VMware channel partner 11:11 Systems called on Cato Networks to underpin a managed secure access service edge (SASE) platform, expanding 11:11 Systems breadth of network offerings and fetching a new feather for Cato’s SASE cap.

The integration will use Cato Networks’ SASE platform that includes SD-WAN, cloud-delivered security, and global connectivity. This will be tied to 11:11 Systems’ broader networking, cloud, and digital resilience offerings for a managed platform providing unified access and control for zero-trust network access (ZTNA), firewall-as-a-service (FWaaS), secure web gateway (SWG), and cloud access security broker (CASB) services.

The package is targeted at distributed enterprises, multisite organizations, hybrid workforce initiatives, SD-WAN refreshes, security modernization efforts, and businesses with limited IT resources.

“Enterprises are under pressure to support users, applications, and locations that are more distributed than ever, while limiting complexity and improving security,” 11:11 Systems CTO Justin Giardina noted in a statement. “Our managed SASE solution provides customers with a unified approach to modernizing networking and security, along with the visibility, support and flexibility they need to thrive in a rapidly changing environment.”

11:11 Systems, Cato Networks expansion continues

The deal also continues 11:11 Systems’ string of expansion. This included a move earlier to acquire Australia-based Digital Sense, which continued the firm’s consolidation of fellow channel partners squeezed by program changes instituted by VMware parent Broadcom.

That deal had 11:11 Systems acquiring Brisbane-based cloud provider Digital Sense from Aussie Broadband for a reported $18 million. That deal marked 11:11 Systems’ seventh purchase of a former VMware partner, including deals for iland Cloud, Green Cloud Defense, Unitas Global, Sungard Availability Services, Faction, and Ntirety, with Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) Dante Orsini previously telling SDxCentral those acquisitions were tied to changes Broadcom has instituted in its VMware Cloud Service Provider (VCSP) channel program, specifically how partners are classified.

“When you look at the changes they made in the last couple years of trying to really consolidate the space, you're seeing a lot of opportunity just depending on where these organizations sit … as far as what percentage of their revenue or their platform is predicated on VMware,” Orsini said. “They're really trying to find people that are purists in the sense where they're completely dedicated to that platform like we are.”

Orsini said this partner situation hit an inflection point for some in July 2025, when Broadcom moved to sunset its white label distribution model that was focused on smaller cloud service provider partners. That move was hinted at somewhat famously by Krish Prasad, SVP and GM for Broadcom’s VCF division, who in a blog post wrote that the vendor expects “that our partners will go all-in with us on helping customers unlock the full value of VCF.”

“That was a bit of an ‘a-ha’ moment for a lot of people that thought that they had a path forward,” Orsini said of that move, a moment that indicated Broadcom was indeed serious in its support for VMware and that the market would start to see that opportunity.

“They shifted an aircraft carrier super-fast,” Orsini said of Broadcom's VMware stewardship. “Sometimes it takes someone like [Broadcom CEO Hock Tan] to make that happen, and to see the proof come out the other side … they are actually walking the walk, which is super important."

Cato Networks also continued to gain momentum around its SASE offering. The vendor has been a strong player in the highly competitive market segment, scoring strong recommendations from analyst firms like Forrester Research and Gartner.

Cato Networks has also been updating its platform since those mentions, including the launch earlier this year of an enterprise browser targeted at shadow IT threats and a disaggregated module option for its flagship SASE platform.