SASE: Secure Connect
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Beyond Just SASE: A Pragmatic Blueprint for Secure, Efficient Connectivity to Protect All Users at the Edge
Read guide: Beyond Just SASE: A Pragmatic Blueprint for Secure, Efficient Connectivity to Protect All Users at the Edge
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From Enthusiasm to Panic: How AI Forced a New Era of Security Leadership
Read post: From Enthusiasm to Panic: How AI Forced a New Era of Security Leadership
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GTT & Corero | Solution Guide – Choosing the Right DDoS Service
Read white paper: GTT & Corero | Solution Guide – Choosing the Right DDoS Service
Unified networking and security built for how your enterprise operates today
Enterprise connectivity has shifted as employees work from anywhere—office, home and branch offices. Applications live in cloud platforms, not corporate data centers. Partners and customers access systems from outside your perimeter. And yet many organizations are still trying to secure this distributed reality with tools designed for a world where everyone worked in a traditional business environment.
Secure Connect is a fully managed Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) solution that converges wide area networking and cloud-delivered security into a single, unified framework. Rather than managing separate vendors for SD-WAN, web security, access control and threat protection, your organization gets one integrated solution delivered and supported by GTT around the clock.
The cost of keeping security and networking separate
For most enterprises, networking and security evolved independently. Each tool in the mix solved a specific problem but none of them were designed to work together. The result is a patchwork that creates gaps and slows down the business.
The organizational consequences are visible in every IT team:
- Remote and hybrid users connect through legacy VPNs that backhaul traffic to data centers
- Security policies differ between on-premises and remote environments
- Multiple management consoles mean no single view of network performance or user activity
- Each point solution requires dedicated expertise to configure, maintain and update
- SaaS and cloud applications are accessed over the public internet without inspection
- Adding new locations or onboarding new users requires configuring multiple separate systems rather than a single policy
Secure Connect resolves this by collapsing those layers into a single managed service. Networking policy and security policy are defined and enforced together through one platform and one support relationship.
With Secure Connect in place, your organization can:
- Extend consistent security policy to every user, location and device
- Eliminate VPN backhauling by routing users directly to cloud applications through local secure access points
- Consolidate management of SD-WAN, SWG, CASB, ZTNA, FWaaS and DLP
- Replace unpredictable capital expenditure on hardware with predictable monthly operational spend
- Accelerate application onboarding without opening new security gaps
- Demonstrate compliance with data handling and access control requirements across all user environments
The GTT difference
Zero Trust Access: Identity over implicit network trust
Legacy network security granted access based on location: if you were on the corporate network,
you were trusted. Zero trust inverts that assumption.
Without GTT
- Network-level trust grants broad access once a user is inside the perimeter
- Compromised credentials allow lateral movement across the network without further validation
- VPN access is binary; users are either fully inside or fully outside with no application-level granularity
- Contractor and partner access is difficult to scope without complex network segmentation
With GTT
- Every access request is verified against user identity and application-specific policy
- Least-privilege access limits what authenticated users can reach
- Application-level access policies grant users only what they need
- Third-party and partner access is controlled and scoped without requiring network restructuring
Results
The attack surface shrinks substantially. Compromised credentials no longer translate into broad network access.
Unified security posture across every user and location
Inconsistent security policy is one of the most common root causes of enterprise breaches.
Attackers find and exploit those gaps; SASE closes them by design.
Without GTT
- Remote users bypass corporate security controls when connecting via home networks or public Wi-Fi
- Branch offices run lighter security stacks than headquarters, creating uneven exposure
- Policy changes must be pushed to multiple systems and locations individually
- Compliance audits reveal inconsistencies between on-premises and remote access controls
With GTT
- Every user is subject to the same security inspection and policy enforcement
- Security functions are delivered from the cloud edge closest to the user, minimizing latency while maintaining protection
- Policy updates apply universally from a single management plane with no per-site configuration required
- Consistent controls provide the audit evidence needed to satisfy data protection and access compliance requirements
Results
Your security posture is as strong at the home office as it is at headquarters
Direct cloud access without performance penalties
When applications live in the cloud, forcing that traffic back through the data center before it can
reach users creates unnecessary latency and a poor user experience.
Without GTT
- SaaS and cloud traffic is backhauled through corporate data centers before reaching cloud providers
- VPN concentration points become congestion bottlenecks
- Users experience slow application performance during peak hours
- Cloud application rollouts are delayed by the need to update access policies across multiple systems
With GTT
- Users connect directly to cloud applications through the nearest SASE edge node
- Traffic is inspected and secured at the edge rather than at a central choke point
- Application performance improves because traffic takes the most efficient path rather than the most controlled one
- New applications are onboarded through centralized policy updates
Results
Cloud and SaaS application performance improves markedly because traffic flows efficiently rather than circuitously
Operational simplicity in one platform, one partner
Managing five separate security tools across a distributed enterprise is a full-time job for multiple
people. That operational overhead accumulates into real cost and real risk.
Without GTT
- Separate management consoles for SD-WAN, firewall, web security, CASB and remote access
- Security incidents require correlation across multiple systems with no unified timeline
- Staff expertise must span multiple vendor platforms simultaneously
- Support issues involve multiple vendors, with each pointing to the others during escalation
With GTT
- Unified management console covers networking and security policy in a single view
- GTT Envision provides correlated visibility across all service components and user activity
- GTT’s certified team manages the full stack
- Single support relationship with 24/7 NOC and SOC coverage, CREST-certified analysts, and one escalation path
Results
IT teams reclaim time currently spent coordinating across vendors and manually correlating security events
Flexibility to match your architecture and growth plans
No two enterprises arrive at SASE from the same starting point. Secure Connect is designed
to accommodate all networking realities.
Without GTT
- Vendor lock-in limits flexibility as requirements evolve or new technologies emerge
- Security architecture cannot grow to new regions without replicating hardware deployments
- Compliance with specific regulatory frameworks requires capabilities that single-vendor platforms may not fully cover
- Scaling services up or down requires contract renegotiation and lengthy provisioning cycles
With GTT
- Choice of best-in-class SSE partners that delivers both a single-vendor or dual-vendor SASE with proven enterprise-grade capabilities to meet your requirements.
- Cloud-delivered architecture scales globally without physical hardware at every location
- GTT’s service portfolio integrates a secure Tier 1 backbone, MDR, DDoS protection
- Service tier flexibility lets you match the managed service level to your internal capabilities
Results
Your SASE deployment grows with your organization rather than constraining it. The architecture adapts without requiring a redesign.
Choosing your Secure Connect solution
GTT partners with best-in-class SSE partners to deliver the complete SASE framework powered by GTT’s global Tier 1 network backbone, with 24/7 managed support and access to GTT’s co-management portal. The right choice depends on your existing technology investments and preferred management approach.
Not sure which option fits your environment? Our security specialists will assess your current architecture, compliance requirements and operational model to recommend the configuration that delivers the best outcome for your organization.
The right level of management for your team
Secure Connect will provide the right service levels, designed to match your organization’s internal capabilities and operational preferences. Whether you want GTT to manage everything end-to-end or prefer to retain co-management rights over specific functions, there is a service level that fits.
Service levels can be adjusted as your team’s capabilities and requirements evolve. Organizations that start at the basic level and will migrate to a more operational efficient level as they recognize the operational leverage that comes from a more fully managed model.
How it works
GTT manages the full lifecycle of your SASE deployment using proven delivery frameworks and a
globally distributed support model.
1
Discovery and design
We begin by mapping your current network architecture, application landscape, user distribution and compliance obligations. Our security engineers design a SASE architecture that addresses your specific requirements. For organizations with existing GTT connectivity or security services, we design the migration path to minimize disruption.
2
Deployment and onboarding
GTT manages the full deployment process. Our Professional Services team coordinates with your internal stakeholders at every stage, with milestone-based governance to keep the project on schedule and within scope. Go-live is validated against agreed performance and security baselines before the service is handed over to operations.
3
Operations, monitoring and optimization
Your Secure Connect environment is monitored continuously by GTT’s global NOC and SOC teams. Security analysts with CREST certification and ISO accreditation monitor for threats around the clock. The GTT Envision platform provides your team with real-time visibility into network performance and security events. Regular reviews and optimization recommendations ensure the service evolves with your business.
Discover more in our Secure Networking portfolio
Managed SD-WAN
Enable secure and controlled access to applications from anywhere.
Cloud Security
Optimizing your services to meet your changing business requirements.
Secure Remote Access
Strengthen remote access and prevent unauthorized intrusion with identity- and permissions-based authentication policies.
Managed Detection & Response
Monitor, validate and respond to security threats faster than ever. We leverage a best-in-class SIEM platform augmented with machine learning and automation to detect sophisticated threats in cloud environments.
DDoS Prevention
Maintain uptime to protect productivity, brand, reputation and revenue. Ensure business continuity by protecting your critical assets with GTT’s comprehensive DDoS solution.
Managed Firewall
Transform your WAN with dynamic network traffic management. Our security services team will continually audit your organization’s firewall rules and manage the entire process end-to-end.
Frequently asked questions
Don’t let your questions stand in the way of network transformation. Here are a few answers to your common questions about Managed SD-WAN Services.
What are the benefits of Secure Connect?
Secure Connect provides several benefits in addition to enhanced security. These benefits include:
- Flexibility and scalability
- Cost savings
- Reduced IT department complexities
- Increased performance
- Zero-trust network access
- Threat prevention and management
- Data protection policy management
What is the customer journey when deploying Secure Connect?
The first step is to connect with one of our GTT experts, who can answer questions and suggest the services and packages that suit your business objectives and needs. We support businesses in the financial services, manufacturing, retail, e-commerce, media, and broadcast industries.
What use cases is Secure Connect ideal for?
Secure Connect has several valid use cases. However, the most popular deployments of Secure Connect support hybrid and remote work models, branch transformation or expansion, cloud adoption, and data migration.
What’s the difference between Zero Trust Network Access and traditional VPNs?
A traditional VPN encrypts data while providing a base level of secure access. However, zero-trust network access goes beyond conventional security features by verifying end-user identity and closing access to unverified endpoint devices or users through complex security layers.
Complete your solution
SIP Trunking
Integrating diverse communication capabilities onto a single global platform
Cloud Connect
Optimize your business-critical applications and connect to a leading Cloud Service Provider
Our Gartner rating
Secure your people and applications
Secure Connect gives you the unified architecture to protect everything necessary with the managed service expertise to operate it without adding headcount.