Dell, Versa partner to solve network challenges in a distributed, hybrid workforce era

Optimizing efficiency is always top-of-mind for enterprises, and it’s even more pressing in today’s pandemic-induced work-from-home culture.

The partnership between Dell Technologies Inc. and Versa Networks Inc. is making the convergence of networking and security a reality by adopting SASE whether the workforce is remote or in-office.

Before the onset of the pandemic, Dell was already working on a distributed model aimed at building solutions for a geographically dispersed workforce. As a result, it has been instrumental in network modernization when it comes to work-from-home or remote office scenarios, according to Atif Saeed (pictured, left), principal product manager of edge networking solutions at Dell.

“From our perspective, it’s really about building an open platform … we built an x86-based platform to tap into a mature ecosystem that customers can leverage as they build towards their modernization goals,” he explained. “So, a common hardware infrastructure means a common deployment model, which streamlines operations.”

Saeed and Rob McBride (pictured, right), channel and partner sales engineer at Versa Networks Inc., spoke with John Furrier, host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio, during a recent digital CUBE Conversation. They discussed their partnership, network modernization, and the convergence of network and security through SASE and SD-WAN in the distributed and hybrid workforce era. (* Disclosure below.)

SASE and SD-WAN are booming

Issues around network security have come up in the post-pandemic era because of the transition to a cloud-hybrid environment. This explains why SASE and SD-WAN have been booming, according to McBride.

“SASE is really an architecture that is around the convergence of networking and security, put together in a uniform platform or service that is delivered from both the cloud and traditional WAN,” he pointed out.

With SASE comprising a six security layer and network layer that are intrinsically linked, McBride believes that SD-WAN takes a big portion of the network component.

“SD-WAN provides value associated with dynamic lanes, steering, automation, application attachments, and so on,” McBride stated. “It’s a core element of the foundation of the network layer associated with SASE.”

The concept of security is entrenched in SD-WAN, both intrinsically and natively, for both traditional WAN transformation and SASE services needed by a hybrid workforce and remote workers, according to McBride.

“The SASE cloud that we built for our customers to leverage for private access, public access, and CASB-DLP-type of services is built upon SD-WAN,” he explained.  

Network modernization is no longer in oblivion

With network modernization rendering simplicity of management, McBride believes that the issue of secure access for remote workers is amicably addressed based on the uniform solutions provided.  

“You get better overall control that’s been ultimately simplified as a result of consolidation and unification,” he stated.

A resilient and secure underlying networking infrastructure gives a company an enhanced level of control based on the insights presented. As a result, this prompts best practices around application usage and performance, according to Saeed.

“More insight means control that IT departments need,” he said. “They need that to manage and address security threats … to identify an abnormal traffic pattern or unauthorized data movement and be able to push updates and patches quickly.”

The provision of ubiquitous and uniform policy architecture aimed at identifying the right users who connect and access business applications requires the intertwining of networking and security, according to McBride. Given that the cloud offers a dynamically scalable approach, McBride trusts that it joins the dots between network and security.

“The cloud that we’re using as a conduit for security, as well as network, is now even connected and optimized paths to applications … so that’s kind of where it meets together,” he added.

With the new norm of working remotely or from home not going away anytime soon, Saeed believes that bringing the right partners to the table and providing enterprise-grade solutions that can scale in a cost-effective manner is paramount.

“From the Dell perspective, we want to provide enterprise-grade infrastructure … with this trend of a hybrid workforce, a geographically dispersed user base,” Saeed concluded.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s CUBE Conversations. (* Disclosure: Dell Technologies Inc. sponsored this segment of theCUBE. Neither Dell nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE