As enterprises accelerate their shift toward secure access service edge (SASE), many are tempted to implement cloud-only security service edge (SSE) solutions. And while SSE provides modular security services like SWG, CASB, and ZTNA, it also introduces hidden costs, scalability challenges, and architectural trade-offs that impact enterprise network performance and budget.
A hybrid approach, combining on-premises SD-WAN with cloud-based SSE, is the key to an efficient, scalable, and cost-effective SASE implementation. Let’s take a deeper look into why that is.
Join us on 23rd April to learn 4 Ways to SASE with a Hybrid Mesh Firewall Platform.
The Cloud Egress Cost Trap
One of the biggest but often overlooked challenges in a cloud-only SSE model is cloud egress charges—the fees cloud providers impose when data exits their environment. Enterprises with high data throughput or multi-cloud architectures face substantial costs when routing traffic through cloud-based security services. These costs are exacerbated by:
- High-volume applications, e.g., video conferencing, data replication, and SaaS-heavy workflows, which can drive excessive egress costs when all traffic is funnelled through cloud security engines.
- Cloud provider lock-in, reflected in these costs, as enterprises are penalized for routing traffic between different cloud environments.
A hybrid SASE approach—where on-prem SD-WAN handles security enforcement locally and routes only certain activity through the cloud breakout—can drastically reduce egress costs by ensuring only essential traffic is inspected in the cloud.
The Scalability Challenge: Cloud Bottlenecks vs. Distributed Control
Cloud-based SSE providers operate from regional PoPs (points of presence), but these PoPs have finite processing power and share resources across multiple customers. Enterprises relying entirely on SSE for security enforcement may encounter:
- Performance bottlenecks when multiple organizations push traffic through the same cloud PoPs.
- Inconsistent routing efficiency, as traffic may need to take suboptimal paths to reach the nearest SSE node.
- Increased latency for real-time applications that require direct connectivity.
On-premises SD-WAN distributes security enforcement across the network, reducing dependency on cloud-based inspection and eliminating unnecessary backhauling. This allows enterprises to scale efficiently while ensuring low-latency, high-performance connectivity.
Hybrid SASE: The Best of Both Worlds
A well-designed hybrid SASE model leverages the strengths of both on-prem SD-WAN and cloud-based SSE to optimize cost, performance, and security with:
- Intelligent cloud breakout – On-prem SD-WAN directs traffic efficiently, sending only necessary traffic through cloud security services to minimize egress fees
- Distributed security enforcement – Enterprises maintain local security policies while offloading scalable functions (like CASB or web filtering) to the cloud.
- Flexibility & resilience – A hybrid model ensures that mission-critical applications stay operational even if cloud security services experience downtime or congestion. When SD-WAN embedded is into redundant firewalls, it supports failover, high availability and resilience.
- Multi-cloud & data center connectivity – On-premises SD-WAN seamlessly integrates with private datacenters and cloud environments without incurring unnecessary costs.
What is Hybrid SASE with a Hybrid Mesh Firewall?
A hybrid mesh firewall lets you integrate SD-WAN into multiple firewall form factors tailored for every use case, providing the cost control, performance optimization, and security resilience that you need for a truly scalable SASE deployment:
- Cloud firewalls for IaaS
- Virtual firewalls for private datacenters
- Firewall-as-a-service for the hybrid workforce
- Hardware firewalls for on-premises offices and sites
To learn “4 Ways to SASE”, join the webinar on Wednesday, April 23rd at 5:00pm CET | 11:00am ET as we share how to integrate Quantum SD-WAN into different types of environments.
To learn more about secure SD-WAN from Check Point, visit: https://www.checkpoint.com/solutions/sd-wan-security/ or download the datasheet.