Aryaka unveiled its in-house secure access service edge (SASE) platform today, alongside a new layer 3 core network and a small to midsized business (SMB)-focused SD-WAN tier.

The networking vendor’s SASE debut comes nearly seven months after it acquired German security vendor Secucloud.

The SD-WAN vendor’s platform, which is distributed across a global network of points of presence (PoPs), already bore similarities to a SASE architecture. But until now, it has lacked integrated security functionality, and instead relied on partner vendors.

The integration of Secucloud sought to remedy this. Dubbed Aryaka Prime EZ, the vendor's SASE platform targets SMBs grappling with the rapidly changing security perimeters associated with the shift to remote and hybrid work in the wake of the pandemic.

The service builds on Aryaka’s existing SD-WAN functionality and adds secure web gateway, web filtering, and cloud-based firewalls, which are delivered from 40 global PoPs.

Notably missing from Aryaka’s SASE offering is cloud access security broker (CASB), which, for the moment is only available through the company’s SD-WAN integration with Check Point Software. Aryaka plans to build additional security functionality into an upcoming Prime Pro offering in the future, Aryaka CMO Shashi Kiran added.

However, unlike previous services, Aryaka Prime EZ uses the company’s new L3 core network, which it calls FlexCore. The vendor bills the network as a lower cost and lower-performance alternative to its existing L2 network.

The L2 core was intended as a premium alternative to MPLS networks, Kiran told SDxCentral. “Now what we’re introducing is this layer-3 offering that's optimized for cost-conscious segments and non-strategic sites that don’t require the same degree of application performance.”

Alongside Aryaka’s consolidated SASE stack, the vendor announced a new SD-WAN tier targeted at SMBs. Much like Aryaka’s SASE offering, the SD-WAN service, called SmartConnect EZ, utilizes the provider’s L3 core network. Aryaka believes the SMB-focused service will attract customers looking for a higher-performance alternative to traditional internet-based SD-WAN overloads.

Meanwhile, Aryaka’s long-standing SD-WAN service has been rebranded SmartConnect Pro and is geared toward medium to large enterprises with global footprints.

“The beauty of this is a customer can engage with us on SmartConnect EZ and if they require a high-performance network, they can just upgrade to SmartConnect Pro,” Kiran said. “It's essentially a service change that we affect on the back end because the entire architecture is the same.”

Customers can also mix and match the two SD-WAN tiers depending on their performance requirements, he added. “Likewise, if they want to shift the architecture to be more cloud-delivered network and security, it’s very easy to move to Prime EZ.”

The new SD-WAN service tiers are available starting in spring 2022.

Finally, Aryaka expanded support for application-based routing to more than 3,500 software-as-a-service applications with the introduction of AppAssure. The service will be a free upgrade for all existing customers when it launches next month.