Masergy launched a new line of products that bundle the company’s managed SD-WAN offerings with a slew of new security features that targets the growing security demands within the industry.

Masergy’s latest offerings include three bundles. The company’s Unified Threat Management bundle offers logging and security alerts, while the Threat Monitoring and Response package adds 24/7 monitoring, incident response, and firewall integration to the fold. Finally, Masergy is offering a comprehensive security solution with its Managed Security Service bundle that features a bevy of services including network analytics, advanced intrusion detection, and embedded threat intelligence.

Masergy’s Managed Security Service bundle also features support for third-party integrations including the cloud access security broker (CASB ) service from Bitglass announced in early 2018.

“When SD-WAN is deployed over dedicated internet connectivity or public broadband it can introduce security risks that require next-generation firewalls, threat monitoring, and management,” said Ray Watson, Masergy’s vice president of innovation, in an email to SDxCentral. “Therefore, bundling security into SD-WAN isn’t just an option — it’s a requirement.”

By making security an integral part of their SD-WAN offerings, Masergy aims to address the high cost of security personnel, Watson added.

Masergy’s ongoing pivot to security comes as no surprise. Managed security was one of the tenants of Masergy CEO James Parker’s elevator pitch when he joined the company last September.

And security has been highlighted in multiple analyst reports as the top factor for customers when selected SD-WAN platforms.

A Gartner report (sponsored by Fortinet) from late 2018 surveyed 203 respondents with 25 or more WAN locations. It found that 72% listed security – above performance or cost – as their top concern when it comes to tier WAN.

These findings were echoed in a recent IDG report (sponsored by Masergy) that indicated security was the top criteria in selecting SD-WAN services.

“We’re witnessing a sustained increase in SD-WAN adoption across many verticals and industries,” said Mike Sapien, chief analyst of enterprise services at Ovum, in a release. “From survey work, Ovum sees security as the top concern for SD-WAN deployments. Customers want the application performance benefits provided by SD-WAN but lack the internal resources necessary to ensure their network remains secure against all attack vectors.”