What to expect from SASE certifications

Secure access service edge (SASE) is a network architecture that rolls SD-WAN and security into a single, centrally handled cloud service that assures streamlined WAN implementation, improved security, and much better performance.

According to Gartner, SASE’s advantages are transformational since it can speed implementation time for brand-new users, locations, applications and gadgets as well as reduce attack surfaces and reduce removal times by as much as 95 per cent.

With the pandemic, adoption of SASE has been on an upward swing. A June report from Sapio Research study, commissioned by Versa Networks, finds 34 per cent of companies are already utilizing SASE, and another 30 per cent plan to in the next six to 12 months.

Gartner puts SASE at the peak of its hype cycle and states it’s now just two to five years from mainstream adoption. It’s a meteoric increase, specifically thinking about that Gartner just created the term in 2019.

So is it too early to expect networking professionals to get certifications in the innovation? Or is now precisely the correct time?

Cato’s two-level certification

SASE company Cato Networks launched its sophisticated Level II version of its SASE certification on Sept. 1, after introducing Level 1 last November.

« Individuals are looking to comprehend precisely what SASE is, sift through all the sound, and comprehend what worth SASE can give their enterprise IT, » states Eyal Webber-Zvik, Cato’s VP of item marketing.

Compared to other networking certifications, like the CCNA, which is more about how to run the innovation, Cato’s SASE certification is a top-level summary. « Our certification is more about what SASE implies, what are the implications, and what it indicates to various IT teams, » states Webber-Zvik. « You see presentations, white boards, reading products, and at the end of each area there is a quiz. When you finish all the sets and pass all the tests you get the accreditation. »

The majority of the product covered is not Cato-specific, he says. The accreditation does use Cato’s implementation of SASE in its examples.

Take, for instance, single-pass processing. According to Gartner, this is an essential quality of SASE, and it means that networking and security are integrated. « We discuss it according to Gartner’s definition, » Webber-Zvik says. « We likewise provide an example of Cato’s implementation and use that to articulate what single-pass processing can appear like when it’s outside Gartner theory and in real life. »

There is no charge for Cato’s accreditation training and test, however that might change, he says.

The level one accreditation has twelve areas, and it takes about a day to complete. Level 2 has five phases, takes about half a day, and requires that applicants initially total level one.

The training and screening are delivered on the Credly platform. « It incorporates with LinkedIn, so it’s automatically shared on your LinkedIn profile, » Webber-Zvik states.

Since Sept. 1, more than 1,000 people have actually earned level one certification, and they represent several levels of professional experience and task classifications. Half are current Cato clients, and some of the rest may be thinking about opting for Cato, says Dave Greenfield, Cato’s director of innovation evangelism.

The Cato SASE certificate provides some extra benefits for some business. « Channel partners with qualified personnel get a higher margin and some offer registration benefits, more accounts to practice and demo on, and so on, » Greenfield says.

Netskope and Versa provide SASE certs

Other companies are also leaping onto the SASE accreditation bandwagon, and more will follow, states Liz Miller, VP and primary expert at Monte Vista, Calif.-based Constellation Research Study.

Cato’s certification is special in that it has more than one level, she says. « But practically anybody offering a converged platform will start to offer similar training and certification badges and honors, » she says.

SASE supplier Netskope jumped into the arena in June, launching its SASE accreditation course.

According to the business, the course is targeted at network infrastructure and cybersecurity specialists and is created to be vendor agnostic. The course costs $1,000 and is an interactive, instructor-led, and carried out practically. After the course, trainees take the accreditation exam, and those who pass receive a SASE accredited-architect certificate.

The curriculum consists of the basic technology and architecture principles of SASE, covers essential part innovations and designs that jointly make up the SASE designs, and includes useful examples, case research studies, and use-cases illustrating how SASE is carried out in real-world settings. The course is made up of two four-hour sessions and takes 2 days to complete. The test is 45 minutes long.

Both of Netskope’s September courses are offered out, but seats are still readily available for October, November, and December.

Another business offering SASE accreditations is Versa Networks. It uses a totally free Versa SASE Essentials course and has a channel-partners program to certify companies on its SASE platform.

« The proposed program training, accreditation and enablement activities focus on SASE style and release, » says John Atchison, Versa’s head of global channel marketing. « Upon completing examinations proctored by a 3rd party, Versa ACE Partners are accredited and have access to the SASE Specialized badges. »

The method the system works, he states, is that individual specialists take the courses and certification tests. « Once the business has actually completed the requirements, they get status– such as Titan Specialized– and gain access to the specialty badges, » he stated.

Do you need SASE certs?

SASE certifications have value when combined with knowledge of the SASE structure and ability to help get a migration plan rolling, states Constellation’s Miller. « But does everyone need to run out to get this? Likely not yet. »

SASE is an essential structure– and it can’t be stood up in a day, or a week, Miller states. « It is a security structure to bring security and network connection into a single cloud platform. This is core to rapid change that is resilient and safe not just today but as the edge and cloud continue their trajectory of growth. »

Business will need people who are well versed in the what and the why of converging cloud platforms. « This is where, possibly, certifications will can be found in convenient, » she states. « People who put in that time will also extract the knowledge and the insights needed to not just implement the framework however also to repair and define requirements within a particular circumstance or enterprise. »

The new SASE certifications are no place near as involved as something like Cisco’s CCNA certification, says Rik Turner, primary analyst for emerging technologies, at Omdia. But the accreditations could still be valuable, Turner states, even if they are vendor specific.

« They will reveal you are familiar with at least one vendor’s SASE offering, and there need to be a reasonable degree of commonness between them all. I suppose it’s a bit like, in a previous age, someone appearing for a task interview with Cisco certifications, which might be of some usage if you were a Foundry or Extreme shop. Or possibly somebody who recognized with HP-UX might be of interest to a Solaris store. »

It will be intriguing to see if an independent certification emerges.