The solution is mainly used for remote user access, simplifying cybersecurity, and improving WAN connectivity.
Used for remote user access, simplifying cybersecurity, and improving WAN connectivity
What is our primary use case?
What is most valuable?
Lumen SASE is a carrier and full solution that can take a user's traffic all the way end to end. A lot of SASE providers don't provide the local access loop over the internet connection, but Lumen provides the whole service. Since the solution provides a full cyber security stack, you don't have to have your own cybersecurity infrastructure.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution's stability is better than that of SASE providers that don't provide end-to-end solutions. Since Lumen SASE provides end-to-end solutions, it's more stable.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I rate the solution’s scalability ten out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support team is well-staffed with a lot of competent people.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Lumen uses Fortinet as a foundational piece of one version of their service. You could also use Versa Networks. For me, the two best ones are Fortinet and Versa Networks. Fortinet has its own hardware, which is better because you're going with their global hardware manufacturer, which makes the fastest chips for that type of service.
I know that Lumen uses Fortinet equipment in their telecom and cybersecurity networks within their company. You get a very streamlined network if you're connecting to their Fortinet equipment through their SASE service. Since Versa Networks is not based on Fortinet, there's no Versa equipment in the core of the Lumen network, like Fortinet. That's the main difference to me.
You're diversifying by getting the advantages of having a lot of computing power in the Fortinet equipment. With Versa Networks, you cannot keep pace with the higher volumes or if you're doing a lot of mobile configurations. You're better off with all the options you have of having the advantage of using Fortinet equipment for different types of uses. Versa Networks is not a cybersecurity hardware company, and they are missing that whole extra advantage.
How was the initial setup?
Although there's complexity in anything you install, the initial setup of Lumen SASE is about as easy as it can get. The solution's deployment time depends on your location and what kind of circuits you're getting. If you want to order a fiber optic circuit without fiber in your building, it will take longer to get that in. Deploying on the cloud is almost immediate, but the circuit part would take longer.
Depending on the size of the installation, the solution can be deployed by one person or as many people as you want. Since mine is not a big company, one person is enough to deploy the tool. The solution is maintained by the provider.
On a scale from one to ten, where one is difficult and ten is easy, I rate the solution's initial setup ten out of ten.
What was our ROI?
You save money because you don't need any IT staff to secure your signal and everything. You can eliminate the cost of paying cyber security people to run firewalls and other people to run switches and routers. That amounts to huge savings depending on how a company is structured.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
The solution's pricing is totally reasonable compared to trying to do it yourself. We save a lot of money with Lumen SASE. The solution's pricing is about 125 bucks a seat to start with, but it depends on what you add to it and how you connect it. It depends on what configuration you're talking about. The tool costs 125 bucks just for the cloud service.
What other advice do I have?
Lumen SASE is a global solution. It's a conglomeration of networks acquired over the years, and it can connect you to most locations globally. The next version of the solution would include enhancements that keep pace with the cybersecurity capabilities as they evolve and the network as it expands. It would improve everything, such as computing, networking, and cybersecurity.
There's a Fortinet version of Lumen where they manage the Fortinet equipment that's in the network. If you do it yourself, you have to manage the Fortinet equipment. You can plug in a Fortinet and manage it all by yourself. However, that requires a certain amount of expertise, and that's where you get into the cost of the IT people.
You don't have to configure the hardware yourself if you're using SASE. It's all optimized and put together in a schematic that the engineers have worked out. You don't have to try to learn for yourself for the first time because they've been doing it for a long time and have everything already worked out.
I would recommend the solution to other users because it's the most complete, flexible, and best implementation of SASE out there. It's based on a leading hardware manufacturer that fits into the core of the Lumen network. It gives you a lot of flexibility that many other SASE providers don't provide because they're not using that level of equipment.
A lot of AI has been built into Fortinet's cybersecurity services for a long time. AI is running in Fortinet and Lumen SASE. That's just evolving as a way to use the data for threat intelligence. AI can leverage what's known about cybersecurity vulnerabilities and extrapolate from that what a future vulnerability would look like.
It can do so by matching up a certain percentage of characteristics of some type of malformed package. You can use AI to predict that type of malformation in a zero-day type of new malformed packet that evolves. You can predict that the new packet that has not been documented yet is probably bad.
Overall, I rate the solution ten out of ten.
