Network Security and Direct Internet Access: The Foundation of MPLS WAN Transformation

The article explains why security has become the primary driver for SD-WAN projects: moving from MPLS to hybrid WANs and direct Internet access exposes branch offices to Internet-borne threats and removes centralized inspection. It argues that traditional backhauling avoided appliance sprawl but added latency, and that complete, distributed, and simple security is needed at branches. The piece positions Cato Cloud as an SD-WAN provider that natively integrates cloud-based network security and threat-hunting capabilities to avoid appliance proliferation and reduce management overhead.