SASE is not a security strategy. Here is what’s missing.  

If you have been in the MSP space for more than five minutes lately, you have been pitched SASE (Secure Access Service Edge). The idea that you can converge networking and security into a single cloud-delivered model. For clients with distributed workforces or heavy cloud usage, it makes architectural sense. 

But here is what the SASE vendors do not always make clear: SASE is a connectivity and policy enforcement layer. It is not a detection and response capability. And confusing those two things leaves a gap that attackers are happy to exploit. 

What SASE actually does 

At its core, SASE brings together networking functions (SD-WAN, traffic optimisation) with security functions (firewall-as-a-service, secure web gateway, CASB, zero trust network access). Instead of backhauling traffic through a data centre for inspection, you push security to the edge. 

For remote workers and branch offices, this solves real problems. Policy enforcement happens closer to users. Connectivity improves. The architecture makes sense for how people actually work now. 

Platforms like Cato Networks and Netskope have built strong reputations in this space. They deliver genuine value for the connectivity and policy enforcement problems they are designed to solve. 

The SASE visibility gap 

Here is where it gets uncomfortable. 

SASE does not hunt for threats that have already bypassed controls. It does not correlate signals across your entire environment. It does not provide the human expertise to investigate when something looks wrong. 

SASE watches the door. But sophisticated attackers do not come through the door anymore. They come through compromised identities, SaaS application abuse, lateral movement through federated access. They come through the places your SASE platform is generating logs about, but is not necessarily analysing. 

This is what we call the MSP security visibility gap: the disconnect between where you deploy security tools and where attacks actually originate. SASE security monitoring is a perfect example. You have deployed the tool. But if nobody is watching what it is telling you, you have visibility without insight – and that's the SASE visibility gap. 

The data problem 

This is where a lot of MSPs get stuck. 

You have deployed Cato or Netskope. It is working. Clients have secure connectivity. Great. But those platforms are generating enormous amounts of telemetry: firewall logs, DNS queries, access events, threat prevention alerts. 

That data contains signals. But if it is sitting in a dashboard nobody has time to review, or getting lost in noise alongside everything else, it is not making anyone more secure. 

The question is not "do we have SASE?" The question is "who is actually watching what SASE is telling us?" 

Consider this scenario: Your current MSP SASE solution logs a user accessing a file sharing site at 2am. Suspicious? Maybe. But without correlation to other signals, like a failed MFA attempt on that user's account an hour earlier, plus unusual endpoint behaviour on their laptop, you would never connect those dots. The SASE log is one piece. You need the full picture. 

The correlation gap 

Here is a practical example of what this looks like. 

A user clicks a link in a phishing email. Your email security flags it but does not block it. The user's endpoint shows a brief PowerShell execution. Your SASE platform logs an outbound connection to an unusual domain. 

Individually, each of these events might not trigger an alert. Email security sees suspicious links all day. Endpoints run PowerShell constantly. SASE logs thousands of connections. 

But correlated together, within the same 10-minute window, for the same user? That is a kill chain in progress. That is when you need someone to act, not next week when you are reviewing dashboards, but now. 

The challenge is that most MSPs do not have the tools or the people to make those correlations in real time. SASE generates the data. Something else needs to connect it. 

Closing the gap 

There are a few ways to approach this. 

Option 1: Build internal capability.  

Hire analysts who can monitor SASE alongside your other tools, correlate signals, investigate anomalies. This works if you have the budget and can find the talent. Most MSPs cannot. A single security analyst costs six figures, and they still cannot watch dashboards 24/7. 

Option 2: Hope your existing MDR covers it.  

Check whether your current provider actually ingests SASE telemetry. Many endpoint-focused MDR solutions do not. If you are running Huntress or a similar endpoint-first solution, your SASE data may be sitting in a separate silo entirely. You have got two security tools that do not talk to each other. 

Option 3: SASE XDR integration. 

Choose an XDR platform that integrates. Open XDR platforms are designed to ingest data from multiple sources: endpoint, cloud, identity, and yes, SASE. The key is correlation. Connecting a suspicious SASE event with what is happening elsewhere in the environment. This is the whole-network visibility that closes the gap. 

What this looks like in practice 

At enhanced.io, we built our platform specifically to solve this problem. Our Open XDR integrates natively with both Cato Networks and Netskope, pulling that telemetry into the same correlation engine that is watching endpoints, Microsoft 365, identity systems, and everything else. 

When your SASE deployment flags something, our SOC team can see it in context. They are not looking at SASE data in isolation. They are looking at it alongside the 400+ other data sources that make up your clients' environments. 

And when something needs explaining to a client, your fractional security director can translate "SASE detected anomalous egress traffic" into something meaningful: "We spotted unusual data leaving your network at 3am and blocked it. Here is what we think happened, here is what we did, and here is what you should tell your board." 

That translation layer matters. SASE generates technical telemetry. Clients need business context. 

The bigger picture 

SASE and XDR are not competing categories. They are complementary. 

SASE handles secure connectivity and policy enforcement. XDR handles detection, correlation, and response. Together, they are more complete than either alone. 

The mistake is thinking you have solved security by deploying SASE. You have solved one problem. But the gap between "we have secure connectivity" and "we are detecting sophisticated attacks" is still there. 

For MSPs, the practical question is: who is watching your SASE telemetry? Is it being correlated with your other security data? Can you explain what it is telling you to your clients? 

If the answer to any of those is "no" or "I am not sure," that is the visibility gap. And it is worth closing before an attacker finds it first. 

Worth thinking about 

As you plan your stack for 2026, consider: 

• Does your current security setup actually ingest SASE telemetry? 

• Can your tools correlate a SASE event with endpoint, identity, and cloud signals? 

• Who is watching for attack patterns that span multiple systems? 

• Can you explain SASE findings to clients in business terms? 

SASE is a valuable tool. But tools without oversight create blind spots. The question is whether you are watching, or just hoping.