What Is SASE (Secure Access Service Edge)? A Beginner’s Guide

The short answer: SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) is a cloud-delivered model that converges networking (SD-WAN) and security (SSE) into a single service. Gartner coined the term in 2019; the concept is built on Zero Trust principles defined in NIST SP 800-207. Most organizations don’t deploy the full stack at once — they adopt SASE gradually, often starting with Zero Trust network access and secure site connectivity.