The Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) market, which combines SD-WAN and Security Service Edge (SSE) technologies, experienced a 23% rise in revenue growth in the first quarter of 2024, the market’s 17th consecutive quarter with more than 20% growth.

A report from Dell’Oro Group found organizations continued to prioritize mobile- and cloud-first environments, which has powered the shift towards SASE solutions.

North America remains the largest contributor to this revenue, accounting for over half of the global market. However, regions such as Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia-Pacific (APAC) have clocked faster growth rates, indicating a broader global adoption of SASE solutions.

“Governments and enterprises in the EMEA and APAC regions are investing in local cybersecurity innovations and partnerships to strengthen their security infrastructure,” explained Jason Soroko, senior vice president of product at Sectigo.

The report noted that single-vendor SASE solutions dominate the market, representing 80% of the total revenue, significantly bolstered by Zscaler’s recent entry into the SD-WAN market.

The unified SASE market continues to attract mid-market enterprises due to its simplified networking and security integration, as evidenced by Cato Networks’ 48% revenue growth.

Soroko explained that unified SASE solutions are particularly appealing to mid-market enterprises due to their affordability, scalability, ease of implementation and enhanced security.

“These solutions offer a cost-effective way to achieve comprehensive security and networking capabilities, allowing mid-market enterprises to scale their security measures as they grow without needing to invest in separate solutions,” he said.

Companies are achieving significant revenue growth by addressing the specific needs of mid-market enterprises, offering tailored solutions that provide high value at a competitive price point.

“Compliance requirements and the established trust and reliability of leading SSE vendors further drive the adoption of these solutions,” Soroko said. 

Guy Rosenthal, vice president, product, at DoControl said companies are shifting to SASE solutions because they combine network security and WAN capabilities into a single, manageable platform. 

“This simplifies operations, enhances security and supports the growing remote and hybrid workforce trends,” he said.

He pointed out that along with SASE, an increase in SaaS applications for remote work and collaboration is also occurring in the market. 

The report noted that Zscaler maintained its position as the overall revenue leader in the SASE market, becoming only the second vendor, after Cisco in Q3 2019, to achieve a 20% or more revenue share.

Remote Work, Cloud Services Drive SASE Growth

While SSE revenue grew by 24% year-over-year, marking its lowest growth rate to date, key players including Zscaler, Palo Alto Networks and Netskope still saw a combined revenue increase of 38% year-over-year.

Soroko said increased adoption of cloud services, remote work and mobile-first environments has intensified the need for secure, scalable access solutions.

“The convergence of networking and security functions into a unified cloud-native service simplifies management and reduces costs, while regulatory compliance requirements compel organizations to invest in advanced security measures,” he added.

As a result, enterprises are integrating SASE into their IT strategies to enhance security and connectivity for their distributed workforces.

Rosenthal said even with the slowdown in SSE growth, there’s still strong demand for comprehensive security solutions because threats are becoming more sophisticated, and the hybrid work environment is here to stay.

“Customers are looking for solutions that provide end-to-end security, including threat detection, response capabilities and real-time visibility into their environments,” he said.

From Rosenthal’s perspective, the shift towards zero-trust security models and the need to protect cloud and SaaS applications against advanced threats are also key drivers.

He said companies want robust, integrated security solutions that can adapt to evolving threats and help them maintain a strong security posture.

“You can also see the growth in related areas such as SaaS security posture management and cloud-native application protection platforms,” Rosenthal added.