Lumen Technologies announced Versa Networks as its third secure access service edge (SASE) partner to provide optionality for its customers, in addition to launching its Rapid Threat Defense that automatically blocks malicious traffic for several of its Lumen Marketplace products.

Lumen has worked to build a digital SASE platform and product portfolio centered around a partner ecosystem, first partnering with Fortinet and VMware in August 2022. Lumen SASE Solutions, an all-digital integrated service for the purchase, configuration and management of SASE, is supplied with the vendors’ software, on-premises equipment, remote access clients and cloud security gateways for SD-WAN and cloud-based security services.

“We launched our first two SASE partner solutions last August. But because no two customers’ needs are the same, we have always planned to expand our SASE partner ecosystem to provide multiple options for customers,” Darren Wolner, Lumen’s senior director of SASE product management, explained to SDxCentral.

Lumen and Versa have partnered to offer SD-WAN solutions for more than eight years, according to Wolner, so expanding the relationship to include Versa’s SASE software was “a no-brainer.” Legacy Versa SD-WAN was an initial Lumen SD-WAN service, he pointed out. The joint Lumen SASE portfolio with Versa includes SD-WAN, next-generation firewall, secure web gateway (SWG) and zero-trust network access (ZTNA) capabilities.

The addition of Versa to the Lumen partner ecosystem gives customers more options to solve standard SASE challenges such as the need for centralized network and security control for application delivery and the ability to secure the network and applications for any users or device regardless of locations.

“The addition of Versa means our customers have another market-leading SASE provider to consider, which provides them a greater ability to choose the best solution to fit their needs,” Wolner said.

The Fortinet and VMware SASE offerings are available via the Lumen Marketplace, and Lumen told SDxCentral the Versa is anticipated to be available on the Marketplace later this year. Until then, customers can go through the Lumen sales team if they want to access the Versa SASE.

From there, Lumen customers can configure their SASE by location and user; add new sites, users and services; and receive alerts and manage tickets. Once a customer has purchased a SASE solution, they have the “flexibility” to either manage it on their own or have Lumen oversee the deployment, implementation and ongoing management of their customized product with the Lumen SASE Manager.

“The self-managed option is for customers with their own IT staff or who want a do-it-yourself deployment model, while pro-managed provides a higher service level for those who want Lumen to fully manage the solution,” Wolner explained.

Lumen also revealed its Rapid Threat Defense – a capability that automatically blocks malicious traffic. The Rapid Threat Defense is available today with Lumen’s Fortinet SASE, as well as other Lumen Marketplace products including its DDoS Mitigation Service, Lumen Edge  Protect and Network Firewall Solutions.

The Rapid Threat Defense will be added to Lumen’s other partner SASE products “in the coming months,” Wolner said.

The threat intelligence that powers Rapid Threat Defense comes from Black Lotus Labs – Lumen’s in-house threat intelligence team.

“Rapid Threat Defense is a significant enhancement because it blocks threats before they reach the customer’s environment,” Wolner said. “Unlike traditional intelligence feeds that are based on visibility into a customer’s environment, Black Lotus Labs has the unique ability to discover, analyze and act on network-level threats on a global scale.”