Cato Networks Business Solutions

SASE platform converging SD-WAN and cloud-delivered security.

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About Cato Networks

Cato Networks is a cloud networking and security company founded in 2015 by Shlomo Kramer and Gur Shatz, headquartered in Tel Aviv with a significant global presence. It is widely credited with popularizing the term SASE — Secure Access Service Edge — and its core product is the Cato SASE Cloud Platform, which converges wide-area networking and network security into a single cloud-delivered service instead of a stack of separate appliances and point products.

Rather than selling boxes, circuits, or point security products separately, Cato runs a global private backbone made up of points of presence (PoPs) around the world. Customer sites connect to the nearest PoP using Cato Socket edge devices over whatever local internet circuits the business chooses, and remote users connect through a client or clientless access. Security inspection — firewall, secure web gateway, intrusion prevention, and related controls — runs in the Cato cloud rather than on stacks of on-premises appliances.

Cato serves a range of organizations, but its natural center of gravity is the mid-market and distributed enterprise: businesses with multiple locations, hybrid or remote workforces, and small IT teams that want enterprise-grade networking and security without operating the underlying infrastructure themselves. It is sold both directly and through channel partners and advisors, and management is handled through a single cloud console covering both the networking and security sides of the platform.

A useful framing when evaluating Cato: it does not replace your internet providers. You still need last-mile connectivity at each site — fiber, broadband, DIA, or wireless — and Cato rides on top of it. That means a Cato evaluation is really two projects: the SASE platform decision and the underlying circuit strategy, which is where an independent advisor adds value.

Cato Networks solutions

SD-WAN & Global Backbone

Cato's SD-WAN connects branch sites, data centers, and cloud environments to its private backbone via Cato Socket edge appliances. Traffic between locations rides Cato's managed backbone rather than the public internet, with centralized policy and routing management. Last-mile circuits are sourced separately from local providers, so performance at a given site depends partly on the internet connectivity underneath — worth engineering carefully rather than assuming the platform compensates for weak circuits.

Security Service Edge (SSE)

The security half of the platform delivers firewall-as-a-service, secure web gateway, intrusion prevention, anti-malware, and related inspection from the Cato cloud, with data protection capabilities such as CASB and DLP available in the broader stack. Because inspection happens in the platform rather than at each site, policies follow users and locations uniformly, and there's no hardware refresh cycle to manage. This can replace or consolidate several point products — branch firewalls, web filtering appliances, VPN concentrators — which is often where the business case is built.

Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)

For remote and hybrid workers, Cato provides client-based and clientless zero-trust access to private applications, positioned as a modern replacement for traditional VPN. Access is granted per application and per user rather than to whole network segments, and remote-user traffic can be inspected by the same security stack as branch traffic, which removes the common gap where off-network users bypass corporate controls. Sizing questions here include concurrent user counts, application inventory, and how identity provider integration will work.

Cloud & SaaS Optimization

The platform includes connectivity into major cloud providers and optimization for SaaS traffic, so branch and remote users reach applications like Microsoft 365 or cloud-hosted workloads through the backbone rather than hairpinning through a central data center. For businesses mid-migration to cloud, this addresses the common problem of a network design built for on-premises applications.

Managed Detection & Extended Services

Cato has expanded beyond core SASE into adjacent services such as extended detection and response (XDR/MDR), digital experience monitoring, and IoT/OT security capabilities. These are optional layers on the platform rather than the core offer. Evaluate them on their own merits against dedicated security vendors — bundling convenience is real, but so is the depth-of-feature question in any platform-versus-specialist comparison.

Who Cato Networks is a good fit for

Multi-location businesses (roughly 5 to 500+ sites) that want one console for networking and security
Organizations replacing MPLS networks and looking to cut cost while modernizing security
Hybrid and remote workforces that need consistent security and zero-trust access off-network
Lean IT teams that want cloud-managed infrastructure instead of appliance sprawl at every site
Businesses consolidating point products — branch firewalls, VPN, web filtering — into one platform
International organizations that want one vendor for global connectivity and security policy

Coverage and availability

Cato's service is delivered through a worldwide network of points of presence, so in practical terms it is available almost anywhere a business can get reliable internet connectivity. The coverage question for SASE is different from a carrier's: it's less about whether the provider reaches your address and more about where the nearest PoPs are relative to your sites, since PoP distance affects latency.

The more important coverage variable is your last-mile connectivity. Cato does not own or supply internet circuits — each site needs one or more local internet connections (fiber, broadband, DIA, or LTE/5G), and the quality of those circuits shapes the experience. In practice this means sourcing circuits from the best local providers per address, which varies site by site and should be verified per address with serviceability checks. For redundancy-sensitive sites, budget for a second diverse circuit or wireless backup rather than relying on a single connection.

For international deployments, confirm PoP coverage in the specific countries where you operate and ask about any regional constraints, compliance requirements, or performance characteristics for the geographies that matter to you. These details change as the backbone expands, so confirm current specifics in writing during the evaluation.

Common use cases

MPLS replacement: migrate a multi-site WAN from MPLS to internet-based SD-WAN with security built in
Secure hybrid work: replace legacy VPN concentrators with zero-trust access and cloud-delivered inspection
Branch consolidation: retire per-site firewalls, web filters, and WAN optimizers in favor of one platform
Cloud migration support: give branches and remote users direct, optimized access to cloud and SaaS apps
Rapid site turn-up: bring new locations online with a Socket and local broadband instead of waiting on MPLS builds
Global expansion: extend consistent network and security policy to international offices without regional hardware stacks

Questions to ask before choosing Cato Networks

Where are the nearest PoPs to each of my sites, and what latency should we expect?
What internet circuits do you recommend per site, and do you help source them or is that on us?
What is the per-site and per-user licensing model, and what does it cost at our real seat and site counts?
Which of our current tools (firewall, VPN, web filter, SD-WAN) does this genuinely replace, and which remain?
What SLAs apply to the backbone, and what remedies exist if they are missed — get it in writing?
How does failover work at a site — dual Sockets, dual circuits, LTE backup — and what is included versus extra?
What does the migration path look like, and is professional services or partner-led implementation included?
How are renewals priced, and what historical price increases should we expect after the initial term?

Cato Networks alternatives

Zscaler — security-first SASE/SSE, strong on zero-trust access and web security; WAN is typically paired with a separate SD-WAN
Palo Alto Networks Prisma SASE — platform approach for organizations already standardized on Palo Alto security
Fortinet Secure SD-WAN / FortiSASE — appliance-rooted option, often attractive where Fortinet firewalls already exist
Versa or VMware VeloCloud — SD-WAN-centric platforms, frequently delivered through carriers and MSPs
Netskope — SSE-led alternative focused on cloud security, CASB, and data protection
Carrier- or aggregator-managed SD-WAN (via AireSpring, MetTel, or similar) — when you want the network and circuits managed under one contract

How SmashByte helps

We're an independent technology advisor, not a carrier and not Cato. When you evaluate SASE, we compare Cato against the realistic alternatives for your situation — Zscaler, Palo Alto, Fortinet, carrier-managed SD-WAN, and others — on architecture, cost, and fit, and we tell you plainly when a different approach makes more sense. Because SASE rides on your internet circuits, we also run address-level availability checks across every provider at each of your sites, so the connectivity underneath the platform is engineered, not assumed.

On commercials, we quote real pricing — including what happens after the initial term — and negotiate across competing options so you can compare like for like. If you move forward, we manage the implementation side: circuit orders, install scheduling, site contacts, and cutover coordination across locations, plus a post-install verification pass before we call a site done. Our advice is free to you — advisors are compensated by the providers, which keeps the guidance independent of any single vendor's quota, and you get one accountable point of contact instead of juggling carriers, the SASE vendor, and installers separately.

Frequently asked questions

Is Cato Networks an internet provider?

No. Cato provides the SASE platform — SD-WAN and cloud security over its private backbone — but each site still needs internet circuits from local providers. Sourcing the right last-mile connectivity per address is a separate (and important) part of the project.

Does Cato replace my firewalls and VPN?

Often, yes — cloud-delivered firewall and zero-trust access are core parts of the platform, and many customers retire branch firewalls and VPN concentrators. Whether every current tool should be replaced depends on your environment; validate feature parity for anything you plan to decommission.

How is Cato priced?

Licensing is typically subscription-based, structured around site bandwidth tiers and remote users, with hardware and optional services affecting the total. Specific pricing varies by deal and changes over time — get a written quote for your actual site counts and bandwidth needs rather than relying on list-price assumptions.

Is Cato a good fit for a small business with one or two locations?

It can be, but the value case is strongest for distributed organizations — multiple sites, remote users, or both. A single-site business with simple needs may be better served by a good firewall and solid internet connectivity. Worth an honest comparison either way.

How long does a Cato deployment take?

The platform itself can be provisioned quickly; the timeline is usually driven by the last-mile circuits at each site, which range from days where existing broadband is usable to months for new fiber builds. Plan the circuit strategy early — it's the long pole in most rollouts.

Can I manage Cato myself, or is it a managed service?

Both models exist. The console is designed for self-management by an internal IT team, but many organizations buy it through partners who manage it on their behalf. Decide who owns day-to-day policy changes and monitoring before you sign — it affects both cost and staffing assumptions.