The Rise of SSE and SASE: What’s Changed from 2024 to 2025?

Introduction

The evolution of Security Service Edge (SSE) adoption from 2024 to 2025 reflects significant shifts in enterprise security strategies, cloud adoption, and Zero Trust implementations.

The 2024 SSE Adoption Report outlined the growing demand for SSE as hybrid work became the standard, while the 2025 report expands on these findings, showing a stronger push toward cloud-first security and deeper Zero Trust integration.

This article analyzes the key differences between the two reports, highlighting emerging trends, challenges, and strategic changes in SSE adoption.

Workforce and Hybrid Work Models

In both reports, hybrid work remains the dominant workforce model, with 94% of organizations in 2024 identifying as hybrid or remote-first.

However, the 2025 report reveals a slight decline in hybrid work adoption to 71%, suggesting some organizations have adjusted their workforce strategies post-pandemic.

Despite this, remote work remains a fundamental challenge for security teams, requiring robust SSE solutions to address increasing cyber threats.

Zero Trust Prioritization

Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) remains central to SSE strategies in both reports. In 2024, 44% of organizations planned to begin SSE implementation with ZTNA.

By 2025, this percentage had risen to 46%, reinforcing the notion that VPN-based access control is becoming obsolete.

The 2025 report also highlights real-world breaches, such as the MGM Resorts cyberattack, emphasizing the urgency of continuous authentication and identity-driven access controls.

SSE and SASE Adoption Trends

One of the most notable differences between the two reports is the acceleration of SSE adoption. In 2024, 69% of organizations planned to implement SSE within the next 24 months.

By 2025, this figure had jumped to 79%, reflecting increased urgency in transitioning away from legacy security models.

Additionally, the importance of Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) is growing, with 62% of organizations in 2025 considering it a key strategic initiative, compared to 59% in 2024.

Shifting SSE Architecture Preferences

In 2024, 65% of organizations preferred an SSE solution leveraging public cloud providers.

By 2025, this preference had risen to 70%, with a notable increase in organizations favoring a hybrid model that combines public cloud and vendor-owned data centers.

This shift highlights the industry’s movement toward scalable, high-performance cloud security while maintaining control over specific compliance and regulatory needs.

Challenges in Implementation and Security Confidence

Confidence in security teams’ ability to protect workforce access remained a concern across both reports. In 2024, only 33% of organizations expressed high confidence in their security measures.

The 2025 report provides a more quantified insight, reporting an average confidence score of 6.8 out of 10, indicating some improvement but still revealing concerns over fragmented security tools and policy enforcement.

Visibility into access activities is another ongoing challenge, with confidence in monitoring employee access scoring 5.3/10 in 2025 and confidence in tracking third-party users even lower at 4.9/10.

Reducing Reliance on Legacy Security Appliances

Organizations continue to migrate away from legacy security appliances in favor of SSE. In 2024, 66% of respondents wanted to replace VPN concentrators with SSE, and by 2025, 62% confirmed active plans to eliminate them.

Additionally, organizations increasingly seek to reduce reliance on SSL inspection appliances, DDoS protection, and firewalls, signaling a broader shift toward cloud-delivered security frameworks.

Strategic Shifts in SSE Deployment

Both reports highlight the importance of selecting the right entry point for SSE adoption. In 2024, Zero Trust security was the most common starting point, with ZTNA adoption leading at 44%.

By 2025, this increased slightly to 46%, but Secure Web Gateway (SWG) and Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) adoption also showed gradual shifts, reflecting a more balanced approach to securing different access points.

Budget and Investment Trends

Security budgets remained relatively stable across both years, though there were slight changes in expectations. In 2024, 47% of organizations planned budget increases for security initiatives.

The 2025 report shows a slight decline, with 43% expecting increased budgets while 46% anticipate flat spending.

This suggests that while SSE remains a priority, organizations are optimizing spending rather than drastically expanding investments.

Role of Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM)

The importance of Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM) in SSE solutions has increased significantly. In 2024, DEM was recognized as a valuable but secondary feature.

By 2025, 93% of respondents considered DEM crucial, with 33% rating it as very important.

This reflects a growing awareness that security should not hinder user productivity and that monitoring user experience is essential to maintaining performance.

Consolidation of Security Tools

The reports indicate that organizations are moving toward consolidating security tools into unified SSE frameworks. In 2024, 73% of organizations used three or more security solutions, leading to policy management complexity.

By 2025, 74% continued using multiple tools, but the report emphasizes the increasing shift toward integrating SSE, SWG, CASB, and ZTNA into a single platform to reduce administrative overhead and security silos.

SASE Deployment Strategies

The 2025 report reveals a stronger inclination toward single-vendor SASE adoption, with 61% of organizations preferring a unified solution over multi-vendor approaches.

This is a direct response to the fragmentation challenges identified in 2024, where security teams struggled with managing multiple disconnected tools.

Key Takeaways and Future Trends

Faster SSE adoption: The percentage of organizations planning to implement SSE within 24 months rose from 69% in 2024 to 79% in 2025.
Zero Trust momentum: Adoption of ZTNA as the starting point for SSE continues to rise, reaching 46% in 2025.
Cloud-first security preference: More organizations (70% in 2025) favor public cloud-based SSE architectures for scalability and resilience.
Greater emphasis on user experience: DEM adoption surged in 2025, with 93% recognizing its role in maintaining productivity.
Budget stabilization: While investments in SSE continue, organizations are focusing on optimizing spending rather than significantly increasing budgets.
Security tool consolidation: The trend toward single-vendor SASE solutions reflects a need for simplified management and integrated security controls.

Conclusion

The transition from the 2024 to the 2025 SSE Adoption Reports illustrates an accelerated shift toward cloud-first security, Zero Trust principles, and integrated SASE frameworks.

While challenges such as visibility gaps, security confidence, and implementation complexities persist, organizations prioritize SSE as the foundation for modern cybersecurity strategies.

The trend toward single-vendor solutions, increased DEM adoption, and the steady phasing out of legacy security appliances indicate a maturing approach to secure access that aligns with the evolving cyber threat landscape.

Moving forward, organizations will need to focus on seamless integration, policy consistency, and user experience optimization to fully realize the benefits of SSE and SASE.