Barracuda introduces first global secure SD-WAN service built natively on Microsoft Azure

CAMPBELL, Calif., July 16, 2020  —  Highlights: 

• New Barracuda CloudGen WAN is the first secure global SD-WAN service built natively on Microsoft Azure.
• The new service is deployed directly from Azure, works out of the box with smart default configurations, and provides the option to bill hourly through >Azure Marketplace.
• With Barracuda CloudGen WAN, companies and service providers can create a pragmatic Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) solution in public cloud.

Barracuda, a trusted partner and a leading provider of cloud-enabled security solutions, today announced a new secure SD-WAN service built natively on Microsoft Azure. The new Barracuda CloudGen WAN service is the first SD-WAN solution that runs inside Azure Virtual WAN Hubs. Hubs can be interconnected through the Microsoft Global Network. This network architecture can replace costly, inflexible network connectivity circuits, and the entire network can be dynamically sized to match current traffic workload, which can optimize network performance and minimize cost.

"A cloud-first strategy asks for a different approach on connectivity,” said Leon Sevriens, program manager, IT at Humankind, a large organization in the Netherlands that offers daycare and after-school care, with over 3,000 employees and over 450 locations. “We have invested heavily in Microsoft Office 365 adoption across the organization, and traditional connectivity doesn't fit the bill anymore. We need a solution that is focused on delivering application performance, not just 'plain' connectivity. That’s why we’re moving forward with Barracuda CloudGen WAN."

In the recent report “Secure SD-WAN: The Launch Pad into Cloud,” Barracuda found that SD-WAN is being used by more than half of those who have added security to their public cloud. As the report explains, “SD-WAN can help overcome the top two security challenges organizations are facing when it comes to public cloud: lack of access control and backhauling traffic.”

Cloud-native, secure SD-WAN

The perimeter is changing, and organizations need to be ready to adapt. According to Gartner, “The enterprise perimeter is no longer a location; it is a set of dynamic edge capabilities delivered when needed as a service from the cloud.”¹

Secure SD-WAN services built natively on the cloud combine ease of use, full security, and cloud-scalable SD-WAN connectivity to use the Microsoft Global Network as the WAN backbone instead of leased lines. The new Barracuda CloudGen WAN is a SaaS service deployed directly from the Azure Marketplace for as many regions as needed and administered centrally in the CloudGen WAN portal for all office locations and remote endpoints. Since the Microsoft Global Network is automatically provisioned as the backbone for anywhere, anytime application access, service providers can create a pragmatic SASE solution in the public cloud tailored to their specific needs.

“With an all-in-one, secure SD-WAN solution natively built on the public cloud network, enterprises can finally make the shift to more public cloud deployments, both faster and more securely,” said Hatem Naguib, COO at Barracuda. “We appreciate the relationship we have developed with Microsoft over the years and the close collaboration over many months to integrate Barracuda SD-WAN technology natively on Microsoft Azure Virtual WAN Hubs. We know this is the future of networking in the public cloud, and we’re excited to be on this forefront with Microsoft.”

Yousef Khalidi, Corporate Vice President, Azure Networking at Microsoft said, “Cloud-native, secure SD-WAN technology, like the new CloudGen WAN service from Barracuda, provides a fast, reliable, and direct path to Microsoft Azure. We’re pleased to collaborate with Barracuda for this new wave of faster public cloud adoption to help our joint customers optimize network performance.”