Cato Networks Philippines – MEC Networks Corporation

Cato Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB)

MEC Digital — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 05:03:35 +0000

Protect your enterprise from cloud-born risks

The shift to cloud and adoption of Software as a Service (SaaS) services, has enabled enterprises to offload the burden of managing and delivering them by themselves. It has also, however, exposed a new and particularly risky attack surface. Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) solutions play a pivotal role in helping enterprises cope with these risks and fortifying their security posture.

Cato CASB Solution helps organizations cope with the perils of Shadow IT

Visibility

Assessment

Enforcement

Protection

Stand-alone CASB solutions vs. Cato's SASE Cloud

	Stand Alone CASB	Cato CASB
Onboarding	Long and complicated	Fast and simple
Inspection context breadth	Partial	Complete
Application coverage	Limited	Wide
Inline enforcement granularity	Low	High

Cato’s CASB solution is an integral service of the Cato SASE Cloud. This means enterprises using Cato can enable CASB with a mere flip of a switch. Since the enterprise network traffic is already processed by Cato’s SASE Cloud, adding the CASB functionality doesn’t require any client installations or network changes.

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Cato MDR

MEC Digital — Mon, 17 Jan 2022 02:18:00 +0000

Managed Threat Detection and Response

Cato Managed Detection and Response (MDR) is an advanced security service that offers continuous threat detection and guidance on how to respond to malicious events, quickly, and effectively. Cato MDR leverages AI and ML, combined with human threat verification, to hunt, investigate, alert, reduce risk of breach, and improve security posture.

Cato MDR is built-in into Cato’s SASE platform. This means Cato MDR monitor all site, VPN, and cloud environments connected to CATO SASE Cloud, enabling users to benefit instantly from the service without having to install additional HW/SW.

Key Benefits:

1. Immediate service activation, no additional HW/SW needed

2. Dwell time reduce from 200+ days to 1-2 days!

3. Real-time alerts for confirmed threats, no false positives

4. Network-level containment and guided remediation for effective response

5. Designated security experts alongside security assessments

Key Features:

Automated threat hunting

Machine learning algorithms look for anomalies across billions of flows in Cato’s data warehouse and correlate them with threat intelligence sources and complex heuristics.

Expert threat verification

Cato security researchers review flagged endpoints and assess the validity and severity of the risk, only alerting on actual threats.

Threat containment

Verified live threats can be contained automatically by blocking C&C domains and IP addresses, or disconnecting compromised machines or users from the network.

Guided remediation

The Cato SOC advises on the risk’s threat level, recommended remediation, and follows up until the threat is eliminated.

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Cato Networks Software Defined Perimeter (SDP)

MEC Digital — Fri, 26 Nov 2021 08:33:00 +0000

Optimized and Secure Remote Access for Everyone and Everywhere

Enterprises are seeing a growing need for employees to work remotely. In particular, during times of crisis, the ability to work securely and productively from home is a critical pillar of business continuity planning. Cato SDP enables remote users, through a client or clientless browser access, to access all business applications, via the secure and optimized connection.

Why choose CATO SDP?

Cloud-native SDP delivers secure remote access as an integral part of a company’s global network and security infrastructure. A global, cloud-scale platform supports any number of remote users within their geographical regions. Performance improves with end-to-end optimized access to any application using a global private backbone. Risk is minimized before and after users access the network through strong authentication and continuous traffic inspection for threat prevention. Cloud-native SDP makes mobile access easy — easy to deploy, easy to use, and easy to secure.

Easy deployment, instant secure access

Multi-factor Authentication & Single-Sign-On

Flexible Client-based or Clientless Access Options

Continuous Security Inspection for All Remote Access Traffic

Access Performance Optimization to All Applications

Cloud-scale Remote Access for Everyone, Anytime and Anywhere

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Cato Networks: The 4 Key Considerations for Extending Your Business Continuity Plan (BCP) to Home and Remote Workers

MEC Digital — Mon, 23 Mar 2020 03:40:13 +0000

It’s a challenge not to consider a spreading health crisis when you’re crushed into a crowded train or bus, clutching a germ-infested pole and dodging a nearby cough. Because the current crisis develops, enterprise business continuity planning and risk management will result in many enterprise users working full time from home. Already we’ve seen the amount of active remote or mobile users of the Cato Cloud rise 75 percent since early January, growing from about 10,000 users to 17,500 users.

In fact, as this Bloomberg article highlights, we’re probably about to start the biggest global work-at-home experiment in history. What does that mean for your business continuity planning and remote work strategy? Consider four categories: connectivity, performance, security, and management. Here’s a summary of each.

Connectivity and Architecture

IT has been supporting remote and mobile users for years, but a sudden spike in staff working from home full time could be a whole new ballgame. Most won’t be connecting occasionally to check email or do some quick catchup at the airport, between meetings, or after hours at the hotel. They’ll be on the network every workday for hours accessing enterprise applications, files, and data. Your current remote access infrastructure was likely never sized to deal with such a large, constant load, which implies you’ll probably need to add or upgrade remote concentrators. In the best of times, this will take days or weeks, but hundreds or thousands of companies will need similar upgrades.

Aside from the company data center, most enterprise users are accessing infrastructure and applications in cloud data centers, which adds connectivity complexity, as we discuss in this eBook, Mobile Access Optimization and Security for the Cloud Era, and below. For security reasons, most organizations prefer to route cloud traffic through datacenter security infrastructure first, then out to cloud datacenters many miles away, which adds latency to the home user’s cloud user experience.

Datacenter network congestion is also a problem, one that Adroll, a company offering a marketing platform for personalized advertising campaigns, had to grapple with. Not only did backhauling remote user cloud traffic add latency to Adroll’s cloud user experience, but it also saturated the San Francisco Internet connection and created availability problems, because the San Francisco firewall had no geo-redundancy. “It puts plenty of stuff in one basket,” says Adroll’s Global Director of IT, Adrian Dunne. “Once the VPN on our primary firewall rebooted. Suddenly 100 engineers couldn’t work anymore.”

Performance and User Experience

Mobile and home VPN users often complain about remote access performance even when infrastructure is sized appropriately, because of the unpredictability, latency and packet loss inherent within the public Internet core. When accessing the cloud, the mobile experience can get so sluggish that users often abandon the company backhauling solution to access the cloud directly, opening significant security gaps. Many newer users also find themselves struggling with unfamiliar VPN client software, passwords, and connections to multiple cloud services.

To make working at home successful, it will need to find ways to simplify and speed up the user experience so it’s more like working at the office. this could mean considering alternatives to backhauling and running traditional VPNs, which we discuss below.

Security

As more and more users work from home, security risks are guaranteed to increase. More remote users mean more opportunities for threat actors to penetrate security defenses. Unfortunately, traditional VPNs authenticate remote users to the whole enterprise network, allowing them to PING or “see” all network resources. Hackers are known to take advantage of this chance, as they did with the infamous Home Depot and Target breaches of a couple of years ago, which took advantage of stolen VPN credentials. Once inside the network, a hacker is simply one administrator password away from access to sensitive applications and data. That’s a big reason why IT security has been moving away from network-centric security towards software-defined Zero Trust Network Access, which grants users access only to what they need when they need it.

Enforcing security policies for many more remote users also can add latency and cut down performance. The choice is to let mobile users connect directly to the cloud and deploy new cloud-based security solutions, like secure Web gateways or secure access security brokers (CASB), that intercept connections before they reach the cloud. Users will still be contending with public Internet performance, however.

Management

Deploying client VPN software on thousands of latest home users’ systems can take considerable resources and time that organizations might not have during a crisis.

AdRoll found VPN onboarding of the latest users a very cumbersome process, especially for contractors. “Using Mac’s management software to push out VPN configurations to users was a pain,” says Dunne. Dunne also had to send instructions for configuring the VPN client to every user. Once these users are onboard, IT also needs appropriate tools for managing and monitoring all those remote users, much as it does for its branch offices and other sites. Shifting to cloud-based Web gateways and CASB’s has its own overhead as well.

Cato’s SASE Solution Provides Access Needed for Remote Workers

There is a solution that will solve many of these connectivity, security, performance, and management issues: a cloud-native network like the Cato Cloud. Built on the principles of Gartner’s secure access service edge (SASE), Cato connects mobile and remote workers to the same network, secured by the same security policy set, as those within the office.

Rather than connecting to the company data center, then out to cloud applications, home users connect with their nearby cloud-native network point of presence (PoP). From there they become a part of a virtual enterprise WAN that the data center and branch offices access through their local PoPs as well. Cato locates its PoP infrastructure in a number of the same data centers as major cloud providers, including AWS and Microsoft Azure, allowing fast direct connections to cloud services.

Connectivity isn’t a problem. Cato’s cloud architecture is meant for massive scalability to support any number of latest users regardless of session duration or frequency. They will work at home or within the office all day, every day and the Cato architecture will accommodate the load transparently. “Cato’s mobile VPN is my secret BCP in my back pocket,” says Stuart Gall then the infrastructure architect within the network and systems group at Paysafe. “If my global network goes down, I can be like Batman and whip this thing out.” Performance improves by eliminating backhaul and inspecting traffic within the PoP instead of the datacenter. Home and mobile users bypass the unpredictable Internet middle mile and instead use the Cato backbone with its optimized routing and built-in WAN optimization to dramatically reduce latency and improve data throughput.

The user experience improves in other ways. Users connect to all their applications and resources, whether spread across multiple clouds or within private datacenters, with a single login. Getting users connected is simple. “The cherry on top was Cato’s VPN solution,” says Don Williams, corporate IT director at Innovex Downhole Solutions. It had been the best technology I’ve seen. In less than 10 minutes we were connected through a VPN on the device. Most of the security and network management is handled by the cloud provider, instead of enterprise IT. Cato’s Security as a Service provides a completely managed suite of agile, enterprise-grade network security capabilities, built directly into the Cato Global Private Backbone, including a next-generation firewall/VPN, a Secure Web Gateway, Advanced Threat Prevention, Cloud, and Mobile Access Protection, and Managed Threat Detection and Response (MDR).

Cato simplifies security management in other ways. “With firewall appliances, you install certificates from your firewall, and only then do you realize that when your user goes to a different site, you again need to install another SSL certificate at that appliance,” says the IT manager at a leading EduTech provider, “With Cato, we were ready to install a single certificate globally so we will do SSL decryption and re-encryption.”

Adding new home users to a cloud-native network could be a quick process that doesn’t require expensive, time-consuming appliance upgrades. “With Cato, we just sent a user an invite to install the client,” says Dunne. “It’s pretty much like a consumer application, which makes it easy for users to install.” Adroll’s San Francisco chokepoint was eliminated, and Cato gave Dunne more granular control over permissions for mobile users.

The current crisis will likely require plenty of quick action from IT to urge users to connect and work from home fast and securely. A cloud-native, SASE network can make the work faster and easier while giving all those home-based workers a satisfying user experience.

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Cato Networks: SD-WAN Versus Hybrid WAN

MEC Digital — Thu, 27 Feb 2020 02:43:35 +0000

Most enterprise WANs have historically used MPLS, but with the proliferation of cloud resources and mobile users, organizations are realizing the necessity to facilitate more flexible connectivity. They’re faced with many options when making this decision, but one among the primary that has got to be considered is whether or not to travel with a hybrid WAN or SD-WAN.

With a hybrid WAN, two differing types of network services connect locations. Usually, one network service is MPLS while the opposite is usually an online connection. While some enterprises will have a lively MPLS connection with an Internet/VPN connection for failover, hybrid WAN actively uses both connections.

Hybrid WAN – Pros and Cons

Pros of Hybrid WAN

Hybrid WAN configurations leave a simple increase in bandwidth by inserting Internet connections alongside an existing MPLS network. Offloading traffic from MPLS allows for reductions in monthly bandwidth costs and to show up new installations faster by leveraging indigenous Internet access links. Regulatory constraints mandating MPLS can still be met.

Hybrid WAN takes advantage of the reliability, security, and SLA-backed performance of MPLS connections, yet limits the expense of those connections by augmenting connectivity with Internet connections that are cheaper and more versatile. In some cases, these Internet links can help improve performance for traffic that’s not destined for the info center because it can reduce the number of hops that will occur when backhauling through the data center.

Cons of Hybrid WAN

The question is whether or not organizations can ever eliminate MPLS costs with Hybrid WANs. the general public Internet is just too erratic for global deployments requiring the continued use of costly, international MPLS connections. Companies are still left with having to attend months to provision new MPLS circuits. Additionally, maintaining distinctly separate WAN connection transports adds an administrative burden and may create appliance sprawl. Finally, Hybrid WANs aren’t designed with Cloud and mobile communications in mind, requiring additional strategies for securing and integrating these connections into the enterprise.

SD-WAN – Pros and Cons

Pros of SD-WAN

By replacing an MPLS network with SD-WAN, there is often a big cost saving while still maintaining the performance required for today’s applications. Unlike MPLS, with SD-WAN customers can easily add new circuits or increase the bandwidth of existing circuits with little impact on the network configuration. By utilizing multiple low-cost, high-bandwidth circuits, SD-WAN can meet the performance and reliability organizations require. Organizations can select transport types that provide the simplest value for every location and still connect seamlessly to the remainder of the WAN. Additionally, because SD-WAN is compatible with multiple transport types, provisioning of the latest or additional services is far faster than MPLS.

Cons of SD-WAN

Out of the gate, SD-WAN has several challenges that involve security, global locations, and mobile user connectivity. Because public Internet connections are used for SD-WAN, and there’s no use to backhaul to the secured data center, the traffic is no longer secured. For connectivity to some global locations, routing and response times are often unpredictable. However, oftentimes locations that have difficulties getting reliable Internet have ideal MPLS connectivity. for several organizations, connectivity for mobile users and to the cloud may be a drive for change within the WAN infrastructure. But to get access to the cloud with SD-WAN, a separate cloud connection point is required, and mobile users aren’t addressed during a standard SD-WAN solution.

Making the Choice

Some SD-WAN providers have taken the simplest of both worlds by combining the benefits of SD-WAN while overcoming the challenges of a vanilla SD-WAN solution. Meaning the predictability and performance like MPLS while also offering an integrated firewall-as-a-service that creates firewall services available to all or any locations. during this case, the whole WAN is connected to one, logical firewall with an application-aware security policy that permits a unified security policy and a holistic view of the whole WAN. Other challenges like cloud and mobile also are resolved with SD-WAN-as-a-service offerings.

When comparing hybrid WAN to SD-WAN, the choice for many organizations comes right down to whether or not they feel MPLS is often replaced. With the dramatic improvement of Internet performance, unless there are specific locations that have poor Internet connectivity, an enterprise should feel confident that an SD-WAN solution can meet the stress while also providing cost and agility advantages over MPLS or hybrid WAN. If a business features a scenario where they feel MPLS may be a must, then a hybrid WAN solution is often employed.

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Cato Networks: Hands-free Management for SD-WAN Service

MEC Digital — Thu, 22 Aug 2019 07:44:15 +0000

The previous Burger King jingle came to mind when pondering today’s introduction of Cato Hands-free Management for our global managed SD-WAN Service. Hold the pickles or the lettuce — it doesn’t much matter; Burger King gave you the burger the way you like it. And that’s true with how we allow you to manage your network.Unlike a conventional telco, Cato has perpetually let customers run their networks or, if they, preferred to share a number of their networking responsibilities with Cato or its partners. However, with Cato Hands-free Management, customers will outsource all networking and security configuration responsibilities to the expert workers at Cato or its partners.

Cato Hands-free Management is a part of the Cato Managed Services portfolio that includes:

Managed Threat Detection and Response (MDR) continuously monitors the network for compromised, malware-infected endpoints. Cato MDR uses a mix of machine learning algorithms that mine network traffic for indicators of compromise, and human verification of detected anomalies. Cato specialists then guide customers on remediating compromised endpoints.
Intelligent Last-Mile Management provides 24×7, last-mile monitoring. Just in case of an outage or performance degradation, Cato can work with the ISP to resolve the problem, providing all relevant info and keeping the client informed on the progress.
Rapid Site Deployment provides customers with remote help in deploying Cato Sockets, Cato’s zero-touch, SD-WAN device.

Regardless of the management approach, Cato retains responsibility for the underlying Cato Cloud infrastructure, upgrading, patching, or otherwise maintaining Cato software or hardware.

What’s the right approach for you?

Why so many ways to network management? because there’s no right approach, there’s only your approach. Companies, like people, have different needs. In some cases, running the network themselves could be a requirement in different cases, though, the very last thing the IT manager would like to try and do is take responsibility for every move and change. Each method has its strengths. With self-service, enterprises realize unexcelled agility by configuring and troubleshooting the networks themselves, doing in seconds what otherwise needed legacy telcos hours or days. For added help, co-management permits customers to trust current support from Cato or its partners without relinquishing control for overall management. And, of course, with Cato Hands-Free corporations gain the convenience of full management, though, they’ll still build changes themselves, if they want. With Cato, you do get to manage the network your way. And this says nothing regarding Cato’s wide selection of professional and support services.

Management designed for Digital Business

This kind of flexibility is strange for managed network services, which historically only offered full management. Telco-managed networks are too cumbersome, too complex to permit corporations self–service management of the security and network infrastructure. It needs a network designed from the bottom up for the needs of today’s digital business.And historically managed services place restrictions on customers, tying the overlay (SD-WAN or MPLS) to the telco’s underlay (last-mile and backbone services). Requiring use of the telco’s underly left enterprises subject to high costs, restricted geographic reach, and lengthy deployment times. Such an approach is, again, incompatible with a digital business that looks to be leaner and more agile, notably as the network should more and more connect clouds, mobile users, and branch locations situated outside of the telcos in the operation area.

Cato Cloud was unambiguously designed for the needs of the digital business and not simply in how we expect about management. Enterprises bring their last-mile access to Cato or procure last-mile services through Cato partners. They then connect to Cato’s global backbone through any local internet access, releasing them from the lock-in of traditional telco services. As a globally distributed cloud service, Cato seamlessly connects mobile and cloud resources, while not being in chains to specific geographical location or physical infrastructure.With Cato, organizations get the tomatoes and lettuce: the peace of mind of a managed service with the speed and agility of self-service. And, yes, you Wendy’s lovers, there’s lots of beef there also.

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Cato Networks: SD-WAN Provides An Alternative To MPLS (A Case Study)

MEC Digital — Wed, 07 Aug 2019 09:52:50 +0000

What’s transitioning like to SD-WAN? ask Nick Dell. The IT manager at a leading automotive parts manufacturer recently shared his experience transitioning his company from MPLS to Cato SD-WAN. throughout the webinar, we spoke concerning the reasons behind the decision, the differences between carrier-managed SD-WAN services and cloud-based SD-WAN, and the insights he gained from his experience.

Dell’s company has been in business for over sixty years and employs 2,000 individuals placed across 9 locations. Manufacturing plants needed non-stop network connectivity to make sure delivery to Ford, Toyota, GM, Tesla, and Volkswagen. Important applications included cloud ERP and VoIP.

Before moving to SD-WAN, the company used an MPLS provider that managed everything. The carrier provided a comprehensive solution to deal with the crucial uptime needs by having 3 cloud firewalls at every data center, and an LTE wireless backup at every location. After they signed the agreement with the MPLS provider, the solution appeared to be precisely what they needed to support their applications and uptime needs. However, they quickly discovered issues with the MPLS solution that were impacting the business.

The Catalyst to make a change

Dell noticed several challenges with the MPLS service:

#1 bandwidth — Usage would peak at certain times and therefore the provider’s QoS configuration didn’t work properly. Nick wished to add bandwidth, but for some sites, the MPLS provider offered solely restricted or no fiber connections. For instance, the MPLS provider would say fiber isn’t offered at a definite site, however, the local LEC delivered the T1s using fiber.

#2 internet Configuration Failures — the company also wished to provide OEM partners access the cloud ERP system, however, the MPLS provider was unable to successfully configure Internet-based VPNs for the partners. Internet failover also failed to work as promised. when sites would fail, not all components would switchover properly, making failures in application delivery.

#3 Authentication Failures — The user authentication functionality provided by the MPLS provider was purported to help once users would move their laptops or different endpoints from wired to wireless connections. However, the authentication method usually failed, leaving users without internet access. Only after 2 years did the provider propose a solution – software that would cost $5,000 and need installing agents on all the laptops.

These problems manifested themselves in everyday operations. Someone sending an email with a large attachment would cause the ERP system to be slow to respond, that successively caused delays in getting shipments out.

Dell and other leadership knew it was time for a change. They needed high availability internet with more bandwidth that worked as designed. Moreover, they needed a provider that will work in a partner relationship that would deliver 100 percent internet uptime, fiber to all or any locations, offer a lower-cost solution, and embody all-in-one security.

The Catalyst to make a change

Dell investigated 3 SD-WAN scenarios to switch the MPLS network.

Carrier Managed SD-WAN
Appliance-based SD-WAN
Cloud-based SD-WAN

Moving to SD-WAN with a similar carrier they were using for MPLS appeared like a simple move, however, Dell wasn’t inclined to deal with some of the same problems with poor service, and a “ticket-taker” attitude instead of problem-solving. The carrier conjointly couldn’t guarantee a 4-hour replacement window for the SD-WAN hardware.

The appliance-based SD-WAN solution would free them from the carrier problems, and ownership and management of the solution would fall to Dell and his team. The direct costs were high, and security wasn’t integral to the solution.

Dell also looked into different Cloud-based SD-WAN providers, however because of their size, the provider wished to put them with an MSP where SD-WAN isn’t their core business. The solution didn’t give full security so they would need to buy further security appliances. The provider could also not guarantee a 4-hour response time to exchange failed hardware.

Why Cato

With the Cato Cloud solution, Dell can decide on any ISP available at every location and now have fiber at all locations with 5-20x additional bandwidth than before. This has allowed them to possess additional redundancy to the internet and High availability (HA) – with each line and appliances – at every location. The bandwidth constraints are gone and QoS works. once there’s downtime, the failover process works of course.

Describing the deployment experience as quick and simple, Dell only needed a 30-minute lunch break to cut over one location that previously was one amongst the most troublesome with outages and backup problems.

One of the driving factors that convinced Dell to go with Cato was the support, that he describes as “transparent and fast to resolve” problems. “They hear us, they want to solve our issues,” says Dell. He was also pleasantly shocked that Cato was the sole vendor of all the solutions they investigated that didn’t try to attempt to cash in on a solution with a recurring fee.

Dell demonstrated his ROI on the Cato solution in a few ways that. bandwidth has enhanced considerably, the accumulated network visibility lets him troubleshoot quicker, security is integrated, and at the same time, overall costs have been reduced by 25th. Users’ satisfaction is also down. Users are less annoyed because they’re not “being blocked from websites,” he says. As for IT, well, they’re also less frustrating because handling support and opening tickets are, as Nick place it, “…so simple now.”

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Cato Networks: How Traditional Telco Services Hinder Digital Transformation

MEC Digital — Thu, 04 Jul 2019 05:24:13 +0000

How are digital business transformation projects impacting enterprise networks? To answer that question, we asked over 1,600 IT professionals worldwide. The report, Telcos and therefore the future of the WAN in 2019 target those 432 who purchase telco services for organizations with MPLS backbones.

Repeatedly we heard that SD-WAN continues to serve as the basis of their digital transformation efforts. No surprise there. What’s perhaps more attention-grabbing, though, is the shift towards managed services. The necessity for foreseeable delivery across the global network to the site, cloud resources, and mobile users whereas at the same time developing a security design that may accommodate local internet access is pushing several companies to turn to managed SD-WAN services. The traditional source of these services, the telcos, inadequately address customer expectations around speed, agility, and overall value.

SD-WAN: It’s Not Just about Costs

Since SD-WAN burst onto the market, cost savings are routinely cited because of the reason for deploying the technology. Yes, SD-WAN will take advantage of reasonable internet connectivity to scale back network spend however there are several different advantages, particularly agility and improved cloud performance, that conjointly come with SD-WAN.

Respondents echoed similar results in this year’s survey. Solely a third of respondents indicated that their motivation for getting SD-WAN was to address excessive WAN-related costs. The other motives? The highest-ranked ones involved improving internet access (46%), followed by the necessity for added bandwidth (39%) and improved last-mile availability (38%).

WAN Transformation is the New Normal

No surprise then that a lot of companies ought to be adopting SD-WAN as the basis of WAN transformation. In fact, the percentage of organizations reworking their WAN has grown significantly since our last survey. Nearly half of respondents (44%) indicated that they’d or were considering deploying SD-WAN. Last year the amount was simply over a quarter of respondents.

With that said, digital transformation puts needs on the network that exceed the capabilities of SD-WAN. The overwhelming majority of respondents (85%) indicated they’d be braving networking use cases in 2019 that are neglected or out-of-step with SD-WAN technology.

Security could be a case in point. SD-WAN alone says nothing regarding defending the company edge. Half of the respondents will give secure internet access from any location with the largest security challenges being defensive against malware/ransomware (70%) and implementing corporate security policies on mobile users (49%). All of that is out-of-scope for SD-WAN alone. Taming those security challenges is essential for SD-WAN to enhance cloud performance and scale back network costs.

Managed Services are Going to be Essential for WAN Transformation

With such a large amount of components and complexities, most respondents (75%) are turning to service providers for their SD-WAN design and deployment. providers are typically higher equipped to integrate SD-WAN with different technologies to deal with broader IT challenges.

Legacy telcos are the factual source for managed SD-WAN services however not the preferred ones. Respondents stay overwhelmingly discontent with telco agility, velocity, and support:

Respondents gave telcos a 54 (out of 100) once asked if they thought network service pricing was honest. On overall experience, telcos scored lower (3.33 out of 5) than cloud application providers (3.70) and cloud datacenter providers (3.71). Only a pair of respondents indicated that telcos exceeded their expectations in delivering new features and enhancements. Day-to-day network operations prove tough with traditional telco services. Nearly half (46%) of respondents reported that moves, adds, and changes (MACs) need a minimum of one business day (8 hours or more). Nearly three-quarters of respondents indicated that deploying new locations needed three or a lot of business weeks.

Managed Service Blended with Cloud Attributes

There remains a robust interest in network services with cloud attributes of agility and self-service. versatile management models are essential to the present story. a lot of specifically,

71% of respondents indicated that telcos take too long to resolve issues.

48% complained regarding the lack of visibility into telco services.

80% of most well-liked self-service or co-management models rather than full management model needed by traditional telcos. It’s why we have a tendency to believe so powerfully that managed SD-WAN services should use a cloud-native architecture. To find out a lot regarding cloud-native networks and therefore the results of that analysis, transfer Telcos and therefore the way forward for the WAN in 2019.

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Cato Networks: What is a Cloud-Native Network and Why Does It Matter

MEC Digital — Tue, 11 Jun 2019 07:37:09 +0000

It’s no secret that CIOs wish their networks to be more agile, better ready to accommodate new requirements of the digital business. SD-WAN has created vital advancements in this regard. And, yet, it’s also equally clear that SD-WAN alone cannot futureproof enterprise networks.

Mobile users, cloud resources, security services — all are crucial to the digital business and however, none are native to SD-WAN. companies should invest in further infrastructure for those capabilities. skilled security and networking talent are still required to run those networks, expertise that’s usually in brief supply. Operational costs, headaches, and delays are incurred when upgrading and maintaining security and networking appliances.

Outsourcing networking to a telco-managed network service doesn’t solve the matter. Capital, staffing, and operational costs still exist, solely now marked-up and charged back to the customer. And, to create matters worse, enterprises lose visibility into and control the traffic traversing the managed network services.

How then are you able to prepare your network for the digital business of these days — and tomorrow? Cloud-native networks provide some way forward.

Like cloud-native application development, cloud-native networks run the majority of their route calculation, policy-enforcement, and security inspections — the guts of the network — on a purposeful software platform designed to take advantage of the cloud’s attributes. The software platform is multitenant by design operating on off-the-rack servers capable of breakthrough performance antecedently solely possible with custom hardware. Eliminating proprietary appliances changes the technical, operational, and fiscal characteristics of enterprise networks.

5 Attributes of Cloud-Native Network Services

To better understand their impact, consider the five attributes a provider’s software and networking platform must meet to be considered cloud-native: multitenancy, scalability, velocity, efficiency, and ubiquity.

Multitenancy
With cloud-native networks, customers share the underlying infrastructure with the required abstraction to supply every with private network experience. The provider is liable for maintaining and scaling the underlying infrastructure. Like cloud compute and storage, cloud-native networks don’t have any idle appliances; multitenancy permits providers to maximize their underlying infrastructure.
Scalability
As cloud services, cloud-native networks carry no sensible scaling limitation. The platform accommodates new traffic masses or new requirements. The software stack will instantly make the most of additional compute, storage, memory, or networking resources. As such, sanctioning compute-intensive features, like SSL decryption, doesn’t impact service functionality.
Velocity
By developing their own software platforms, cloud-native network providers will quickly innovate, creating new features and capabilities instantly available. All customers across all regions benefit from the foremost current feature set. Troubleshooting takes less time since support and platform development groups are bound together. And because the core functionality is in software, cloud-native networks will expand to new regions in hours and days not months.
Efficiency
Cloud-native network design promotes efficiency that causes higher network quality at lower costs. Platform ownership reduces third-party license fees and nominal support costs. leveraging the huge build-out of IP infrastructure avoids the costs telcos incurred constructing and maintaining physical transmission networks. A smart, software overlay, monitors the underlying network providers and selects the optimum one for every packet. The result: carrier-grade network at an unmatched price/performance.
Ubiquity
Like today’s digital business, the enterprise network should be available all over, accessible from several edges supporting physical, cloud, and mobile resources. features parity across regions is important for max efficiency. Access to the cloud-native network ought to be using physical and virtual appliances, mobile clients, and third-party IPsec compatible edges. This way, truly one network will connect any resource, anywhere.

A Revolutionary, Not Evolutionary, Shift in Networking

By meeting all 5 criteria, cloud-native networks avoid the cost overhead and stagnant process of traditional service providers. Such advantages cannot be gained by just porting software or hosting an appliance within the cloud. It’s a network that has to be engineered with the DNA of cloud service from scratch. In this, cloud-native networks are a revolution in network architecture and design.

The post Cato Networks: What is a Cloud-Native Network and Why Does It Matter appeared first on MEC Networks Corporation.

MEC Solutions Summit: Securing Continuity of Businesses in the Era of Cloud Computing

MEC Networks Corporation — Thu, 30 May 2019 05:40:33 +0000

With the theme, Securing Business Continuity in the Era of Cloud Computing, the MEC Solutions Summit held on May 28, 2019, at the Makati Diamond Residences presented how technological innovations can optimize businesses to successfully overcome the challenges brought forth by Cloud Computing. The event was attended by over 300 tech movers in the country.

Ensure Business Continuity In The Era Of Cloud Computing

The dawn of Industry 4.0 is changing the way we live exponentially. From the way people interact in the way they do things, everything is transforming. Everything is moving forward, without showing any signs of stopping. New technological innovations will continuously revolutionize the world. This is the age of Digital Transformation– a period where everything is connected and accessible anywhere, anytime.

Cloud Computing Transforming Businesses Globally

In a world where data– coming in all forms and sizes, with varying locations and speeds in which it is sent or received– is everything, its storage and accessibility become a top priority, especially for businesses. As a result of this phenomenon, Cloud Computing became one of the drivers of Digital Transformation. With the significance of keeping up with the data-driven, fast-changing environment in today’s business landscape, Mr. Dan Noel Natindim, Globe Telecom’s Vice President for Enterprise Data Office and MEC Solutions Summit Keynote Speaker, shared how global companies have adapted and used these technologies to their advantage, revolutionizing the way they do business. As your partner in innovation, MEC Networks aims to bring the revolution here in the Philippines. We are here to support businesses adapt to today’s fast-paced technology. The MEC Solutions Summit became an avenue for participants to experience first-hand cutting-edge technologies through MEC Solutions tech talks and live solutions demos.

MEC Solutions To Help Shape Global Innovations In The Philippines

Experts from the fields of Cabling, Wired and Wireless Connectivity, Network Security, and Physical Security were all present during the MEC Solutions Summit to share how businesses can keep up with the changing times when it comes to staying connected while ensuring safety. At the same time, they were also keen on answering this question: In a world where data should always be accessible anywhere and anytime, how can business continuity be ensured?

Keeping Business Connected

Business innovation starts from within. As Commscope’s Country Sales Manager Mr. PJ Mangawang emphasized, every organization should keep its eye on creating a foundation that can support their entire network needs today and in the future. Mr. Louie Gatchallan, Commscope’s Field Application Engineer, then took the stage to further explain how Commscope is continuously helping shape the networks of tomorrow by providing technologies that are high-capacity, expandable, interoperable, and future-forward ensuring efficiency of business processes.

After securing solid network infrastructure, every business also requires a fast, reliable connection. Mr. Darwin Luzuriaga, Ruckus Networks’ Senior Systems Engineer, shared how Ruckus Networks amplifies next-generation networks, in all types and sizes, to meet the growing demands of businesses in the Era of Cloud Computing– enabling businesses to widen their reach, agility, scalability, and availability.

With the recent acquisition of Ruckus Networks by Commscope, these two brands can better forge stronger networks of the future.

Maintaining Business Security

Aside from Business Connectivity, the MEC Solutions Summit also highlighted the implications of Cloud Computing to business security. For Network Security, Fortinet Philippines’ Systems Engineer Mr. Hans Javier explained how Fortinet secures the Cloud Migration journey from migration to consumption, ensuring businesses that their data is protected from the threats of today and tomorrow. Fortinet technologies equip businesses with the confidence to thrive in the Era of Cloud Computing without compromising their network security.

Physical Security is also something a business cannot simply overlook. Mr. Oh Tee Lee, Axis’ Corporate Sales Project Director, also shared how Axis can help in surveillance system management by giving customers full control over their security system with the Axis Integrator Suite. With Axis’ technologies, businesses’ physical security becomes easily connected, manageable, scalable, and future-proof–ensuring a thoroughly protected business.

Bringing MEC Solutions To The People

Summit participants were also able to engage with Axis Communications, Commscope, Fortinet, Ruckus Networks, and other MEC solutions such as Cato Networks, ChargeUPS, Mitel, and Netscout through their Live Solutions Demo. It served as an avenue where participants can directly collaborate with Solutions experts to have a hands-on experience and one-on-one consultation on how their technologies can secure the businesses in the Era of Cloud Computing.

Being in line with the innovation Cloud Computing brought to the way people learn, MEC’s Knowledge Hub also showcased how we can support partner and end-customer tech enablement anytime and anywhere. Knowledge Hub gives access to hundreds of courses such as Best Practice Design Architecture, Configuration Training, Deployment Guidelines, and tons of Tech Updates.

MEC Solutions For Your ICT Needs

The MEC Solutions Summit ended with a commitment to support not only the 300 partners and end-customers in attendance, but also every business in the Philippines with the right tech at the right time.

To kick off the upcoming ICT month this June, the event also presented how MEC Solutions integrate Big Data, Bring Your Own Device, Cloud Computing, and the Internet of Things to help maintain a better and safer Philippines.

More Than Distribution, We Provide Solutions

The MEC Solutions Summit showcased the extensive tech expertise MEC has to offer in helping elevate local businesses to global standards, especially in the Era of Cloud Computing. Know more about how our products can change the way businesses do things and keep up with the world.

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