Cato Eliminates WAN and Security Handoff
Cato Networks
The real opening for Cato is not better point security, it is removing the handoff between a WAN vendor and a security vendor. In a typical Zscaler deployment, Zscaler handles secure access and traffic inspection, while a separate SD-WAN provider such as Cisco or Arista VeloCloud handles branch connectivity and tunnel orchestration. Cato collapses those jobs into one backbone, one policy engine, and one admin console, which matters most for distributed enterprises running hundreds of sites and remote users.
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Zscaler itself frames SD-WAN as a partner layer, not a native network backbone. Its networking pages describe integrations with SD-WAN partners, and its partner materials with Cisco and Arista show the branch routing piece being supplied by another vendor. That creates two consoles, two support paths, and two policy domains to keep aligned.
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Cato is built the opposite way. A branch plugs a Cato Socket into its existing internet links, traffic enters one of Cato's 85 plus PoPs, then rides Cato's private backbone while the same platform applies firewall, SWG, CASB, DLP, ZTNA, and other controls in a single pass. The buyer is replacing MPLS, branch firewalls, VPN gear, and separate security cloud services at once.
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This split also maps to who buys. Zscaler is strongest where the security team leads and can pair it with an incumbent network stack. Cato is strongest where IT and security want one architecture for branch connectivity, remote access, and inspection, especially in migrations away from MPLS and appliance heavy branch designs.
The next phase of SASE competition is a fight between stitched together best of breed stacks and single operating models. As large enterprises try to cut vendor count and retire branch hardware, vendors that can make connectivity and security behave like one service will keep gaining ground, and that is the exact budget line Cato is moving toward.