Top 6 Ways SASE PoCs Go Wrong, and How CIOs and CISOs Can Avoid Them

Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) is transforming how organizations approach networking and security by converging software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) and cloud-delivered security services into a single, unified framework.

As businesses embrace digital transformation and remote work, the demand for SASE solutions has surged. Its promise of enhanced security, simplified management, and improved performance has led many enterprises to consider deploying SASE architectures. However, due to the complexities of network environments and the diverse needs of organizations, implementing SASE is not a one-size-fits-all process.

To ensure the right fit, organizations typically conduct a Proof of Concept (PoC) before committing to a full-scale deployment. A PoC helps validate a SASE solution’s capabilities in a controlled setting, allowing CIOs and CISOs to assess performance, security, and integration with existing infrastructure. A successful PoC can provide confidence in a vendor’s offering, while a poorly executed one can lead to wasted resources, flawed decisions, and security gaps.

Despite the advantages of conducting PoCs, many organizations struggle with execution. Challenges such as vague objectives, inadequate testing environments, integration issues, and unrealistic performance expectations can derail the process. CIOs and CISOs must navigate these pitfalls carefully to avoid costly mistakes and ensure their organizations select the right SASE solution.

We now discuss six common ways SASE PoCs go wrong and provides actionable insights on how to avoid these mistakes.

1. Lack of Clear Objectives and Success Criteria

One of the most significant reasons SASE PoCs fail is the absence of well-defined objectives and success criteria. Organizations often initiate a PoC without establishing what they aim to achieve, leading to misaligned expectations between stakeholders and vendors.

Without clear goals, the PoC may focus on generic technical capabilities rather than how the solution meets specific business and security needs. This can result in a misleading evaluation, where a solution appears viable during testing but fails to deliver value in production.

To avoid this, CIOs and CISOs should define concrete success criteria before starting a PoC. These should include measurable key performance indicators (KPIs) such as security policy enforcement effectiveness, network performance under load, and integration with existing security tools. Additionally, organizations should establish a baseline for acceptable performance and document specific use cases they want to test. Having a structured evaluation framework ensures the PoC provides meaningful insights rather than just a vendor demo.

2. Poorly Defined Scope and Testing Scenarios

Another common pitfall is an improperly scoped PoC. Some organizations attempt to test too many use cases at once, leading to an unfocused evaluation, while others limit testing to a narrow set of scenarios that fail to represent real-world deployments.

A poorly scoped PoC can lead to incomplete insights, causing teams to overlook critical security or networking limitations that may only emerge in full production. For example, testing only branch office connectivity may overlook challenges with remote workforce access or multi-cloud environments.

To mitigate this risk, CIOs and CISOs should ensure the PoC is scoped appropriately. It should include representative traffic patterns, various user access scenarios, and integration with existing identity and access management (IAM) systems. Organizations should also phase their testing—starting with core functionalities before expanding to more complex scenarios—to ensure a thorough evaluation without overwhelming resources.

3. Ignoring Network and Security Integration Challenges

A SASE solution does not operate in isolation—it must integrate seamlessly with an organization’s existing security and network infrastructure. However, many PoCs fail because they overlook compatibility and integration challenges.

Issues often arise when a SASE solution does not align with an organization’s current SD-WAN, firewall policies, or identity management systems. For example, a PoC that does not assess how the solution enforces Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) policies across different user groups may lead to security gaps post-deployment.

To address this, organizations must evaluate how well a SASE solution integrates with their existing tools before committing to a PoC. Conducting compatibility assessments, working closely with vendors to understand API capabilities, and ensuring proper configuration for real-world scenarios will help avoid unexpected deployment issues.

4. Underestimating Performance and Scalability Requirements

Many organizations make the mistake of assuming that a SASE solution will perform well in production simply because it works in a test environment. However, PoCs often fail to account for real-world performance factors such as network latency, scalability across global locations, and handling peak traffic loads.

Performance bottlenecks can arise when organizations do not test under conditions that mimic their production environment. For example, if a PoC only tests connectivity from a single data center, it may fail to uncover latency issues experienced by remote users across different geographies.

To ensure realistic performance testing, CIOs and CISOs should replicate real-world traffic conditions as closely as possible. This includes simulating different locations, load-testing the solution under peak usage, and evaluating the impact on critical business applications. Performance benchmarks should include metrics such as latency, throughput, and security inspection delays to ensure the solution meets operational requirements.

5. Lack of Stakeholder Alignment and Executive Buy-In

A successful SASE implementation requires collaboration between multiple teams, including networking, security, IT, and compliance. However, PoCs often fail due to a lack of alignment among stakeholders, leading to conflicting priorities and disjointed evaluations.

For example, the networking team may prioritize SD-WAN capabilities, while the security team focuses on Zero Trust enforcement. If these teams do not work together during the PoC, the final decision may not reflect the organization’s holistic needs.

To prevent this, CIOs and CISOs should ensure all relevant stakeholders are involved from the outset. This includes setting up regular check-ins, aligning priorities between teams, and documenting key findings in a shared evaluation framework. Executive buy-in is also crucial—if leadership does not support the initiative, securing budget and resources for full deployment can become a challenge.

6. Vendor Lock-In and Overlooking Long-Term Viability

One of the biggest risks during a SASE PoC is failing to assess long-term flexibility and vendor lock-in risks. Some organizations commit to a vendor too early without fully evaluating their ability to support future business needs.

A vendor may offer an attractive PoC that appears to meet current requirements, but organizations should assess whether the solution can scale, integrate with evolving technology stacks, and support multi-vendor environments. Failing to do so can lead to costly migrations or limited innovation down the line.

To mitigate this, organizations should evaluate exit strategies and multi-vendor compatibility during the PoC phase. Questions such as “How easily can we switch vendors if needed?” and “Does this solution support open APIs and standards?” should be addressed before making a final decision.

Running a successful SASE PoC is essential for making informed decisions about long-term network security strategies. However, many organizations fall into common traps that can lead to misleading evaluations, wasted resources, and poor implementation outcomes.

By setting clear objectives, defining the right scope, addressing integration challenges, testing for real-world performance, ensuring stakeholder alignment, and avoiding vendor lock-in, CIOs and CISOs can maximize the value of their PoCs. Avoiding these six pitfalls will ensure that SASE solutions are evaluated effectively, leading to a smoother deployment and better security and networking outcomes.

We now explore each mistake in detail.

1. Lack of Clear Objectives and Success Criteria

How Vague Goals Lead to Misaligned Expectations

One of the primary reasons Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) Proof of Concepts (PoCs) fail is the lack of clearly defined objectives and success criteria. When organizations do not set precise goals, stakeholders—including IT, security, and networking teams—often have differing expectations of what the PoC should achieve. This misalignment can lead to an incomplete or misleading evaluation, where a solution may seem effective in some areas but ultimately fails to address the organization’s core business and security needs.

For example, a networking team may focus on evaluating SASE’s SD-WAN capabilities, expecting performance improvements, while the security team may be more concerned with Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) enforcement. Without alignment between these priorities, the PoC may emphasize one area while neglecting others, leading to a fragmented implementation that does not fully address business challenges.

Another example of misalignment occurs when organizations assume that simply deploying a vendor’s SASE solution in a test environment is sufficient to determine its effectiveness. Without predefined success metrics, teams may rely on anecdotal feedback rather than concrete data, making it difficult to justify a full-scale deployment or compare different solutions objectively.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Metrics CIOs and CISOs Should Define Upfront

To ensure a successful PoC, CIOs and CISOs must establish measurable Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and define success criteria that align with their organization’s security, networking, and business objectives. These KPIs should cover multiple aspects of SASE functionality, including security effectiveness, network performance, scalability, user experience, and operational efficiency.

Some critical KPIs for a SASE PoC include:

• Security Effectiveness:
  • Detection and response times for security threats.
  • Accuracy of policy enforcement across different user groups.
  • Ability to prevent unauthorized access through ZTNA.
• Network Performance:
  • Latency measurements under different traffic conditions.
  • Application performance for cloud-based workloads.
  • Bandwidth efficiency and traffic optimization through SD-WAN.
• Scalability and Resilience:
  • The ability to maintain performance across multiple locations.
  • Uptime and availability guarantees under load testing.
  • Effectiveness of automated failover mechanisms.
• User Experience:
  • Performance impacts on remote users compared to on-prem users.
  • Authentication and access control efficiency.
  • Compatibility with existing identity and access management (IAM) systems.
• Operational Efficiency:
  • Ease of policy configuration and enforcement.
  • Integration with existing security tools (SIEM, SOAR, etc.).
  • Centralized visibility and reporting capabilities.

By defining these KPIs before the PoC begins, organizations can create a structured evaluation framework that allows them to objectively measure the success of each solution under consideration.

How to Set Clear Business and Security Outcomes for a Successful PoC

A successful SASE PoC is not just a technical evaluation—it should be aligned with the broader business and security goals of the organization. CIOs and CISOs must ensure that the PoC answers fundamental questions such as:

• Does this solution align with our long-term security and network transformation strategy?
• Will this solution improve our ability to secure remote workforces and cloud-based applications?
• Can this SASE architecture reduce operational complexity and costs over time?
• How will it enhance compliance with industry regulations (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA, NIST, etc.)?

To define clear business and security outcomes, organizations should follow these steps:

1. Engage Key Stakeholders Early
   • Before starting the PoC, ensure that all relevant teams—networking, security, IT operations, and compliance—contribute to defining success criteria.
   • Identify business leaders who can provide input on how SASE aligns with digital transformation initiatives.
2. Prioritize Use Cases Based on Business Needs
   • Rather than evaluating a generic SASE feature set, focus on specific use cases that matter most to the organization.
   • Examples:
     • Enabling secure remote work for a global workforce.
     • Reducing reliance on MPLS while maintaining performance.
     • Strengthening security posture with cloud-based threat protection.
3. Establish Baselines for Comparison
   • Measure the organization’s current network and security performance to compare against the SASE solution.
   • Example: If current remote access latency averages 120ms, define an acceptable threshold for improvement (e.g., reduce latency below 80ms).
4. Set Pass/Fail Criteria for Each KPI
   • Instead of vague terms like “improve security,” define quantifiable outcomes such as “reduce security incident resolution time by 30%.”
   • Example: If the PoC does not meet at least 80% of predefined performance and security benchmarks, it is deemed unsuccessful.
5. Document and Communicate Expectations
   • Maintain a written document outlining the PoC’s objectives, success metrics, and expected business outcomes.
   • Ensure that all stakeholders—including vendors—are aligned on these expectations before deployment begins.

Example of a Well-Defined PoC Objective

A poorly defined PoC objective:
“Evaluate Vendor X’s SASE solution to determine if it improves security and performance.”

A well-defined PoC objective:
“Test Vendor X’s SASE solution against our current security and network stack to measure improvements in threat detection, policy enforcement, and application performance. Success will be defined by achieving a 20% reduction in mean time to detect (MTTD) security threats, 15% lower latency for SaaS applications, and successful enforcement of least-privilege access controls for all remote users.”

The difference between these two objectives is clear—the first is vague and leaves room for subjective interpretation, while the second sets specific, measurable criteria for success.

Without clearly defined objectives and success criteria, a SASE PoC can quickly become unfocused, leading to misleading results and poor decision-making. CIOs and CISOs must ensure that PoC goals align with their organization’s business and security needs, with well-defined KPIs and measurable success criteria.

By engaging key stakeholders early, prioritizing critical use cases, and setting quantifiable benchmarks, organizations can ensure that their SASE PoC provides meaningful insights that lead to an informed and confident deployment decision.

2. Poorly Defined Scope and Testing Scenarios

Why Testing Too Many (or Too Few) Use Cases Leads to Ineffective PoCs

A poorly scoped Proof of Concept (PoC) is one of the primary reasons Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) evaluations fail. Organizations often struggle to find the right balance—either attempting to test too many use cases at once or focusing on an overly narrow set of scenarios that fail to capture real-world conditions.

When too many variables are introduced into a PoC, testing becomes chaotic, leading to incomplete or inconclusive results. For example, an organization might attempt to evaluate multiple SASE capabilities—SD-WAN optimization, Secure Web Gateway (SWG), Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB), and Firewall-as-a-Service (FWaaS)—all at once.

With limited time and resources, teams may not fully assess each component, resulting in gaps in evaluation. This can lead to a situation where the SASE solution appears to work during the PoC but fails in production due to overlooked integration challenges.

On the other hand, an overly limited scope can give organizations a false sense of confidence. For instance, testing a SASE solution only for a small group of remote users but not evaluating its performance in branch office environments can lead to issues post-deployment. A PoC that only examines web traffic filtering but ignores cloud application security will not provide a complete picture of how the solution protects against modern threats.

To ensure an effective PoC, organizations need to carefully define the right scope—one that is broad enough to capture key use cases but not so extensive that it becomes unmanageable.

Ensuring the PoC Reflects Real-World Environments and Workflows

A common mistake in PoC planning is testing under artificial conditions that do not accurately represent how the SASE solution will function in production. Organizations often deploy PoCs in controlled lab environments with minimal traffic and ideal network conditions. However, real-world deployments involve complex workflows, multiple user types, varying network congestion, and unpredictable security threats.

To ensure realistic testing, CIOs and CISOs should consider the following factors:

• User Scenarios:
  • Include different user types such as remote workers, branch office employees, and third-party contractors.
  • Test access policies for various roles (e.g., executives, IT admins, and general employees) to ensure Zero Trust principles are enforced.
• Traffic and Application Testing:
  • Simulate real-world traffic, including SaaS applications (Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Salesforce), video conferencing tools, and legacy enterprise apps.
  • Ensure the PoC includes encrypted traffic inspection to validate SSL/TLS decryption performance.
• Network Conditions:
  • Introduce realistic latency and packet loss scenarios to test how the SASE solution handles degraded network conditions.
  • Evaluate performance over different connectivity types (MPLS, broadband, LTE, 5G) to understand the impact on user experience.
• Security Testing:
  • Deploy threat simulations to assess how well the SASE solution detects and blocks malware, phishing, and data exfiltration attempts.
  • Verify integration with existing security solutions such as SIEM, SOAR, and endpoint protection platforms.

By replicating real-world usage patterns, organizations can gain a more accurate understanding of how the SASE solution will perform in production.

The Role of Phased Testing in Preventing Scope Creep

Scope creep—where additional testing requirements emerge mid-PoC—can derail an evaluation, causing delays and resource drain. This often happens when organizations fail to establish clear boundaries for testing or when stakeholders continuously add new requirements without adjusting timelines.

To prevent scope creep, organizations should implement a phased testing approach that prioritizes essential use cases first and expands testing gradually.

Phased Approach to SASE PoC Testing

1. Phase 1: Core Functionality Testing
   • Validate basic connectivity and security policy enforcement.
   • Test user authentication and role-based access controls.
   • Ensure the SASE solution integrates with identity providers (e.g., Azure AD, Okta).
2. Phase 2: Performance and Scalability Testing
   • Simulate increased traffic loads to assess bandwidth efficiency.
   • Measure application latency and network optimization effectiveness.
   • Introduce failover and redundancy scenarios to validate resilience.
3. Phase 3: Advanced Security and Compliance Testing
   • Test threat detection and response capabilities.
   • Evaluate compliance with regulatory frameworks (GDPR, HIPAA, NIST).
   • Assess visibility and reporting features for security monitoring teams.
4. Phase 4: Long-Term Operational Viability
   • Conduct user feedback sessions to gauge usability.
   • Validate policy management and ease of configuration.
   • Assess vendor support responsiveness and SLAs.

Using a phased approach ensures that each aspect of the SASE solution is thoroughly evaluated while maintaining control over the PoC’s timeline and resources.

Case Study: A Real-World Example of Scope Mismanagement

A multinational financial services firm launched a SASE PoC with the goal of evaluating a vendor’s ability to enhance security for remote employees. However, as the PoC progressed, various stakeholders requested additional tests, including:

• SD-WAN performance at multiple branch offices.
• Compliance validation for data protection laws.
• Integration with cloud workload security tools.

Without a structured phased approach, the PoC became unmanageable, stretching from an initially planned 6 weeks to over 5 months. As a result, decision-making stalled, and the organization ultimately postponed its SASE deployment due to lack of conclusive results.

Had the organization followed a phased testing strategy, it could have prioritized core security and remote access use cases first before expanding testing to additional areas, avoiding delays and resource inefficiencies.

A poorly scoped PoC can lead to misleading results, resource waste, and failed deployments. Testing too many variables at once can create confusion, while an overly narrow scope can leave critical gaps in evaluation.

To ensure a successful PoC, CIOs and CISOs must strike the right balance—defining a structured scope that reflects real-world environments while avoiding scope creep. A phased testing approach helps organizations focus on high-priority use cases first and expand gradually, ensuring a thorough yet controlled evaluation process.

By properly defining the PoC scope, testing real-world conditions, and structuring evaluations into phases, organizations can confidently assess SASE solutions and make informed deployment decisions.

3. Ignoring Network and Security Integration Challenges

How Integration Complexities with Existing Infrastructure Derail PoCs

A frequent pitfall in SASE Proof of Concepts (PoCs) is underestimating the challenges associated with integrating the SASE solution into an organization’s existing infrastructure.

Network and security environments are often complex, with various components from multiple vendors. These may include legacy systems, SD-WAN solutions, firewalls, identity and access management (IAM) systems, and cloud services. The failure to account for these complexities can derail the PoC and lead to significant setbacks in production environments.

One of the key challenges in SASE adoption is that it is an end-to-end security and networking solution designed to consolidate several functions—such as secure web gateways, cloud security, SD-WAN, and zero-trust network access—into a single platform. While this consolidation has many advantages, it also introduces the risk of incompatibilities with existing network architecture or security tools that are not part of the SASE ecosystem.

For example, integrating SASE with an existing SD-WAN solution may introduce network configuration issues. If a company uses an on-premise firewall and tries to replace it with a SASE-based firewall-as-a-service (FWaaS) without considering the underlying network architecture, it could cause network performance issues, such as latency spikes or packet loss. Similarly, integrating SASE with legacy systems may require significant reconfiguration, which can disrupt operations and delay PoC timelines.

Moreover, any oversight of these complexities often leads to testing results that do not accurately reflect the real-world performance of the SASE solution once deployed.

Common Compatibility Issues with SD-WAN, Zero Trust, and Cloud Environments

When evaluating a SASE solution, there are several common integration challenges that CIOs and CISOs must consider:

1. SD-WAN Compatibility:
   • SASE solutions frequently rely on SD-WAN as a key component for network optimization. However, not all SD-WAN solutions are fully compatible with every SASE platform. The vendor’s SD-WAN solution may use proprietary protocols or management interfaces that do not integrate seamlessly with the SASE platform’s control and data planes.
   • Incompatibility with existing SD-WAN infrastructure may lead to suboptimal network performance, making it difficult to accurately assess the effectiveness of the SASE solution in the PoC.
   • Example: A company using an SD-WAN provider that does not support direct integration with the SASE vendor’s security features may experience gaps in data visibility or inconsistent application traffic routing.
2. Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) Integration:
   • Zero Trust principles, which are a core feature of many SASE solutions, require tight integration with identity providers, endpoint security tools, and authentication mechanisms. If these systems are not aligned with the ZTNA framework in the PoC, the solution might not demonstrate its full security potential.
   • For example, integrating ZTNA with an existing IAM (identity and access management) solution can pose challenges. If a SASE solution does not integrate seamlessly with the IAM platform, it could lead to delays or incorrect policy enforcement, such as unauthorized users gaining access.
3. Cloud Environment Compatibility:
   • As more organizations move to cloud-first architectures, ensuring that SASE solutions effectively integrate with public cloud environments (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google Cloud) is essential. This includes ensuring compatibility with the cloud-native security tools and services that organizations already use.
   • Many organizations face difficulties when integrating SASE solutions with cloud workloads, especially when trying to balance between cloud-native services and legacy on-premise infrastructures.

Best Practices for Assessing Vendor Interoperability and Conducting Pre-PoC Assessments

To mitigate integration risks and ensure a successful PoC, organizations should adopt a proactive approach to assessing vendor interoperability and conducting thorough pre-PoC assessments.

1. Conduct Pre-PoC Network and Security Audits:
   • Before starting the PoC, CIOs and CISOs should assess their existing network and security infrastructure to identify potential integration challenges.
   • This audit should examine the existing SD-WAN, firewall, VPN, IAM, and cloud environments to determine compatibility with the SASE solution being evaluated.
   • It may also involve a review of the organization’s network topology, access control policies, and compliance requirements to ensure that the SASE solution will fit into the broader security architecture.
2. Engage Vendor Support Early:
   • Many SASE vendors offer pre-PoC consultations or support services to help assess integration challenges. Engaging with the vendor early can provide valuable insights into how well the solution integrates with existing infrastructure.
   • Vendors can assist in evaluating compatibility with existing tools, help configure the PoC environment, and identify potential pitfalls before they cause issues during the actual testing phase.
3. Use Pilot Environments for Testing Compatibility:
   • To ensure that a SASE solution integrates effectively, it is crucial to deploy it in a controlled pilot environment that mirrors the real production setup as closely as possible. This pilot phase should simulate integration with existing SD-WAN, IAM, cloud, and endpoint security tools.
   • By running integration tests in a pilot environment, organizations can identify any compatibility or performance issues before scaling the PoC to larger environments.
4. Collaborate with Internal and External Teams:
   • Collaboration across teams is critical when managing complex integrations. CIOs, CISOs, and network engineers must work closely with security operations and cloud architects to assess how the SASE solution fits within the broader infrastructure.
   • Engaging with third-party vendors for tools such as SD-WAN, IAM, and endpoint security can also help assess compatibility and troubleshoot potential integration issues.
5. Assess Vendor Ecosystem Compatibility:
   • Evaluate whether the SASE vendor supports a multi-vendor ecosystem and is willing to integrate with the existing tools in use. Some SASE vendors are more flexible than others when it comes to supporting third-party integrations.
   • Ask the vendor for a list of supported tools and integrations, and verify the interoperability with your current network security solutions.

Example: A Case of Integration Challenges Leading to PoC Failure

A global retail organization embarked on a SASE PoC to improve security and optimize network performance across its remote locations. The PoC involved integrating the SASE solution with the company’s existing SD-WAN infrastructure and a cloud-first security model.

However, the integration revealed several challenges:

• The SD-WAN solution in use was not compatible with the SASE vendor’s traffic optimization features, leading to significant latency issues.
• The Zero Trust integration with the company’s legacy IAM solution was problematic, as the SASE vendor had limited compatibility with the older authentication protocols.
• The SASE solution struggled to work effectively with the company’s cloud-based applications, causing performance degradation during peak usage.

The organization’s PoC was ultimately deemed unsuccessful because the integration challenges led to severe disruptions in user experience and network performance.

Had the organization performed a comprehensive pre-PoC network and security audit, engaged with vendor support, and deployed the solution in a pilot environment to test these integrations, it could have avoided these issues and selected a more compatible solution.

Integration challenges are often overlooked when running SASE PoCs, but they can significantly impact the success of the evaluation. Compatibility issues with SD-WAN, Zero Trust solutions, and cloud environments can derail the PoC, making it difficult to evaluate the solution accurately.

To mitigate these challenges, CIOs and CISOs should conduct thorough pre-PoC assessments, collaborate with internal and vendor teams, and use pilot environments to test integration in real-world scenarios. By addressing integration complexities early on, organizations can ensure a more successful PoC that leads to a smoother deployment and operational success.

4. Underestimating Performance and Scalability Requirements

How Misjudging Network Performance Leads to Failure in Production

One of the most critical, yet often overlooked, aspects of running a SASE Proof of Concept (PoC) is understanding the performance and scalability requirements necessary to support the organization’s operational needs. Performance issues—such as latency, bandwidth, and overall system responsiveness—can quickly become a barrier to a successful deployment if not properly evaluated during the PoC phase.

SASE solutions, by design, aim to secure and optimize traffic across a distributed enterprise, which means they are expected to handle a wide range of network traffic in real-time, across multiple locations, and for diverse user types.

However, without rigorous performance testing in the PoC, organizations may discover that the solution cannot handle production traffic at scale or cannot meet their specific latency requirements. This is particularly critical for organizations with high-bandwidth applications, real-time collaboration tools, or large-scale remote workforces.

For example, an organization might deploy a SASE solution to optimize secure access for remote employees but find that performance is degraded during peak usage times. The solution may introduce significant latency when accessing cloud-based applications, or it may not effectively optimize application traffic across geographically distributed branches, leading to poor user experiences and decreased productivity. These types of issues are often a result of improper performance testing during the PoC, which fails to simulate real-world traffic volumes or conditions.

Key Considerations: Latency, Bandwidth, and Global Scale

When running a SASE PoC, it is essential to evaluate how the solution performs under various conditions, focusing on key factors such as latency, bandwidth, and scalability:

1. Latency and Application Performance
   • Latency can have a significant impact on the performance of business-critical applications, especially real-time applications such as voice, video, and video conferencing. During the PoC, it is essential to test how the SASE solution performs in terms of latency, especially under heavy traffic conditions.
   • This involves evaluating how quickly traffic is routed through the solution’s security and optimization layers and how much delay is introduced during the inspection or filtering process. In some cases, the SASE solution’s security features may introduce excessive latency, making it unsuitable for time-sensitive applications.
   • Example: A global consulting firm might experience substantial delays in video conferencing calls when using a SASE solution, leading to poor communication between international teams.
2. Bandwidth Management and Optimization
   • SASE solutions are designed to optimize bandwidth usage by routing traffic efficiently across SD-WAN and cloud-native security features. However, without proper bandwidth testing during the PoC, organizations might find that the SASE solution is unable to handle the volume of traffic required, especially in large-scale deployments.
   • Testing should include simulating different levels of bandwidth demand—ranging from typical daily usage to peak periods when multiple users access bandwidth-heavy applications such as video streaming or cloud-based databases. This helps ensure that the SASE solution can effectively manage bandwidth and scale accordingly.
   • Example: A multinational retailer with thousands of remote workers and global branches may find that the SASE solution cannot handle peak usage when large media files are transferred across locations, resulting in significant slowdowns and inefficiencies.
3. Global Scale and Distributed Environments
   • Organizations with geographically dispersed networks, such as multinational corporations or those with branch offices in various regions, need to assess how well the SASE solution performs across different locations. Performance should be tested across regions to determine if the SASE solution can consistently deliver secure access with low latency, even in remote or underserved locations.
   • Testing must simulate how well the solution supports branch offices, remote employees, and cloud environments across different countries, taking into account regional differences in internet speed and network reliability.
   • Example: A company with offices in North America, Europe, and Asia may experience latency issues when remote employees in Asia access applications hosted in Europe. A well-conducted PoC will reveal if the SASE solution can optimize traffic routing effectively in this case.

Methods for Simulating Real-World Traffic Conditions in PoC Testing

A critical aspect of the PoC phase is creating realistic testing conditions that accurately represent production environments. The PoC must simulate the actual traffic patterns, network congestion, and application behaviors that will occur once the SASE solution is fully deployed. The following methods can help simulate real-world traffic conditions in a PoC:

1. Load Testing
   • Load testing involves simulating network traffic that mimics real-world conditions, including peak periods of demand and varying traffic types (e.g., business-critical applications, video conferencing, VoIP, and SaaS tools). Load testing ensures that the SASE solution can handle large volumes of traffic without degrading performance or introducing excessive latency.
   • It is also important to test how the solution behaves during failover scenarios when network traffic is rerouted through different paths due to congestion or outages.
2. Traffic Shaping and Prioritization Testing
   • During the PoC, it’s important to assess the SASE solution’s ability to prioritize critical traffic over less important data. This is especially important for businesses that rely on real-time applications. For example, video conferencing and VoIP traffic should be prioritized over standard web browsing or non-business-critical traffic to ensure optimal performance.
   • By testing traffic shaping and Quality of Service (QoS) capabilities, organizations can ensure that the SASE solution intelligently routes traffic based on priority, even under heavy load.
3. Geographically Distributed Testing
   • For organizations with a global footprint, it is crucial to simulate how the SASE solution performs across multiple locations. Testing should involve routing traffic from different regions to assess how well the SASE solution can optimize traffic and reduce latency when users are located far from data centers or cloud environments.
   • A global organization may want to conduct testing that includes remote users accessing cloud-hosted applications from North America, Europe, and Asia to understand the network and application performance at scale.
4. Application-Specific Testing
   • Different applications have unique performance needs. The PoC should simulate access to business-critical applications—such as CRM, ERP systems, or collaboration tools—and test their performance under load. This will help determine if the SASE solution can prioritize and optimize these applications effectively.
   • For instance, an organization might test a SASE solution’s ability to deliver optimal performance for users accessing Microsoft 365, SAP, or Salesforce, while ensuring that less critical web traffic does not affect the performance of these applications.

Case Study: Performance Challenges in a SASE PoC

A large healthcare provider initiated a SASE PoC to enhance security and optimize network traffic for remote medical professionals who frequently accessed cloud-based medical record systems. The PoC testing focused on ensuring that the solution could maintain low latency and high availability across geographically dispersed healthcare locations.

However, during testing, the organization encountered significant performance challenges:

• Remote medical professionals experienced high latency when accessing patient records from cloud environments, which led to frustration and delays in patient care.
• The SASE solution could not handle the high bandwidth demands of large medical imaging files, causing slow data transfers and impairing the ability to collaborate on patient diagnostics.
• When tested across various regions, including rural areas with limited internet infrastructure, the SASE solution showed poor scalability, leading to slow response times and network downtime.

Ultimately, the healthcare provider had to revisit the PoC and adjust their testing methods to simulate peak bandwidth demands and network congestion scenarios more accurately. By conducting more thorough performance testing, the organization was able to identify these issues early and adjust their SASE solution choice.

Underestimating the performance and scalability requirements of a SASE solution during the PoC phase can lead to significant issues when transitioning to production. Key factors such as latency, bandwidth management, and global scalability need to be rigorously tested to ensure that the solution can meet the organization’s real-world requirements.

To prevent performance issues, organizations should conduct realistic load testing, simulate real-world traffic conditions, and test the SASE solution across geographically distributed environments. By addressing performance concerns early in the PoC, CIOs and CISOs can ensure that the SASE solution will provide optimal performance and scalability when deployed at scale.

5. Lack of Stakeholder Alignment and Executive Buy-In

Why Miscommunication Between Security, Networking, and IT Teams Weakens PoC Results

One of the most significant risks to a successful SASE Proof of Concept (PoC) is the failure to align all relevant stakeholders within the organization. Without alignment, the project can quickly devolve into a series of miscommunications and siloed efforts that hinder the overall success of the evaluation.

The key stakeholders involved in a SASE PoC typically include IT teams, security teams, network operations, and executive leadership. These groups often have different priorities, objectives, and approaches to the solution, and if they are not properly aligned, it can create friction that undermines the PoC’s effectiveness.

For instance, while IT teams may focus on the technical configuration and integration aspects of the SASE solution, the security team will prioritize the protection and encryption of data, and network teams will be concerned with traffic optimization and performance. Without a clear understanding of each other’s needs, these teams may operate in isolation, and their efforts may conflict, leading to inefficiencies or missed opportunities for optimization.

An example of this in action could be an organization where the IT team implements the SASE solution but does not sufficiently coordinate with the security team, which results in gaps in policy enforcement or suboptimal configuration of security features like identity-based access control or threat intelligence feeds. Meanwhile, the network team might overlook the need for proper bandwidth management or optimization settings, leading to performance bottlenecks. The lack of alignment can cause technical failures and a poor overall user experience during the PoC.

The Importance of Cross-Functional Collaboration in PoC Planning

Cross-functional collaboration is essential when planning and executing a SASE PoC. CIOs and CISOs must bring together the relevant stakeholders—IT, security, networking, operations, and business leaders—from the outset of the PoC. The following strategies can ensure that each department is aligned and contributing meaningfully to the PoC:

1. Shared Objectives and Clear Communication:
   • A clear, shared understanding of the objectives for the PoC is crucial. These objectives should be documented in a formal project plan, and key performance indicators (KPIs) should be established to measure success. These KPIs should take into account the goals of all involved teams (IT, security, network, etc.).
   • Regular communication between stakeholders is also vital. For example, holding weekly or bi-weekly cross-functional meetings can help identify any concerns or roadblocks early on, allowing the PoC team to course-correct before they affect the overall evaluation.
2. Defining Roles and Responsibilities:
   • Each team should have a clear understanding of their responsibilities during the PoC. For instance, the IT team may be tasked with configuring the network architecture, while the security team ensures that the solution adheres to governance and compliance standards. The networking team may be responsible for measuring network performance under the new solution.
   • Establishing these roles from the beginning helps prevent duplicated work and missed tasks. It also ensures that each team can contribute their expertise toward the solution’s success.
3. Unified Decision-Making Process:
   • Disagreements between stakeholders about the best solution or implementation path can slow down the PoC or lead to poor decisions. To avoid this, CIOs and CISOs must establish a clear decision-making process from the outset. This process should involve input from all key stakeholders and define how decisions will be made, particularly when trade-offs are required.
   • For example, if a technical issue arises regarding the compatibility of the SASE solution with existing infrastructure, having a unified decision-making process ensures that the teams can quickly resolve the issue together, rather than leaving it to a single team to make a unilateral decision that may affect other aspects of the PoC.

How CIOs and CISOs Can Secure Buy-In from Leadership and Technical Teams

To ensure the success of the PoC, CIOs and CISOs must secure buy-in not only from the technical teams but also from executive leadership. Executive buy-in is essential for ensuring that the PoC has the resources it needs, that teams are held accountable, and that the broader business objectives are met. Here are several strategies for gaining executive and team support:

1. Communicate the Strategic Value of SASE:
   • CIOs and CISOs should articulate the broader strategic value of implementing a SASE solution, emphasizing its alignment with the organization’s business goals, such as improving security posture, supporting remote work, optimizing application performance, and enabling cloud adoption.
   • By showing how SASE directly supports the company’s long-term vision, CIOs and CISOs can help executives see the solution as a critical part of the organization’s digital transformation rather than just a technical upgrade.
2. Present Clear Business Case and ROI Analysis:
   • In order to secure executive buy-in, CIOs and CISOs need to present a clear business case for the PoC, including a detailed ROI analysis. This should cover potential cost savings, improved security outcomes, operational efficiencies, and enhanced user experiences.
   • For example, if a SASE solution is expected to reduce the cost of maintaining separate security appliances, the PoC should show how this will translate into savings for the organization in the long run. Similarly, by demonstrating how SASE can enable secure remote work, executives may see the value in adopting the solution for a global, distributed workforce.
3. Align PoC Goals with Key Business Metrics:
   • To gain both leadership and technical support, PoC goals should be directly aligned with business priorities. For instance, if the organization is looking to improve security compliance, a key goal of the PoC might be to evaluate how the SASE solution can meet regulatory requirements such as GDPR or HIPAA.
   • For network and IT teams, success metrics might include reduced network latency, improved application performance, or the ability to scale efficiently with a global workforce. By aligning PoC outcomes with these metrics, CIOs and CISOs can ensure that the project resonates with both technical and executive stakeholders.
4. Engage Key Stakeholders Early and Frequently:
   • Securing buy-in is an ongoing process that extends throughout the PoC. CIOs and CISOs should engage key stakeholders early and frequently, keeping them informed of progress and any issues that arise. By maintaining open communication with leadership, technical teams, and business stakeholders, the PoC team can ensure that the solution is evaluated against all relevant objectives.
   • Involving leadership in regular progress updates also demonstrates that the PoC is being managed effectively and that the organization is on track to achieve its strategic goals.

Example: Misalignment Leading to PoC Failure

A multinational financial services firm initiated a SASE PoC with the goal of improving security for its remote workforce and optimizing network performance across its global branches. However, the lack of alignment between the security, IT, and network teams led to a number of issues during the PoC:

• The security team was focused primarily on policy enforcement and endpoint security, while the network team prioritized performance optimization. As a result, certain critical security policies were not properly applied during the PoC, and network performance was suboptimal.
• The IT team implemented the solution without fully communicating the necessary configuration changes with the security and network teams, which resulted in integration problems and performance degradation.
• Additionally, executive leadership was not fully engaged in the PoC planning and did not understand the strategic benefits of the solution. As a result, they did not allocate the necessary resources to address issues during the PoC, leading to delays and the eventual abandonment of the project.

Had the firm better aligned its teams from the outset, with clear roles, responsibilities, and a shared understanding of the objectives, it could have avoided these issues and run a more successful PoC.

Stakeholder misalignment and a lack of executive buy-in are significant challenges that can derail the success of a SASE PoC. For a PoC to succeed, all relevant stakeholders—IT, security, networking, and executive leadership—must be aligned around shared objectives, and clear communication must be maintained throughout the process.

By establishing a unified decision-making process, communicating the strategic value of SASE, and involving leadership early, CIOs and CISOs can ensure that the PoC is well-supported and on track to achieve its business and technical goals.

6. Vendor Lock-In and Overlooking Long-Term Viability

The Risks of Committing to a Vendor Too Early

One of the most significant risks organizations face when running a SASE Proof of Concept (PoC) is the potential for vendor lock-in. During the PoC phase, organizations often become focused on testing the functionality and performance of the SASE solution. However, if they do not consider the long-term implications of their vendor selection, they may inadvertently commit to a solution that is difficult to scale, incompatible with future technology, or challenging to migrate away from.

Vendor lock-in occurs when an organization becomes overly reliant on a single vendor for their entire SASE solution, limiting flexibility and potentially driving up costs. This can be particularly problematic if the organization’s needs evolve over time, if the vendor’s service offerings change, or if better options emerge.

For example, if a PoC is conducted with a single vendor but does not thoroughly assess the potential for integration with other solutions, an organization may find itself “locked in” to that vendor even if the solution no longer meets its needs.

An example of this might be an organization that begins its SASE journey with a vendor offering strong SD-WAN capabilities, but as their security needs become more advanced, the vendor’s security features cannot keep up. Without considering multi-vendor compatibility in the PoC phase, the organization finds itself unable to easily migrate to a new solution or augment its current deployment. Over time, this results in high switching costs and operational complexity.

Ensuring the PoC Evaluates Flexibility, Multi-Vendor Compatibility, and Exit Strategies

One of the key aspects of a successful SASE PoC is ensuring that it thoroughly evaluates not just the technical capabilities of the vendor, but also the flexibility and long-term viability of the solution. This requires a comprehensive approach that includes testing how the SASE solution will integrate with existing and future technologies, as well as how easily it can be replaced or scaled if needed.

1. Multi-Vendor Compatibility
   • A well-executed PoC should test how the SASE solution can integrate with existing security tools, SD-WAN deployments, and cloud-native applications from various vendors. Organizations need to ensure that the SASE solution does not lock them into a single vendor ecosystem, but instead supports interoperability across multiple platforms.
   • For example, if a company uses one vendor for SD-WAN but another for its security operations (e.g., a leading firewall solution), the PoC should test the ability of the SASE solution to seamlessly work with both vendors’ technologies. This ensures that the organization is not constrained by vendor-specific constraints.
2. Evaluating Vendor Flexibility and Future-Proofing
   • During the PoC phase, it is essential to assess whether the SASE solution will be able to scale and evolve as the organization’s needs change over time. The PoC should not only focus on current needs but also consider how the solution will handle future expansions, such as increased bandwidth demands, more complex security requirements, or the adoption of additional cloud platforms.
   • This can involve evaluating the vendor’s roadmap, understanding the potential for customization, and identifying any future limitations in the vendor’s offerings. For example, if an organization plans to implement additional zero-trust security measures or needs greater cloud-native security, the SASE solution should be able to grow with these demands.
3. Exit Strategies and Vendor Transitions
   • An often-overlooked aspect of the PoC is evaluating how easily an organization can transition to a different vendor or solution if the chosen SASE platform does not meet their needs in the long term. A robust PoC should identify exit strategies and ensure that there are no substantial obstacles to migrating to another vendor.
   • This can include evaluating how easily data and configurations can be migrated, the availability of third-party migration tools, and whether there are contractual obligations or penalties that would make switching vendors difficult. For instance, if the organization finds that the current SASE solution does not support emerging technologies like AI-driven security or edge computing, it should be able to pivot to a new solution without excessive downtime or additional costs.

Strategies to Avoid Vendor Bias and Conduct Unbiased PoC Assessments

One of the challenges in running an effective PoC is avoiding vendor bias—where an organization becomes too attached to one vendor due to initial enthusiasm or a successful early PoC test. This bias can skew the evaluation process and lead to decisions that limit future flexibility or fail to account for the full range of requirements. To avoid this, CIOs and CISOs should adopt strategies that ensure an unbiased evaluation process.

1. Involve Multiple Stakeholders in the Evaluation Process
   • One way to avoid vendor bias is to involve a diverse group of stakeholders from different teams, including IT, security, and network teams, in the PoC evaluation process. By gathering input from various departments, the organization can gain a broader perspective on the solution’s suitability for different needs.
   • For instance, security professionals may focus on compliance and risk management, while network teams may prioritize performance and traffic optimization. Engaging all relevant stakeholders helps ensure that the PoC assessment is comprehensive and not swayed by one department’s focus.
2. Run Comparative PoCs with Multiple Vendors
   • To minimize bias, organizations should consider running PoCs with multiple vendors or different SASE solutions. This enables a direct comparison of the vendors’ capabilities, performance, and flexibility. By testing more than one solution, CIOs and CISOs can make a more informed decision about which vendor best aligns with their needs.
   • This is particularly important if the organization is unsure whether a single vendor can meet all of its requirements, such as integrating with existing SD-WAN or security platforms. Running multiple PoCs allows organizations to see which vendor offers the best overall fit for their environment.
3. Set Clear, Objective Evaluation Criteria
   • Establishing objective criteria from the outset is another important strategy for avoiding vendor bias. These criteria should be tied directly to the organization’s business and security goals, and they should include factors such as performance, scalability, security features, cost, and vendor flexibility.
   • By focusing on measurable outcomes such as application performance, latency, and cost savings, CIOs and CISOs can evaluate vendors more objectively and ensure that the decision is based on the solution’s merits rather than personal preference or early positive experiences with a particular vendor.
4. Use Third-Party Assessment Tools
   • To further reduce bias, organizations can use third-party tools or consult with independent experts during the PoC process. Independent assessments can provide a more objective view of the vendor’s capabilities and help identify any areas where the vendor may fall short. For example, third-party testing tools can simulate real-world traffic conditions and provide more accurate performance metrics that are not influenced by vendor marketing materials or personal relationships.

Case Study: Vendor Lock-In During a SASE PoC

A global software company conducted a SASE PoC to improve network security for its remote workforce. Initially, the PoC was focused on evaluating a single vendor that provided both SD-WAN and integrated security features. After an initial round of testing, the vendor’s solution performed well in terms of security, ease of use, and integration with the existing network.

However, as the company began to expand its cloud-based infrastructure and adopted more advanced security tools, it realized that the selected vendor’s security offerings were not as robust or adaptable as other available solutions. The company also discovered that integrating the vendor’s solution with a third-party cloud-native security provider was more difficult than anticipated.

Ultimately, the company found itself locked into a vendor that could no longer meet its growing security needs. Switching vendors would have involved significant time, effort, and costs, as well as potential downtime during the transition. The company’s lack of foresight in evaluating vendor flexibility and multi-vendor compatibility during the PoC phase led to a decision that limited its long-term growth and flexibility.

Vendor lock-in and a failure to assess long-term viability during a SASE PoC can have serious consequences for an organization’s ability to scale and adapt to future needs. By evaluating multi-vendor compatibility, ensuring flexibility for future growth, and considering exit strategies early in the PoC process, CIOs and CISOs can mitigate the risk of being tied to a single vendor.

Additionally, strategies such as involving multiple stakeholders, running comparative PoCs, and using objective evaluation criteria can help prevent vendor bias and ensure that the solution selected during the PoC aligns with both current and future business needs.

Conclusion

It may seem counterintuitive, but a successful SASE PoC isn’t solely about finding the “perfect” solution—it’s about setting up a framework that allows your organization to adapt as needs evolve. As we move deeper into the era of hybrid work, distributed networks, and constant digital transformation, the ability to stay agile in your network security strategy is paramount.

The key to success lies not only in technical evaluation but also in the strategic planning that precedes it, ensuring the solution is scalable, future-proof, and well-aligned with both your business and security objectives.

The future of SASE isn’t static; the solutions will continue to evolve, and the demands on your infrastructure will grow. If the PoC process is handled with foresight and care, it will not only mitigate risks but also provide insights into your organization’s broader digital transformation journey. The right PoC can empower your organization to embrace change confidently and make informed decisions that align with long-term objectives.

Looking ahead, the first critical step is to begin by aligning your teams and clearly defining the goals of your SASE PoC, ensuring every department understands their role and what success looks like. The second next step is to implement a robust post-PoC evaluation phase that includes revisiting vendor flexibility and scalability, ensuring the solution grows with your organization rather than locking it into a narrow path. Only by taking these actions can organizations confidently move forward with a SASE strategy that is both secure and adaptable for the future.