Juniper Networks inched closer to realizing its secure access service edge (SASE) aspirations today with the launch of a cloud-based firewall service it calls Secure Edge.

“The same engine that we're using for threat detection and mitigation on the SRX [firewall], we've just gone and put it in the cloud,” Kate Adam, senior director of security product marketing at Juniper, told SDxCentral.

And while Juniper bills the service as a cloud-based firewall, the service actually encompasses secure web gateway functionality as well as a host of more traditional firewall capabilities like intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDS/IPS), anti-malware, and threat protection.

It “incorporates all the threat intelligence that we've delivered to our SRX platform and beyond,” Adam said.

Customers manage the new service via Security Director Cloud, Juniper’s policy management platform, which forms the backbone of the vendor’s security portfolio and enables customers to manage all of their firewalls and security services using the same policies from a centralized dashboard. Using the platform, customers can analyze, streamline, and apply existing security policies used on their SRX firewalls to the Secure Edge platform.

“This is in service of meeting our customers where they are and making that transition to a SASE architecture as easy and simple as possible,” Adam said. It’s “very easy for a customer who has an SRX deployed at their branch location, for example, to start that migration to cloud delivered security.”

Juniper began its SASE journey in late 2020 with the acquisition of SD-WAN vendor 128 Technology. Since then, Juniper has slowly yet steadily marched toward a comprehensive SASE platform.

The company’s next step came last April when the vendor launched Security Director Cloud and promised to consolidate all security policy management under a single roof.

“A key part of our strategy has been letting customers leverage the technology that's already been working for them. You don't want to make them rip and replace what they don't have to,” Adam said.

By comparison, Juniper has moved at a snail’s pace compared to rival networking and security vendors like Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, and Fortinet. In fact, nearly every SD-WAN and cloud security vendor has built, bought, or partnered their way into the market.

Despite having many of the pieces required for a SASE platform including WAN, LAN, secure web gateway, zero trust, and firewall functionality, Juniper has been slow to integrate these capabilities into a single service.

The company has argued, however, that while it’s a little late to the party, the additional time has allowed it to build a product that provides consistent visibility. “Getting to a completely new architecture is the goal of our customers across the board,” Adam said. “But getting there is a long process, especially considering when you are re-architecting your network or introducing or removing technology, that means chaos.”

Juniper instead focused its energy on limiting disruptions “because attackers love chaos,” she added.

And while Juniper’s security parts bin is brimming with potential, the company also plans to partner to fill gaps in its portfolio.

“Juniper security focuses on partnerships right now in terms of extending Juniper security value into the cloud,” CTO Bob Friday said in an earlier interview.

However, Friday expects to focus more attention on integration in the new year. “I would say 2022 is gonna be more about integrating existing acquisitions into Juniper,” as opposed to buying additional companies, he said.

Today’s announcement is a step in that direction.

The launch also comes on the heels of a substantial update to 128 Technolgy’s Session Smart Routing portfolio, which was fully integrated into the vendor’s Mist portfolio last month.

The updates addressed day-one operations including provisioning, deployment, and configuration of SD-WAN gateways. This meant customers could deploy SD-WAN gateways the same way they might deploy an access point or switch.

Juniper has leaned heavily on its Mist portfolio, which competes directly with Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s Aruba, Cisco Meraki, and Extreme Networks.

WiFi and LAN switching aside, much of Juniper’s interest in the platform has centered around building its artificial intelligence operations capabilities into its broader networking and security portfolios, with CEO Rami Rahim saying he wants to "Mist-ify" more of the company's networking portfolio.