A collaboration between Menlo Security and VMware announced today promises to shore up the security of VMware's VeloCloud SD-WAN platform.

Menlo Security's  Secure Cloud Transformation suite claims to provide VeloCloud SD-WAN customers with direct access to the internet without compromising on security, regardless of whether they're connecting from the corporate headquarters, a branch office, or a coffee shop.

Key to this is the ability to automatically provision, optimize, and secure cloud and software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications.

In a statement Poornima DeBolle, chief product officer at Menlo Security, went so far as to call the company's combined offering the "industries most secure solution for internet and SaaS applications."

The new security features are now available to all VeloCloud customers.

VMware's partnership with Menlo Security reinforces the findings of a recent IDG report, contracted by SD-WAN managed service provider Masergy, which found security remains a top factor for enterprises when selecting an SD-WAN platform.

However, VMware is far from the only SD-WAN vendor attempting to bolster its security prospects. In a similar partnership, Citrix announced it would begin offering Palo Alto Networks' virtualized firewall technology to its SD-WAN customers in early September.

And while a recent IHS Markit report found VMware, Cisco, and Aryaka continued to dominate the SD-WAN market in the second quarter of 2019, it also showed security-centric vendors like Fortinet steadily gaining ground.

According to that report, Fortinet — which announced a series of upgrades to its FortiGate firewall last week and an SD-WAN integration with Microsoft Azure today — saw the greatest growth during the second quarter with the company ascending to the No. 4 spot, under Aryaka, thus displacing competitor Silver Peak in the process.