Use Cases

Cato enables customers to gradually transform their networking and security infrastructure for the digital business.

You can address one or more of the use cases below at your own pace. No matter where you start, Cato supports you throughout your journey.

Network Modernization

MPLS migration to SD-WAN

mpls migration to sd-wan

Cato enables customers to move away from expensive, rigid, and capacity constrained MPLS to a high-capacity and resilient modern network. Using Cato Edge SD-WAN and multiple Internet links, customers boost capacity and improve resiliency for lower cost per Mbps. Customers with a global footprint leverage Cato’s affordable global private backbone to replace global MPLS services to reduce cost, meet service levels, improve performance, and deliver security everywhere. Ultimately, most customers can increase capacity, resiliency, and improve overall network performance and security with the same network spend.

Optimal Global Application Access

Cato leverages a global private backbone with built-in traffic acceleration and optimization to deliver SLA-backed, predictable, and high-performance applications access everywhere. Cato further optimizes access to SaaS applications with a ‘smart egress’ capability. This feature allows customers to define an application-level rule to exit specific application traffic at a designated PoP, closest to the target instance serving their organization. Overall, customers that suffer from poor application access for remote locations and users, can use Cato’s global access optimization to improve access experience for both on-premises and cloud applications.

Hybrid Cloud and Multi-Cloud

Cato easily connects physical and cloud datacenters to the Cato SASE Cloud Platform and optimizes access to public cloud apps. Traffic is inspected by Cato SSE 360 and optimized using Cato’s global private backbone across the “middle mile.” With Cato, customers can eliminate premium cloud connectivity solutions like AWS DirectConnect and Microsoft ExpressRoute.

mpls migration to sd-wan

Security Consolidation

Secure Hybrid Work

Secure Hybrid Work

Cato extends global networking and security capabilities down to a single user’s laptop, smartphone, or tablet. Using the Cato Client ZTNA capabilities, users establish a secure and optimized connection, through the Cato SASE Cloud Platform, to any application on premises or in the cloud.  Cato continuously enforces risk-based application access policies, secures all traffic against threats, and prevents sensitive data loss. The Cato Client includes endpoint protection capabilities using a next generation anti-malware engine to prevent malware infection and share endpoint anomalous behavior data for incident detection and response. Cato’s cloud-scale architecture ensures support for all users working from anywhere.

Secure Direct Internet Access

Cato provides a cloud-native security service edge, Cato SSE 360, converged into the Cato SASE Cloud Platform. By connecting all locations and users to Cato through Cato edge SD-WAN devices and Cato Clients, all WAN, Cloud and Internet traffic is fully protected against threats and sensitive data loss. With Cato, customers can eliminate or avoid the cost and complexity of a mixed environment of Branch firewall, SD-WAN appliances, and point cloud-delivered solutions for internet access.

Secure Application and Data Access

Cato’s CASB and DLP capabilities enable full visibility and control of access to cloud applications and to sensitive data. Cato provides instant risk-based visibility to all cloud application access including “Shadow IT”, and enforces in-line granular policies on sensitive data access from corporate and BYOD devices. Cato leverages SaaS application APIs to extend policies to BYOD devices and data sharing across applications. With Cato, customers can reduce the risk of sensitive data loss and better comply with regulatory requirements.

Incident Detection and Response

Cato delivers a complete Extended Detection and Response (XDR) capability built into the Cato SASE Cloud Platform across the network (NDR) and endpoint (EDR) domains. Cato combines a granular and context-rich data lake created from Cato live traffic and 3rd party data, proven AI/ML-driven Threat Hunting, AI-assisted analyst workbench, and incident response playbooks. Cato’s XDR was extensively battletested by our managed detection and response (MDR) analysts and can now be used to enable partners and customers to build their own in-house SOC capabilities.

Secure Hybrid Work

Business Transformation

Vendor Consolidation

Vendor Consolidation

Cato enables customers to consolidate multiple networking and security products into a single, converged, Cloud-delivered platform. Customers no longer need to integrate, maintain, and troubleshoot multiple product footprints and multiple contract renewals and billing cycles. Using Cato, IT leverages a consistent and autonomous delivery of IT infrastructure capabilities to focus on supporting the business and optimizing the user experience.

Spend Optimization

Cato enables a cash-neutral-to-positive replacement of multiple networking and security point solutions, including MPLS, firewall appliances, VPN solutions, and cloud-based security services. For a similar spend, customers can replace these point solutions with a single platform that fully automates service resiliency, scalability, and security posture, while also optimizing the user experience, enabling IT to focus on strategic business initiatives.

M&A and Geo Expansion

Cato enables seamless expansion of the business through M&A and into new regions. Cato’s cloud-first architecture enforces a consistent security policy and global traffic optimization anywhere, and from any user or enterprise resource. Using Cato’s zero touch and self-service provisioning of a “thin edge” (Cato SD-WAN or Cato Client), customers can rapidly onboard new locations and users into Cato, and provide secure and optimized access to any application on premises or in the cloud.

Vendor Consolidation

Deployment Models

Global Enterprises

Cato makes global connectivity affordable, reliable, and agile. Our global SLA-backed private backbone provides a consistent user experience at a fraction of the cost of legacy MPLS, and natively extends to cloud datacenters, cloud applications and remote users. With over 80 global PoPs (Points of Presence), including China, you can now achieve secure and optimal global connectivity that meets your business needs within minutes. Cato’s security stack ensures the same enterprise-grade security is applied for all branches, users, and applications – everywhere.

Regional Enterprises

Cato gets your entire enterprise network connected and secured through a single cloud service. Our SASE platform enables IT teams to build secure networks with ease. Cato helps you make the most of your Internet last mile by automatically building the WAN full mesh in the cloud, enforcing QoS and path selection based on application and user awareness, optimizing access to cloud resources, making remote users integral parts of the network, and enforcing the same enterprise-grade security on all locations, users, and applications. Cato can be managed by the IT team or a managed service provider via a single, user-friendly, management application.

Do It Yourself (DIY)

Cato enables enterprise IT to access detailed real-time and historical network analytics and security events through the Cato Management Application. All policies, including security, routing, and quality of service, can be directly configured by the customer. As a cloud service, Cato requires no customer involvement in updating or upgrading the underlying infrastructure, saving IT teams precious resources previously needed for maintaining network point solutions.

Managed Service

Customers who prefer a “hands off” managed service can use a Cato partner or sign up for specific Cato managed services. Customers can selectively choose if they need help with site deployment, monitoring last-mile links, performing required policy configurations within the Cato Management Application, or monitoring the network for pervasive security threats. As a cloud service, Cato maintains the Cato SASE Cloud platform and all of its components, saving IT teams and MSPs the precious resources previously needed for maintaining multiple point solutions.

The Strategic Benefits of a True SASE Platform

Architected from the ground up as a true cloud-native SASE platform, all Cato’s security capabilities, today and in the future, leverage the global distribution, massive scalability, advanced resiliency, autonomous life cycle management, and consistent management model of the Cato platform.

Consistent Policy Enforcement

Cato extends all security capabilities globally to deliver consistent policy enforcement everywhere and to everyone, from the largest datacenters down to a single user device.

Scalable and Resilient Protection

Cato scales to inspect multi-gig traffic streams with full TLS decryption and across all security capabilities, and can automatically recover from service component failures to ensure continuous security protection.

Autonomous Life Cycle Management

Cato ensures the SASE cloud platform maintains optimal security posture, 99.999% service availability, and low-latency security processing for all users and locations, without any customer involvement.

Single Pane of Glass

Cato provides a single pane of glass to consistently manage all security and networking capabilities including configuration, analytics, troubleshooting, and incident detection and response. Unified management model eases new capabilities adoption by IT and the business.