN offering, enabling the company to offer a single-vendor SASE platform for the first time. The company’s SD-WAN device stands out from other SD-WAN offerings by routing traffic from on-premises environments through Zscaler’s Zero Trust Exchange platform to provide secure connections to corporate apps and data, Zscaler CTO Syam Nair (pictured) told CRN.