In an era where cloud adoption and remote work are becoming the norm, securing your network and data is more critical than ever. Microsoft’s Security Service Edge (SSE) offers a great solution that integrates directly with Entra ID and the Conditional Access rules you’re already familiar with. Here are three quick use cases to get instant value from Microsoft’s SSE:
Traditional network security models often struggle to keep up with modern demands. Outdated systems with broad subnet access can lead to vulnerabilities, inefficiencies, and increased risk. Add hardware appliances to deal with, and often an entirely isolated configuration console, and a shift to cloud-native solutions become the best to simplify these challenges. Deploy the Private Access network connector on any windows server in the target network, configure Quick Access for your inside addresses, and you can replace your old VPN with seamless SSO connectivity in the Global Connect Agent with minimal impact. Now you can use the Global Secure Access reporting right in the Entra admin portal to start identifying applications and their users to start the transition to just-enough-access (JEA) policies for your Zero Trust efforts.
One limitation in traditional VPNs and gateway services such as Application Proxies is enabling granular identity verifications and privileged security re–checks with MFA. While some solutions can do with classic web interfaces (80/443), most have difficulty with other protocols such as RDP or SSH when you want to enhance the security on remote connections from your administrators. Entra Private access supports any TCP or UDP connectivity, allowing you to granularly assign access to any application or connection using the Conditional Access rules you’re already familiar with. Want only specific administrators to RDP to your data center’s domain controller, with a secondary MFA check, and enforcing requirements for a compliant device and specific geographic locations? Done.
While there have been many solutions in the Security Service Edge category for years, most do not have a great solution for encapsulating Microsoft 365 traffic such as Teams collaboration and your user’s Office applications, due to the varied protocols and latency requirements for good performance. Entra Internet Access for M365 is tailor-made to cover all M365 traffic and utilizes Microsoft’s Global Network, with Points of Presence (PoPs) close to all your users for reliability and low latency. Managing the M365 data path with Entra internet Access provides you with enriched logging with source IP restoration, and simplified management with Conditional Access policies. It’s also built to run well side-by-side with other non-Microsoft SSE solutions, so you can enhance M365 coverage while maintaining your existing solution. Best part, if you’re already using M365 E3 licensing (or above), the Internet Access for M365 profile is already included as Secure Access Essentials. Go turn it on!
Deploying Microsoft’s SSE solutions can significantly enhance your organization’s security posture. By addressing the challenges of outdated network security, understanding the fundamentals of SSE, and leveraging Microsoft’s unified solution, you can protect your digital environment effectively. Additionally, safeguarding internet and SaaS app access and securing private apps without traditional VPNs will empower your workforce to be more agile and secure.
If you missed our recent webinar on Microsoft SSE, watch it here Microsoft’s Security Service Edge (SSE) Solution (brighttalk.com), or reach out to our team at Netrix Learn How We Solve Business Problems – Netrix Global if you have any questions or need further information on how to implement Microsoft Entra Suite in your organization.
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