A true converged platform starts with a powerful network firewall

Building and managing networks is difficult. They require specialized skills and training, especially today when networks must be designed to automatically adapt to the constant pressures of digital acceleration. Ironically, this is one of the reasons why so many security products cannot interact with the network. Most security developers have only a basic understanding of modern networks, which is why older security solutions can't adequately protect today's dynamic networks.

This fundamental lack of expertise is also why so many security vendors have been quick to declare the network - and by extension, the firewall - dead. They have wrongly assumed that the network as we know it is a dinosaur because so many applications and services have moved to the cloud. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The fact is that the network has never been more important than it is today, even in cloud-centric environments. Today, everything is network-centric. The network serves as the central point that holds everything together, including distributed data centers, multi-cloud environments, new edge environments, distributed IoT solutions, and distributed mission-critical applications. Hybrid networks span the entire digital business environment from campus to branch offices and from the cloud to employees at home. Even in highly specialized cloud-centric environments, the network enables cloud entry, connects disparate systems together, and enables connectivity between multi-cloud environments. It enables the seamless transfer of applications and workflows across all boundaries, so any user or device can access critical information from any location.

In these new hybrid network environments, however, security cannot function as a standalone solution. Instead, security must seamlessly converge with the underlying network so that protection can dynamically adapt to an ever-changing network. Consequently, the management of modern networks and security can also be converged. By centralizing policies for NOC and SOC, changes can be orchestrated, and advanced tools like AIOps can span the network. In this way, convergence becomes a powerful enabler for digital acceleration.

In this environment, the network firewall is not dead, but becomes the foundation of a converged security and networking platform. Integrating critical network functions such as SD-WAN, LAN edge controller, ZTNA and support for 5G directly into a converged network and security platform enables a security-focused network approach that ensures every change is secured by default. A converged platform is the only way to combine network modernization with dynamic security that seamlessly extends to every part of the network and can adapt in real time to any changes required by the business.

The clear benefits of convergence are why many security vendors are now touting their standalone solutions as a converged platform. But as with most marketing-driven claims, the truth is often far from reality. Rather than addressing the broad network evolution that impacts all edges-from campuses and distributed data centers to private and multi-cloud environments to branch offices and remote workers-many vendors instead focus on the idea of convergence in a niche use case. And because their efforts are limited to just one part of the network, their solutions end up adding (rather than removing) complexity, which in turn enables (rather than prevents) cyber incidents.

One of the most important reasons for this discrepancy is the fact that security vendors have generally failed to innovate in the area of network functions. This should come as no surprise. The network is not an area of expertise for most security solution providers. And because they don't understand the importance of today's hybrid networks, they make absurd claims, such as that the network is dead. So it's not surprising if their security solutions don't address the real network needs of their customers.

The other challenge is that few of the touted platforms are actually converged. While a vendor may own multiple trending technologies - usually through an acquisition - and even combine them into one management console to give the appearance that they work together, in reality their solutions only work side by side. As a result, the companies that invest in these solutions cannot reap the benefits of true interoperability.

The reason for this is complexity. Any engineer can tell you that it's nearly impossible to weave together the mature codes of solutions that were developed in isolation and only brought together through adoption. Even the most capable development team working with disparate components will never be able to achieve the interoperability that today's hybrid networks require. True convergence requires solutions developed organically with the same fundamental code base.