Let’s face it: SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) was supposed to be the hot new thing. A unified framework that bundles networking and security into a sleek cloud-delivered model? Yes please! But somewhere along the way, for many, it’s not living up to the promise.
You’d think in 2025 we’d finally retired the old proxy playbook—yet here we are. Many SASE providers still rely on the same web proxy architecture that dates back to the dial-up modem era (OK, maybe not quite—but close), and your network traffic is trying to navigate through a maze of servers like a lost puppy in a park full of squirrels.
For mid-market organisations, this architecture is like using a fax machine to post a TikTok. It’s outdated, clunky, and designed for a world that doesn’t exist anymore.
Let’s break down why.
Proxies introduce complexity by forcing all traffic through a central inspection point. That means:
I heard a customer describe their old proxy as “like trying to get from your desk to the office kitchen… but instead of walking 20 feet, you’re required to take a flight to Paris, go through customs, and then return via Madrid before you’re allowed a biscuit and a brew. Zero Trust, Zero Productivity more like!”
Your users don’t care that traffic is “safely inspected by a cloud proxy node in Frankfurt.” They care that Teams calls drop like flies (a recent podcast by Cisco highlighted the fact that packet loss as low as 1% can degrade service quality causing productivity headaches) or that SharePoint takes ten seconds to load a document.
Zero Trust, Zero Productivity more like!
Proxies don’t just impact performance—they hit you where it hurts: your budget. They’re like that friend who always suggests going the poshest restaurant in town, single-handedly consuming and entire bottle of Chateau Lafite Rothschild then asks to split the bill evenly! They’re costly, they’re high-maintenance, and they have a knack for making your CFO cry silently in the corner. We must not forget mid-market organisations don’t have a “Cloud Transformation” budget comparable to the GDP of a small nation.
With legacy proxy-based SASE:
In short, it’s like strapping a jet engine to a horse and calling it a futuristic mode of transport. The only saving grace is that between March and May 2025 at least seven major proxy providers introduced price reductions between 10-80% – even more of an indicator that they are trying to wring as much out of their architecture before it can no longer be resuscitated.
Running a proxy-based SASE model often feels like playing whack-a-mole with user complaints, policy conflicts, and mysterious 403 errors. Management is like juggling flaming chainsaws while riding a unicycle – it’s a spectacle, but it’s not sustainable.
Every update means:
In the meantime, your overworked IT team is dreaming of simpler times—like when all they had to do was manage Active Directory.
We’ve decided enough is enough. We believe mid-market cybersecurity shouldn’t be:
Our approach is simple:
It’s time to stop retrofitting legacy proxies into a modern security world. Let’s build solutions that fit the mid-market, not fight it. Because honestly, nobody wants a pain in the SASE, and let’s face it, life’s too short to deal with the uncool uncles of cybersecurity.
TrustLayer has been instrumental for us in creating a robust security posture... The setup was a piece of cake—seriously, it was a breeze—and most of our needs were addressed right from the get-go... The centralised management and intuitive interface save me a ton of time and headaches.
