Looking to offer “future-ready” businesses to fully harness the power and potential of cloud-based environments through zero-trust security, ease of use and cost effectiveness, Tata Communications has announced the launch of its unified/ single-vendor hosted secure access service edge (SASE) solution for global enterprises.

In partnership with AI-powered unified SASE company Versa Networks, the SASE solution converges software-defined wide-area networks (SD_WAN) and secure service edge (SSE) capabilities in a single pass technology, hosted and managed end-to-end by Tata Communications to offer “secure, scalable and agile deployment”.

Tata Communications noted that as enterprises increasingly adopt hybrid working, SD-WAN and a digital-first approach, their distributed network architecture increases vulnerability to cyber attacks, creating the need for robust SSE solutions.

An Omdia study commissioned by Tata Communications identified that secure remote working was the top driver (49%) for adopting SASE solutions in global businesses, followed closely by simplified and integrated security models (43%). Furthermore, when implementing SASE, nearly half of businesses cited siloed security and networks teams as a key challenge.

Tata Communications believes that its hosted SASE is uniquely positioned to address these challenges, and that its cross-domain expertise across network, security and cloud delivers “seamless” operational management and integration with existing systems for enterprises, ensuring support throughout their journey.

The SASE solution’s single pass technology is said to ensure unified visibility and control of network traffic along with actionable insights to optimise network performance. Tata Communications said this helps enterprises to avoid complexities and delays in managing an ever-growing stack of point solutions. Furthermore, businesses can improve their return on investment, with total cost of ownership estimated to be nearly 40% lower than deploying point solutions.

Tata Communications is using its globally distributed network for delivering hosted SASE, ensuring “carrier-grade connectivity and superior performance”. It also offers advanced detection and real-time protection via a cyber threat intelligence platform that generates insights by aggregating data from Tata Communications’ network and other industry sources.

“Our customers operate in a hyperconnected environment, so it is vital that they are able to access data anytime anywhere without compromising on security or user experience,” said Tata Communications executive vice-president of cloud, and cyber security services & chief digital officer, Srinivasan CR.

Omdia research director Brian Washburn added: “Remote working, connectivity to clouds and collaboration are key enterprise considerations. But each comes with security risks. SASE helps simplify and integrate enterprise security models.

“Tata Communications’ hosted SASE solution marks a first for its type of implementation globally, combining the provider’s high-performance global network with enhanced security for enterprises to connect, communicate and collaborate more safely.”

Versa Networks CEO Kelly Ahuja said: “The hosted SASE offering will help enterprises drive business transformation while enhancing security posture and providing a better user-to-app experience. Delivering this via a single platform and fully leveraging their global network footprint allows Tata Communications to create differentiation through data sovereignty and regulatory compliance.”