Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s (HPE) Aruba is the latest vendor to launch a hardware appliance targeting remote workers. The company’s EdgeConnect Microbranch platform packs SD-WAN and secure access service edge (SASE) functionality into a wireless access point.

The device is remotely provisioned and managed, and unlike competing offerings from Fortinet, Palo Alto Networks, or VMware, it’s designed to work with employees' existing network infrastructure, including internet service provider (ISP)-provided routers and switches.

“We’re moving SD-WAN services all the way to the edge via the Aruba access point,” Larry Lunetta, VP of wireless LAN and security marketing at Aruba, told SDxCentral.

Once connected to a customer’s home router, the access point automatically downloads the appropriate network and security policies and configures SD-WAN tunnels to ensure optimal connectivity and application security, the company claims.

“It’s an access point, so it’s no different than managing something in the ceiling in your corporate headquarters. Visibility, manageability, analytics, all of that is the same,” Lunetta said. “It performs identically as if you were in the office and that’s the point.”

Additionally, enterprises that have deployed a SASE architecture — Zscaler for example — can breakout traffic for cloud-based inspection, while backhauling certain application-specific traffic to the corporate headquarters or data center as needed.

Finally, SD-WAN functionality combined with optional 4G LTE connectivity enables automatic failover for customers that need additional redundancy: like call center workers or telemedicine providers, Lunetta said.

Aruba isn’t targeting every remote worker with the platform, he noted, adding that the appliance isn’t designed to replace SASE agents. Instead, it's designed to extend consistent management, security, and visibility into employees' homes without compromising their privacy.

“If I’m a remote call center worker and all of a sudden I can’t access the application, or my VoIP phone isn’t working properly, if all I have is a ZTNA agent, IT is basically blind,” he said, adding that with the EdgeConnect Micobranch access points, IT has much better visibility into the end user’s environment.

The new platform is available beginning next spring with access points starting at $575 plus a $145 annual per-device licensing fee.

The announcement marks the latest in a string of remote work-focused hardware launches.

Late this summer, Fortinet and Palo Alto Networks each launched appliances that claim to provide enterprise-grade cybersecurity for remote workers and small businesses while also protecting corporate assets and employees’ homes.

VMware announced a similar partnership with ties into its SASE offering in collaboration with Amazon’s Eero wireless router family this fall.

All three offerings are based around mesh-enabled WiFi 6 routers, which are configured by the remote worker using an app, much like many consumer routers today.

And while both Palo Alto Networks' and VMware’s appliances also integrate with their respective SASE offerings, neither feature integrated SD-WAN functionality.

In this regard, Aruba’s EdgeConnect Microbranch platform is more comparable to something like Fortinet’s FortiGate 40F small-branch SD-WAN and firewall appliance, announced in early 2020, which retails for around $400 and features built in firewall functionality.