MEF, a global consortium of network, cloud, security, and technology providers accelerating enterprise digital transformation, today announced new certifications in the first module of its Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) products and services certification program. SD-WAN certification was achieved by Broadcom, Inc., Fortinet, and Versa. Palo Alto Networks is expected to achieve its SD-WAN certification shortly.
Certified technology providers have received a rating on product effectiveness and will be listed in MEF’s registry of certified organizations. MEF’s SASE certification program is now generally available to technology and service provider members.
Enterprises worldwide have adopted SD-WAN to enable digital transformation, addressing changing workforce needs and cloud migration. SD-WAN offers improved application performance, centralized management, optimized connectivity, agility, security, cost, and other benefits. As a key component of SASE, SD-WAN has become increasingly integrated with cybersecurity solutions to protect distributed environments.
SD-WAN Certification Paves the Way to SASE Certification
The SASE certification program is designed to instill confidence in the market by validating reliable and consistent technology and managed service outcomes. It is a subscription-based ongoing test model that allows participating technology and service providers the ability to increase certification scores to deliver confidence in cybersecurity products to the market. SASE certification comprises three test modules: SD-WAN, Security Service Edge (SSE), and Zero Trust – each of which must be successfully accomplished to achieve SASE certification.
Comprehensive SASE Certification
The certification program is being delivered in conjunction with MEF partner CyberRatings.org (CRO), a world-class lab dedicated to sharing knowledge of how to build, manage, and apply testing providing transparency and confidence in cybersecurity products and services. Technology provider testing is based upon compliance to MEF standards and methodologies, and test programs developed by CRO. After the completion of testing, MEF issues a report card to the technology provider based on testing results. Badges will appear in the MEF certification registry with the ratings.
SASE certification will ensure compliance to the MEF SD-WAN (MEF 70.1) standard, and industry first standards for SASE (MEF 117) and Zero Trust (MEF 118). SD-WAN certification is now available to MEF membership at large and full SASE certification is expected to be available in Q4 2024.
“The first SD-WAN certifications achieved under our SASE program mark a significant milestone, empowering enterprises to confidently adopt secure and reliable access solutions as they accelerate digital transformation and migrate more applications to the cloud,” said Pascal Menezes, CTO, MEF. “This certification paves the way for enterprises to confidently pursue full SASE certification and demonstrates MEF’s commitment to validating secure, high-performing networks.”
SASE services will be a crucial component of Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) offerings. NaaS enables service providers to bundle standardized services including a combination of on-demand connectivity, application assurance, cybersecurity, and multi-cloud-based services that enable enterprises to achieve business outcomes without having to build or maintain their own infrastructure. Including certified SASE services as part of a provider’s NaaS offerings means enterprises can be assured that their cybersecurity solution works.
State of the Industry Report on SASE
MEF recently released its “State of the Industry Report: SASE – Validating Cyber Defense in an Era of Unprecedented Threats,” a comprehensive report that explores multiple factors dramatically increasing the risk of major cyberattacks worldwide. The report explains how enterprise networking and cybersecurity decisionmakers can utilize MEF standards-based SASE certification to choose the best solutions with validated cyber defense effectiveness and application performance. Find more information and download the SASE report here.
More information about MEF’s SASE certification program can be found here.
SASE Spotlight at GNE
SASE services and technologies will feature prominently at MEF’s Global Network-as-a-Service Event (GNE), Oct 28-30, 2024, in Dallas, Texas. Visit GNE 2024 for more information or to register to attend.
