The office concept has dissolved. Work happens everywhere — from kitchen tables to airport lounges, customer sites and branch offices.

Applications have migrated to cloud environments and sometimes migrated back again. That fluid reality demands a fundamental rethinking of how organisations approach security.

The security imperative for distributed workforces

Yesterday’s security models built around protected perimeters no longer suffice in a world where connectivity is ubiquitous. Every connection between users, devices and applications represents both opportunity and vulnerability.

Recent research reveals that 69% of organisations plan to adopt Security Service Edge (SSE) platforms within two years, recognising the need for a shift in protection strategies.

Moving beyond the castle-and-moat mindset

Corporate networks once functioned like medieval fortresses — build high walls, control the drawbridge, and assume everything inside remains safe.

That model collapses when teams work from anywhere, and applications exist everywhere. Different access patterns emerge, such as employees connecting via corporate or personal devices and partners requiring limited resource access.

Traditional remote-access approaches force all traffic through centralised networks, creating frustrating bottlenecks and performance issues.

They burden users with clunky security procedures while paradoxically increasing risk through expanded attack surfaces. Instead, security that follows users rather than constraining them within artificial boundaries is needed.

Reimagining security for borderless environments

Security Service Edge offers a radical departure from conventional approaches. Rather than securing the network, SSE secures the connections through globally distributed cloud architecture rather than securing the network.

It fundamentally changes how security operates — protection extends directly to wherever users and resources interact instead of pulling all traffic through corporate networks.

An effective SSE platform weaves together complementary capabilities:

  • Identity-centric access controls that continuously validate users before granting resource access
  • Intelligent traffic inspection that prevents malicious content from reaching users’ devices
  • Comprehensive visibility across all cloud service interactions to prevent data leakage
  • Real-time performance analytics that identify and resolve connectivity issues before users notice them

These capabilities create the foundation for Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) when integrated with intelligent network connectivity through SD-WAN technologies. That holistic architecture unifies networking and security into a seamless cloud-delivered service.