Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, has announced an expansive set of cross-portfolio edge-to-cloud security integrations for Aruba ESP (Edge Services Platform). The new advancements include the integration of the ClearPass Policy Manager secure network access control platform with the Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN edge platform, formerly Silver Peak, the integration of Aruba Threat Defense with the EdgeConnect platform, and the expansion of the Aruba ESP multivendor security partner ecosystem, providing enterprise customers with the freedom to deploy best-of-breed, cloud-delivered secure access service edge (SASE) security components of their choice. Today’s Aruba ESP advancements will enable enterprises to fast-track their digital transformation journey from edge-to-cloud.
As organizations contend with challenges resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and a new “work from anywhere” normal, the adoption of cloud-hosted services will continue to accelerate. This shift is intensifying the urgency to transform conventional data center and MPLS-centric and VPN-based networks to a cloud-native SASE architecture that features more dynamic provisioning of secure network services while protecting data from end-to-end.
In parallel, digital transformation is causing a significant increase of IoT devices connecting to the network, presenting new challenges that are not addressed with cloud-delivered security alone. Since IoT devices are agentless, IT departments cannot install security clients or redirect device traffic to cloud security services; therefore, Zero Trust security must be applied at the WAN edge.
To realize the full potential of the cloud and digital transformation, organizations require a new WAN edge that combines on premises and cloud-delivered security, delivering on the promise of SASE to protect users connecting to SaaS and public cloud platforms, and to safeguard IoT devices that require Zero Trust identity-based security. Through the new Aruba ESP integrations being announced today, enterprise customers now have the ability to apply granular-level, identity-based security policy from edge-to-cloud to safely connect and protect both users and devices.
A recent report from communications research firm 650 Group highlights the growing emphasis on SASE while explaining the need for enterprises to re-examine their security approach in light of the current technology evolution. Chris DePuy, founding technology analyst at 650 Group states, “As enterprises shift toward Zero Trust and SASE architectures, they are increasingly evaluating and deploying multi-vendor cloud-delivered security services, and it’s not necessary for all the SASE components to come from a single vendor. Aruba’s approach strikes a balance between delivering on-premises security functionality at the WAN edge and providing customers with the freedom of choice to integrate leading cloud-delivered security services from partners like Zscaler, Netskope, and Check Point. This multi-vendor partnering strategy provides enterprises with the flexibility to continue working with existing vendors or shift toward ‘best-of-breed’ systems.”
“The integration of ClearPass Policy Manager and Aruba Threat Defense with the EdgeConnect SD-WAN edge platform allows us to deliver a consistent identity-based policy framework across the Aruba secure edge portfolio,” said David Hughes, founder of Silver Peak and senior vice president of the WAN business at Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company. “This powerful combination will enable customers to move at their own pace, from legacy data center-centric network architectures, with perimeter-based security, to a cloud-centric WAN with security based on the principles of Zero Trust and SASE. Enterprise customers can deploy our on-premises EdgeConnect WAN edge platform to enforce policy from the edge, and easily integrate with leading cloud-delivered security services from the vendor of their choice, all centrally controlled within Aruba Orchestrator.”
The Aruba ESP platform offers customers the industry’s most comprehensive portfolio of secure wired, wireless and WAN edge solutions that enable customers to adapt to today’s new normal and tomorrow’s unknowns. The WAN Edge portfolio includes:
• Virtual Intranet Access Client (VIA) – maximum mobility for work-from-anywhere users whether connecting to private or public networks
• Remote Access Points (RAPs) – minimal footprint for mobile, remote and temporary workspaces, delivering secure connectivity to the corporate enterprise network
• SD-Branch – maximum integration and simple unified management across WLAN, LAN and SD-WAN with Zero Trust security
• EdgeConnect – optimal QoE (Quality of Experience) from edge-to-cloud with an advanced SD-WAN edge platform and unified SASE components