Aryaka, Check Point Team Up On Managed SD-WAN, Security As A Service

In the midst of SD-WAN market consolidation, Aryaka announced its partnering with security leader Check Point to create managed SD-WAN and security as a service offerings.

SD-WAN mainstay Aryaka and Check Point Software Technologies revealed a new partnership on Thursday aimed at building managed SD-WAN and security solutions in keeping with the SD-WAN‘s market pivot toward a more Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) approach.

The newly inked partnership will combine security firm Check Point‘s unified threat and access management platform with Aryaka’s “Cloud-First” WAN offerings, which gives businesses access to security and SD-WAN delivered as a service, said Shashi Kiran, Aryaka’s CMO.

The COVID-19 crisis, which has accelerated IT trends, including the move to the cloud and remote working, is driving the need for SASE among enterprises. But while the SD-WAN market has been ripe with consolidation in recent years between networking vendors and pure-play SD-WAN providers, no players in the SD-WAN space have all the pieces of SASE today, Kiran told CRN.

SASE is about bringing networking and security together and delivering these elements as a service; a top of mind requirement for many companies today grappling with change today, he added.

“I believe Aryaka and Check Point coming together combines several key elements that lay the foundation for a very robust SASE solution,” Kiran said.

[Related: Coronavirus Is 'The Epitome' Of A Real-Life SD-WAN Use Case]

Specifically, Aryaka is bringing its managed SD-WAN service together with Check Point’s CloudGuard Connect, CloudGuard Edge and CloudGuard IaaS solutions to deliver integrated security and SD-WAN as-a-Service.

Aryaka has been known for its high-performing managed SD-WAN over a global network, but the addition of Check Point adds some much-needed security, including firewall as a service, VPN as a service, and partnerships with IaaS providers, Kiran said.

“Partnering with Check Point was a no-brainer,” he said. ”They are one of the leading security providers in the space with a very powerful brand.”

San Mateo, Calif.-based Aryaka has existing relationships with other security vendors, including Palo Alto Networks and Zscaler. The Check Point relationship, however, will allow the two companies to jointly bring solutions to the market that can be sold by either provider‘s channel partners, Kiran said. It’s also a “lifecyle” partnership, which will let Aryaka procure, host, and manage Check Point’s technologies.

“For channel partners, it‘s about taking a much more complete solution with a very consistent SLA across both network and security that gives them greater stickiness in an account,” he said.

Solution providers selling Aryaka SD-WAN today will have access to an attach play with the addition of Check Point, and the same is true for Check Point partners, too, Kiran said.

Partnering will continue to be an important part of pure play provider Aryaka‘s approach to the market, Kiran said. Aryaka earlier this month teamed with UCaaS specialist 8x8 in a partnership that will allow the two companies to co-market blended UC and contact center as a service and SD-WAN solutions, the company said.