LOS ANGELES, Aug. 28, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — MEF, a global consortium of network, cloud, security and technology providers helping accelerate digital transformation for enterprises, today announced new certifications in the first module of its Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Product and Services Certification Program. SD-WAN certifications have been achieved by Broadcom, Inc., Fortinet and Versa. Palo Alto Networks will soon achieve SD-WAN certification. Certified technology providers are assessed on the validity of their products and listed in MEF's Registry of Certified Organizations. The MEF's SASE Certification Program is now generally available to its technology and service provider members.
Enterprises around the world are adopting SD-WAN to address changing workforce needs, cloud migration, and enable digital transformation. SD-WAN offers benefits such as improved application performance, centralized management, optimized connectivity, agility, security, and cost. As a key component of SASE, SD-WAN is increasingly being integrated with cybersecurity solutions to protect distributed environments.
SD-WAN certification paves the way for SASE certification
The groundbreaking SASE certification program aims to instill confidence in the market by validating reliable and consistent technology and managed service outcomes. It is a subscription-based, ongoing testing model that allows participating technology and service providers to increase their certification scores and provide confidence in their cybersecurity products to the market. SASE certification consists of three test modules – SD-WAN, Security Services Edge (SSE), and Zero Trust – each module must be successfully completed to achieve SASE certification.
Comprehensive SASE Certification
The certification program is offered in collaboration with MEF partner CyberRatings.org (CRO), a world-class laboratory dedicated to sharing knowledge on how to build, manage and apply tests that bring transparency and trust to cybersecurity products and services. Technology providers' testing is subject to compliance with MEF standards and methodologies and testing programs developed by the CRO. Once testing is complete, MEF will issue a report card to the technology provider based on the test results. The badge, along with the rating, will be displayed in the MEF Certification Registry.
SASE certification ensures compliance with the MEF SD-WAN (MEF 70.1) standard, as well as the industry-first standards for SASE (MEF 117) and Zero Trust (MEF 118). SD-WAN certification is available today across MEF membership, with full SASE certification expected to be available in Q4 2024.
“The first SD-WAN certification achieved for our SASE program is an important milestone, enabling enterprises to confidently deploy secure, reliable access solutions as they accelerate their digital transformation and move more applications to the cloud,” said Pascal Menezes, CTO, MEF. “This certification paves the way for enterprises to confidently achieve full SASE certification, demonstrating MEF's commitment to validating secure, high-performance networks.”
SASE services will be a key component of Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) offerings. NaaS allows service providers to bundle standardized services that include a combination of on-demand connectivity, application assurance, cybersecurity, and multicloud-based services. This helps enterprises achieve their business outcomes without building or maintaining their own infrastructure. Including certified SASE services as part of a provider's NaaS offering gives enterprises confidence that their cybersecurity solutions work.
SASE State of the Industry Report
MEF recently released the “State of the Industry Report: SASE – Validating Cyber Defense in an Age of Unprecedented Threats,” a comprehensive report examining multiple factors that are dramatically increasing the risk of large-scale cyber attacks worldwide. The report explains how enterprise network and cybersecurity decision makers can leverage MEF standards-based SASE certification to select the best solutions with validated cyber defense effectiveness and application performance. Click here to learn more and download the SASE report.
Learn more about MEF's SASE certification program here.
SASE Spotlight on GNE
SASE services and technologies will be featured prominently at MEF's Global Network-as-a-Service event (GNE), October 28-30, 2024, in Dallas, Texas. For more information or to register, visit GNE 2024.
About MEF
MEF is a global consortium of services, cloud, cybersecurity and technology providers working together to accelerate enterprise digital transformation. It delivers standards-based frameworks, services, technologies, APIs and certification programs for delivering Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) across an automated ecosystem. MEF is the authority on certified Lifecycle Service Orchestration (LSO) business and operational APIs, Carrier Ethernet, SASE, SD-WAN, Zero Trust and Security Services Edge (SSE) technologies and services. MEF's Global NaaS Events (GNE) bring together industry leaders building, delivering and consuming next-generation NaaS solutions. For more information about MEF, visit MEF.net and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.
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Here's what accredited organizations have to say about the importance of certification:
“We have built a single-vendor, integrated SASE platform that delivers consistent security and the highest quality user experience, with Secure SD-WAN as a core component. As a leading SD-WAN and SASE provider, we are proud to have achieved the highest possible AAA rating in the latest SD-WAN certification in MEF's 3.0 SASE certification program. This is important validation for our partners and customers and a testament to Fortinet's continued innovation and commitment to the latest security standards in the industry.”
– John Madison, Chief Marketing Officer, Fortinet
“Versa, a MEF member and leader in universal SASE, applauds the MEF for establishing this new SASE certification program. SASE solutions form the foundation of many digital transformation initiatives by converging security and networking onto a single, integrated platform. By including real-world testing in this certification program, MEF provides needed visibility into the validity of SASE solutions and their underlying SD-WAN, SSE and ZTNA components.” – Kelly Ahuja, CEO, Versa
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e7854cca-3067-45e4-8c40-2f671843096a
