In the past organizations were largely concentrated in a limited of locations. Applications and data were hosted on servers at a central data center location on the local area network – typically at or near the headquarters. Users typically worked in the office, so they would also be located at the office and access corporate resources on the same network. Surrounding this network was a perimeter of security controls that could inspect all traffic going in or out of the organization, keeping trusted resources safe while keeping the bad guys out. Remote users and branch offices were logically connected to this central network via technologies like VPN, MPLS, and leased the secure network perimeter could be maintained.
While this approach sufficed for years, digital transformation has created major challenges. Applications and data storage have migrated to the cloud, so they no longer reside on the corporate network. Logic would dictate that the optimal approach would be for remote users and offices to have direct access to cloud resources without having to route back through the corporate network. But this would result in the organization’s IT security perimeter being completely circumvented, meaning lost security visibility and control, leading to unacceptable security and compliance risks.
So network and security architects everywhere are facing the same dilemma: What is the best way to enable digital transformation without any major compromises? Organizations have generally followed one of the four following architectural approaches based on their willingness to embrace new technologies and bring them together:
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