Peak performance: SASE ski adventures in Tirol, Austria

The anatomy of cyber adrenaline

The heartbeat gets faster. One quick decision influences the next move. Thinking rapidly … you feel cold, but you may also be sweating. Actually, you can’t differentiate. This is what it may feel like when you are an IT Admin and you are under a cyberattack. This is a state usually driven by anxiety.

Now you imagine the same feeling but skiing down the slope, and the adrenaline is pumping in your veins. You feel the excitement, and you enjoy it. This is driven by enthusiasm. The mindset changes the way we understand our reactions.

SecureEdge and the mindset shift

The approach in the cybersecurity market to protecting hybrid environments has been driven by uncertainty: Are the current legacy solutions able to protect and accelerate business in the new SASE era? We may be driven by doubt and reluctance to adopt new technologies, or we may be driven by the enthusiastic willingness to evolve (with all implications of the disruption of old models).

This is exactly the reason why partners from Sweden and the Netherlands came to Innsbruck, Austria, recently. We sat together with the Barracuda team: Dr. Klaus Gheri, Michael Zoller (Principal Product Manager for Network Security), Alain Luxembourg, and Stefan Patscheider, listening and learning about the evolution of the Barracuda approach beyond the limits and understanding of the SASE terminology.

The mindset shift from the convergence of legacy standalone solutions to the optimization of the user experience was the most crucial takeaway of the sessions with the team. This journey is not about a product or just a platform. The journey is the evolution of Barracuda’s philosophy of “building a safer world for our customers” based on collaboration with our valued partners.

As the SASE approach of Barracuda, SecureEdge was made in the heart of the Austrian Alps, and it represents the evolution of more than 20 years of experience in product development and the ability to adapt to new challenges in the cybersecurity market. The participation of Martin Huter and Harald Grossauer from our development team in Innsbruck made it easier for us all to understand that this journey based on Barracuda SecureEdge is an evolution and not a revolution at high speed.

The ride on the slopes

And then we were there. A bunch of people from Sweden and the Netherlands. In a picturesque place where sharp mountain edges carved pieces out of the sky, too blue to be true. 

Judah van Wees, Senior Field Marketing Manager, Benelux and Nordics at Barracuda expresses his experience: 

All of us, aware that SASE was the way to go. But how?

SASE with confidence

SASE as a paradigm shift — offering a holistic approach to secure access and networking — needs to be approached as a transitional process to avoid exhaustion and frustration. Environments in production with existing solutions can’t just be disrupted under the flag of a new technology’s adoption. During the adoption of any parts of Barracuda SecureEdge is where we are committed to the creation of confidence and trust, not only in the solution but in the relationship with our customers and partners. For Barracuda this relationship represents a higher value than just riding the SASE trend at high speed, as if skiing the most difficult slope on the cybersecurity mountain.

So, where to start? We start where change is necessary, where understaffed teams need optimization, and where the limits of old technologies are slowing down business. But mainly in an honest conversation with the user and a Barracuda solution architect.

For all the attendees of the Barracuda SecureEdge Executive Ski Summit, a series of follow-up calls are in place to help them gain more confidence and keep the journey of trust. And yes, we are looking forward to meeting again on top of that mountain.