Introduction
Buying SASE isn’t just an IT decision—it’s a business decision. You need to secure your network, support hybrid work, and control costs, but getting sign-off isn’t easy. A solid business case is the key to turning SASE from a great idea into an approved investment.
This article gives you the ammo to make a positive change. You’ll learn how to prove SASE’s value, tackle objections, and get buy-in from decision-makers. Whether it’s cost, security, or strategy, you’ll have the answers to make SASE a no-brainer for your business.
Challenges and Benefits
Clarifying what problems you want to overcome is crucial to a successful business case. While many challenges are unique to a business, we regularly see businesses looking for solutions to some key difficulties:
Management
Digital transformation demands agile and streamlined network management. The following table explores how SASE benefits complex IT environments, enabling a strategy that reduces overheads while strengthening overall network security and visibility.
| Current Challenge | Description | SASE Resolution | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resource and Staff Availability | IT Team’s time is consumed by system management but it could be spent on high-value tasks. | Simplified IT Operations | By consolidating security and networking into a single, cloud-native platform. |
| Multiple Separate Tools to Manage | Having multiple security systems to manage is more time-consuming than necessary, and can create security gaps. | Centralised Management Platform | A single management platform reduces the workload and time investment needed to manage your network security. Supported by automation, your team will save time managing tooling so they can focus on high-value tasks. |
| Skills Shortage and Burnout | The national IT skills shortage is making it harder for businesses to manage complex network and security infrastructures. | Combining Networking and Security into One Solution | Network security is unified and cloud-native, reducing complexity and reliance on specialist expertise. |
| Adapting to Business Growth | Failing to adapt can lead to bottlenecks, security gaps, and operational inefficiencies. | Faster Deployment and Scalability | Enables businesses to adapt quickly to changing needs without complex configurations. |
Network Performance
With digital transformation driving cloud adoption and remote work, performance and reliability are more critical than ever. This table highlights how SASE benefits tackle common performance challenges, providing a strategic advantage in delivering fast, secure, and resilient connectivity.
| Current Challenge | Description | SASE Resolution | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unpredictable Network Performance and High Latency | Current WAN architecture struggles to optimise traffic, causing delays and poor application performance, especially for cloud-based services. | Optimised Traffic Routing | SD-WAN enhances speed and reduces latency for better performance. |
| Slow, Unstable Connections | Poor user experience with cloud applications hinders productivity, frustrates users, and leads to inefficiencies in cloud-based workflows. | Intelligent Traffic Routing | Improved user experience with faster, more reliable access to cloud applications and services. |
| Network Congestion | Critical business applications are suffering from performance degradation due to bandwidth competition. | Cloud-Native Architecture | Traffic prioritisation and intelligent routing ensure critical applications get the necessary bandwidth, reducing slowdowns. |
| Limited Scalability | Networks require costly hardware upgrades to scale, making it difficult to support business growth and remote users efficiently. | Cloud-Native Architecture | Seamless expansion without costly hardware upgrades, adapting to business growth effortlessly. |
Security Benefits
In an era of rapid digital transformation, strengthening network security has become a top priority for IT leaders. The table below outlines key security challenges and how SASE benefits them directly, helping organisations adopt a more effective and modern security strategy.
| Current Challenge | Description | SASE Resolution | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unauthorised Access and Insider Threats | Traditional network security relies on perimeter-based defences, which can be bypassed if credentials are compromised. | Zero Trust Network Access | Never trust, always verify ensures continuous user verification, reducing the risk of unauthorised access. |
| Risk of Data Interception and Breaches | Data transmitted over unsecured or public networks is vulnerable to interception. | End-to-End Encryption | Protect data in transit, preventing interception and data breaches. |
| Security Gaps Between Systems | Siloed security tools often experience visibility gaps, inconsistent policy enforcement, and inefficiencies in detecting and mitigating threats. | Integrated Security Stack | The technology stack is no longer broken up into separate management platforms. |
| Slow Threat Response Times | Security updates are manual and systems struggle to detect zero-day threats, leaving data exposed. | Real-Time Threat Prevention | Cloud-based intelligence and automated real-time updates. |
| Inconsistent Security Enforcement | Remote and hybrid work models make it difficult to apply uniform security policies, increasing the risk of compliance failures and security breaches. | Consistent Security Policies | Across all users, devices, and locations, ensuring standardised protection. |
Financial Return on Investment
As digital transformation continues to reshape IT infrastructure, managing costs without compromising network security is essential. The table below demonstrates how SASE benefits align with common cost-related challenges, offering a strategic path to long-term savings and operational efficiency.
| Current Challenge | Description | SASE Resolution | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Upfront Hardware Costs | Firewalls, VPN appliances, and on-premise infrastructure require significant capital investment. | Replaces Legacy Firewalls and VPNs | FWaaS and ZTNA deliver even better results through the cloud. | |
| Rising operational expenses from managing Multiple Tools | Separate security and networking solutions increase IT teams’ licensing fees, resource consumption, and complexity. | Consolidated Security and Networking Functions | All are managed in a single platform that is easier and cheaper to control. | |
| Inflexible costs | Overpaying for infrastructure they don’t fully utilise or struggling with expensive upgrades as they expand. | Pay as you Grow Model | Scale services up or down based on demand, ensuring cost efficiency without overcommitting. | |
| High maintenance and update costs | Requires manual updates, hardware replacements, and dedicated IT staff to manage. | Cloud-Based Automatic Updates | Significantly reducing the need for on-premise hardware, manual intervention, and dedicated IT overhead. | |
| Financial Risks from Security Breaches and Compliance Failures | Security gaps, slow updates, and multiple policies put you at risk of compliance concerns and expensive cyberattacks. | Reduces Risk-Related Rxpenses | Prevents costly breaches with integrated, proactive security measures. |
Addressing Common Objections
💬“We’ve already invested in existing security tools and infrastructure.”
Counter:
SASE doesn’t mean discarding all legacy tools immediately. It’s a phased, strategic integration that reduces long-term costs and complexity. By consolidating multiple functions into a single platform, you protect prior investments while future-proofing your infrastructure.
💬“It sounds expensive to migrate to SASE.”
While there may be initial implementation costs, SASE reduces ongoing expenses by eliminating hardware, consolidating licences, and minimising management overhead. The pay-as-you-grow model also aligns spend with usage, delivering better ROI over time.
Additionally, because SASE is ultimately a collection of separate security tools that work and are managed as one. The Firewalls or Secure Web Gateways you already have could form part of your new Network Security package, reducing implementation costs.
💬“We’re not ready for a full cloud migration.”
SASE is not an ‘all-or-nothing’ move but supports hybrid environments. You can adopt it alongside existing systems and transition at your own pace. SASE complements your current setup while preparing you for the future.
💬“It’s too complex to manage yet another system.”
This is where SASE really shines. SASE simplifies your entire network security ecosystem by converging security and networking into a single, unified platform with centralised management. Fewer dashboards, consistent policies, and automated updates all reduce the operational burden on IT teams. You’re not making it more complex, but quite the opposite.
💬“How can we trust performance for remote users?”
We offer SLA-backed private backbones, optimised routing via SD-WAN, and global PoPs — ensuring high-performance, low-latency connectivity no matter where your users are.
Get help with your business case, speak to us today.
