10 Sep

Addressing Zero Trust Misconceptions: Embracing “Verify, Validate and Authorize” Procedure is Vital for Future-Proofing Your Organization

Zero Trust has been a widely discussed topic over the past few years, evolving from just a conceptual framework to a much-needed solution in cybersecurity. However, there are certain misconceptions that need to be cleared so that organizations can embrace it effectively and fully leverage its potential. FatPipe eliminates the misconceptions and helps organizations implement zero trust as their security procedure, ensuring that the latter benefit from it on a long-term basis.

 Misconceptions Surrounding Adoption of ZTNA by Organizations

 A small business may not adopt a zero trust framework with the notion that zero trust implementation is complex, may cause temporary disruptions in operations, they will not become target of cyberattacks, and so on.  Large businesses too may think twice before implementing zero trust since they may believe that including zero trust in their security program is overwhelming (due to fear of overhauling existing infrastructure). These misconceptions need to be addressed so that organizations, irrespective of their size, gain utmost benefit from this powerful cybersecurity framework.

Clearing the Misconceptions

Misconception 1: Zero trust is not necessary for small organizations.

The essence of ZTNA is to address complex technology environments, be it small or large business. Small businesses have a wrong belief that they will not become targets of cyberattacks; in a recent survey, 41% of organizations mentioned they have implemented a zero trust security architecture, whereas 59% mentioned they haven’t. It is important to note that the size, industry, and other factors is not a bottleneck in implementing zero trust controls in an organization.

Misconception 2: Zero trust is complex and needs a complete rebuilding of existing security systems.

Zero trust’s true potential is often veiled by a lack of understanding within organizations, including a belief that zero trust needs a complete overhaul of existing security systems. FatPipe understands this concern, and through right solutions from expert teams converts complexity into simplicity with the right tools and systematic implementation thus streamlining zero trust. FatPipe has driven innovation in WAN simplification for nearly the past 20 years and now continues this simplification endeavor in the area of Secure Networks.

Misconception 3: Zero trust is a product.

It’s important to note that Zero Trust is not a product, but a strategic approach that ZTNA (Zero Trust Network Access) facilitates through dynamic access control procedures and strict authentication. FatPipe helps organizations benefit from a mature security environment, thereby reaping the benefits over time. 

Misconception 4:  Zero trust builds a culture of distrust.

Right from the advent of zero trust concept, organizations tend to confine it within the scope of a culture of distrust. However, zero trust only develops a proactive security mindset by ensuring that access is granted dependent on continuous verification rather than assumptions.

Conclusion

FatPipe’s “Verify, Validate, and Authorize” procedure provides the technologies and tools needed to implement Zero Trust, such as VPN, multifactor authentication, single sign-on solutions, intrusion prevention systems, etc. FatPipe allows businesses to select the security components that best meet their unique needs.

20 Aug

Leveraging AI for SD-WAN Support: Best Practices and Innovations

Imagine a business experiences unexpected issues in their network.  The network team must quickly diagnose whether the problem originates from configuration errors, link failures, or external factors like ISP issues. Traditionally troubleshooting has been dependent on support engineer but with advent of AI the roles are undergoing transformation; FatPipe has introduced AI-based support for Partners and Customers, in the form of chatbot, that helps the teams to troubleshoot and diagnose the issue without calling technical support, thus reducing the network downtime.

FatPipe AI-Enabled Support for Enhanced User Experience

FatPipe AI-Enabled Support is an all-encompassing solution where the customer can gain comprehensive knowledge about FatPipe SD-WAN. The AI tool is a result of hundreds of years of technical expert experience which has been encoded for partners and customers to retrieve immediately to resolve not only simple issues but also the complex problems. FatPipe’s innovative strategy leverages the power of artificial intelligence to deliver real-time, intelligent support and answers any query for the user’s SD-WAN solutions. It provides the advantages of precise product insights (be it downtime-related or any troubleshooting issue), instant response, and 24/7 service. The result: Customer’s network runs flawlessly.

Best Practices that FatPipe AI Follows for SD-WAN Support

Several solution providers must understand that innovation alone will not bring results. Innovation, in tandem with best practices, is key to enhanced user experience.

  • FatPipe’s AI policy is transparent, and it explicitly states that the customer is interacting with the AI chatbot.
  • FatPipe AI is a customer-centric product made with regular updating based on  customer suggestions and queries.
  • FatPipe AI doesn’t miss the human factor; it essentially augments the skills of the support specialist by escalating to a support specialist through the portal.
  • The conversional flows are clear and user-friendly; It provides access to comprehensive resources and documentation, enabling users to resolve issues independently while deepening their understanding of SD-WAN.
  • There are options in the tool to engage with a customer support specialist through e-mail or chat or phone for complex issues. This helps in not leading to any unmet expectations.

FatPipe’s role in SD-WAN support is significant, enabling users to stay ahead of network challenges and focus on driving their business forward with confidence. It augments the innovative FatPipe patented features to maintain seamless, reliable and secure connectivity in an increasingly complex digital environment. FatPipe positions itself as a leader in innovation, showcasing its dedication to providing efficient, customer-centric support that resonates with today’s digital-first landscape.

11 Jul

How FatPipe SD-WAN Reduces Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of Network Infrastructure

Several enterprises, even now, rely on standard WAN and SD-WAN offerings that generate high CAPEX and OPEX costs. This poses a high risk; the expenses for maintaining legacy WAN systems will eventually surpass the investment required for a modern, business-aligned network solution.  Companies witness around 20-30% cost reduction when they switch to the SD-WAN solution (according to reports) but embracing FatPipe software-defined approach reduces Network TCO by more than 50% ensuring FatPipe SD-WAN investment break even for customers in less than one year.

Industry Unique Features of FatPipe for SD-WAN Investment Break Even in less than one year

FatPipe being the inventor of key SD-WAN features has patented and innovative ways of network transformation for reducing network TCO.

  • Single IP Framework for Link Aggregation – FatPipe MPVPN patented technology aggregates traffic of heterogeneous last mile e.g. MPLS, Internet, broadband, LTE, 5G, wireless, leased lines, and satellite in end-to-end single IP framework enabling traffic navigation across multi- technology links. This traffic load balancing can reduce per annum customer bandwidth costs by 20-30%.
  • Load Balancing without Traffic Duplication – FatPipe SD-WAN MPSEC TM patent ensures no duplication of traffic among redundant lines during data, voice and video to ensure customer bandwidth savings up to 50% year on year.
  • WAN Optimization – Reduces TCO through advanced WAN optimization techniques namely caching, compression, de-duplication etc. FatPipe WAN optimization is at an innovative byte level, ensuring industry-best traffic optimization granularity. These features reduce bandwidth costs between 10% and 90% depending on payload application nature.
  • Selective Encryption – FatPipe’s patented hybrid WAN technology selectively encrypts only the traffic placed on public links, avoiding encryption on MPLS traffic. This feature reduces encryption overheads ensuring potential bandwidth savings by 30% depending on packet size.
  • Intelligent Traffic Management and Prioritization – This feature optimizes the utilization of available bandwidth reducing the need for over-provisioning and ensuring that critical applications receive the necessary resources to save excess bandwidth costs by 10% to 20%.
  • Unifying Heterogeneous Devices – FatPipe SD-WAN has the capability of working as router, stateful/next-gen firewall, Intrusion Detection and Prevention system, load balancer, unified threat manager, WAN optimizer, DNS, and DHCP as well as provides best-of-breed network performance and fault management system functionalities. This combination saves customer hardware TCO by about 10% to 30%.

Combination of these features during solution design phase leads to significant reduction in customer network costs by more than 50% and also provides better network availability, impregnable security, accelerated WAN traffic, and enhanced user experience for increased organization productivity.

01 Jul

Enhancing Business Productivity with Application Aware Routing

Traditional network architectures, while efficient at routing packets, fall short in understanding the applications being transported and hence are unaware of business priorities. This hinders businesses from achieving optimal operations as there is no real-time application-based traffic routing. Modern networks, equipped with knowledge of the applications they carry, provide multiple benefits to businesses.

Advantage of Application Aware Routing for Modern Businesses  

  • Application Path Control (Steering): When a Data Center link for a major e-commerce company’s Order Booking Application is impaired while a high-value order is being placed, the order will fail to go through. Application-aware routing, a key function, makes real-time routing decisions, redirecting the order booking to a better link ensuring successful Business closure. This involves abstracting, pooling, and assigning the transport infrastructure to applications based on software-defined policies. Application Aware Routing, a major function of Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN), steers and priorities mission-critical traffic ensuring that critical applications like voice and video sessions remain free from jitter, latency, or packet loss

  • Application Quality of Service: Imagine a customer at a bank’s priority desk trying to open an account during busy morning hours. The bank operator struggles with slow Account opening application due to bandwidth in busy hour being consumed by other employees opening large email attachments etc. An application-aware network, with appropriate policies, guarantees express bandwidth to the account opening application, preventing business loss. FatPipe SD-WAN has one of the best Application QoS modules for helping businesses increase profitability.
  • Application Portability: Users should seek solutions enabling easy application deployment across the cloud, data centers, remote premises or disaster recovery sites. The solution should offer centralized management to allow configuration and policy updates to multiple sites from a single interface. When applications move, policies should be easily updated and propagated across the network. FatPipe SD-WAN provides this functionality through user-friendly, zero-touch central orchestrator templates for specific policy directives of each Business.
  • Application Reports: In a remote factory, an employee using most of the bandwidth for personal Google downloads hinders business work. SD-WAN provides granular application reports at the user and link levels, allowing network administrators to diagnose the problem. FatPipe SD-WAN offers deep analytics, including CxO dashboards and detailed reports on top talkers, hosts, applications, and data usage by each application with user segregation enabling high quality Network Performance Management.

In summary, FatPipe SD-WAN application-aware agile and adaptive solutions for Network transformation ensure seamless and high-quality user experiences for enhancing business productivity and profitability.

12 Mar

Prioritizing Security: FatPipe’s FIPS-Compliant Solutions

In today’s digital landscape, data security is paramount for organizations across industries. With the proliferation of sensitive information, particularly Personally Identifiable Information (PII), robust security measures are essential to safeguard data integrity and confidentiality. FatPipe’s FIPS-compliant solutions, coupled with many other security features, offer peace of mind by implementing robust security measures and undergoing rigorous testing and validation processes. This not only helps organizations meet their own security requirements with appropriate encryptions and cryptographic hardware but also ensures compliance with regulatory obligations and contractual agreements.

Meeting Compliance Standards with Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS)

FatPipe Networks understands the critical importance of data security and compliance, especially in environments where sensitive data is handled. Our solutions are designed with the highest standards in mind, ensuring compliance with FIPS. Achieving FIPS compliance encryption mechanisms not only demonstrates our commitment to security but also instills confidence in our customers, assuring them that their data is protected at the highest level. Being the first SD-WAN vendor in the Industry to achieve NIST military-grade FIPS-140-2 certification demonstrates our dedication to staying ahead of the curve in providing secure solutions for enterprise and government data traffic.

Enhancing Confidence in Cloud Security

For organizations relying on cloud services, choosing a FIPS-compliant vendor is crucial for ensuring data security and regulatory compliance. With FatPipe, organizations can confidently leverage cloud-based security services aka Secure Edge Secure Access (SASE) products, knowing that their sensitive data is protected against unauthorized access or disclosure. By implementing FIPS-compliant encryption mechanisms, FatPipe ensures data confidentiality both at rest and in transit. This means that sensitive information remains protected from unauthorized access or interception, safeguarding the integrity and credibility of data in the cloud. Additionally, our secure authentication and access control mechanisms further strengthen the security posture of cloud-based systems, minimizing the risk of data breaches or tampering.

Commitment to Network Security

FatPipe continuously strives to enhance our security measures and stay at the forefront of emerging threats and regulatory requirements. With our FIPS-compliant solutions along with robust security features which include Blockchain-type Data Transmission with MPSEC TM, Stateful Firewall, Intrusion Detection and Prevention, UTM etc., organizations can trust us to provide impregnable security measures that protect their data, uphold their reputation, and ensure uninterrupted business operations.

FatPipe’s FIPS-compliant solutions offer organizations a comprehensive security framework to safeguard their sensitive data and meet regulatory requirements. FatPipe’s crypto module plays a pivotal role in business continuity planning, especially for VPN connectivity. By prioritizing security and compliance, FatPipe empowers organizations to confidently embrace digital transformation and leverage cloud services without compromising data integrity or confidentiality.