KDDI teams with Cato Networks to take SASE services worldwide

Secure access service edge (SASE) platform provider Cato Networks has announced a partnership with Japanese telco KDDI to deliver Cato SASE services across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

Cato says that with enterprises moving data to the cloud and users working from anywhere, CSPs need to offer IT and security leaders pervasive, secure access systems without compromising the user experience. A global SASE platform can address this need for CSPs, converging access and network security into a global cloud-native service, it says.

The SASE platform is said to enable pervasive security where users and resources anywhere are protected by a fully managed suite of enterprise-grade and agile network security capabilities, including an NGFW, secure web gateway, advanced threat prevention, and a managed threat detection and response service.

Persistent secured remote access couples SDP/ZTNA with the rest of Cato security and network optimisations, offering optimised cloud access to resources in Microsoft Azure, AWS and other cloud datacentres without requiring additional software or hardware.

Optimised software-as-a-service (SaaS) access is achieved by routing traffic across the Cato network to the doorstep of the SaaS application. All this is managed through a single console, expandable through a single, global API, and available on-demand through zero-touch deployment.

The networking firm says the agreement with KDDI demonstrates how CSPs can take advantage of cloud-delivered SASE to quickly meet enterprise requirements for pervasive security and optimised access from the branch, the road and the office to any application. Cato’s converged, cloud-delivered platform offers CSPs a global private network of more than 65 points of presence, it says.

“KDDI is very happy to have this partnership with Cato and excited to be able to provide such secure network features to our enterprise customers,” said Toru Maruta, executive officer and head of product management in KDDI’s solution business sector. “Our customers are searching for a solution to enable their people to work from home, but they have major concerns about the security of such solutions.

“The beauty of Cato Cloud is that it doesn’t just provide connectivity – it also provides the security features that enterprise customers demand. Cato Cloud’s vision is just that – providing network and security, all combined in one package.”

Shlomo Kramer, CEO and co-founder of Cato Networks, added: “We look forward to partnering with KDDI and helping IT leaders everywhere benefit from the power of SASE. With the Cato Cloud SASE platform, CSPs can provide their customers with secure access to corporate resources worldwide without compromising on performance, visibility and control.”