Citrix Leans In on Automation to Secure Its SD-WAN

Citrix Systems enhanced its SD-WAN in order to increase automation and security. This includes new securityfeatures that enable companies to extend user-centric policies to the branch and connect employees to cloudapplications and software-as-a-service (SaaS) platforms.The platform also has integration with the zScaler cloud security platform. Chalan Aras, vice president of networking at Citrix, said the connection allows for the use of zScaler services, which includes secure cloud gateway and its user interface. This is primarily useful for enterprises that rely on more internet-centric applications.“It’s just end-to-end automated integration that … really simplifies the life of IT administrators,” Aras said. He added that this enables IT admins to have confidence that everything is connecting properly the first time rather than debugging connectivity and network issues as they arise.The zScaler platform is one of multiple third-party APIs that Citrix leverages to bolster its platform. For security, it also integrates with Palo Alto Networks for firewall protection of an enterprises’ data center applications. It also has APIs that enable the synchronization of location information to provide security insight and it establishes IPsec tunnels between branches and security enforcement points — all to automatically apply controls that protect users and applications.