Palo Alto Networks claims to raise bar on SASE

Adoption of secure access service edge (SASE) technology has risen to meet the needs of hybrid and remote working, but believing that current legacy SASE implementations are falling short and are inhibiting innovation and agility, Palo Alto Networks has unveiled the latest version of its Prisma SASE solution to address these issues.

The technology firm believes that the innovations contained within the new Prisma SASE 3.0 will “future-proof and transform” the workforce, delivering zero-trust capability to secure both managed and unmanaged devices with what is claimed to be the industry’s first natively integrated enterprise browser, AI-powered data security and acceleration of dynamic applications to perform up to five times faster. This, said Palo Alto Networks, will offer enhanced capabilities to combat many challenges enterprises encounter as they rely on data to drive business.

Among the features contained within the system, Prisma Access Browser is designed to protect organisations with a natively integrated enterprise browser that extends zero-trust protection to unmanaged devices in minutes.

The company noted that, since 2022, more than half of employees, contractors and third parties now access corporate data from bring your own (BYO) devices such as personal laptops and mobile phones. IT professionals can monitor and mitigate threats in real time, safely enabling the workforce to use any device to access any application.

App acceleration techniques are said to provide up to 5x boost in applications’ performance compared to accessing them directly through the internet to help ensure maximum productivity and security. Prisma SASE with App Acceleration is claimed as being the industry’s first SASE solution that accelerates applications individually for every user, using patented app-aware technology.

“Prisma SASE 3.0 is upending existing security approaches to close security gaps and address access challenges,” said Anand Oswal, senior vice-president and general manager of network security at Palo Alto Network, commenting on the launch.

“The problem of securing unmanaged devices cannot be understated, nor can the benefits of App Acceleration and data classification accuracy. We [have] layered in the transformational capabilities to secure access for the modern enterprise.”

Palo Alto Networks is already working with leading cloud service providers and enterprise applications, including Amazon Web Services (AWS), Slack, ServiceNow, Google, Zoom and SAP to enhance application performance, benefiting joint customers with faster response rates. 

Commenting on what the deployment could mean, Yulie Kwon Kim, vice-president of product at Google Workspace said: “Google Workspace extends its industry-leading security capabilities with an ecosystem of market-leading security partners to give Workspace customers freedom and flexibility of choice to meet their individual security posture requirements…We’re excited to see the availability of Prisma SASE App Acceleration and the benefits it will deliver to Workspace users.”

Brendan Ittelson, chief ecosystem officer at Zoom, added: “Zoom Workplace, our AI-powered one collaboration platform, redefines how organisations connect and communicate, driving efficiency and effectiveness like never before productive throughout their workday.

“By pairing with Palo Alto Networks’ App Acceleration for Prisma SASE, we’re not just redefining how teams connect and collaborate, but also enabling every interaction to be safeguarded by industry-leading security and consistently optimised for the best user experience.”