Hewlett Packard Enterprise company announced the next milestone for its SD-Branch solution that enables more secure, streamlined and simplified deployment and management of large distributed retail networks. A critical component of the company’s Edge-to-Cloud strategy, Aruba’s SD-Branch solution integrates Aruba Branch Gateways with the Aruba Central cloud management platform to provide a single point of control and management for SD-WAN, wired and wireless networking to enable secure, simplified branch connectivity at scale. The innovations include: An expansion of Aruba’s unified branch defense capabilities to provide unique, identity-based attack detection and intrusion prevention to deliver zero trust in-store network security; New enhancements to the SD-WAN Orchestrator in Aruba Central to deliver unified edge-to-cloud management and secure connectivity to cloud workloads; New branch gateways that provide non-stop connectivity via built-in cellular, including LTE. Retail IT teams are under tremendous pressure to drive digital transformation within brick-and-mortar locations and “place the store at the center of their customer experience”1 in order to compete with online merchants and marketplaces. To achieve this, they are leveraging next generation technologies to enable personalized, immersive experiences within the stores, but are consistently challenged by the lack of on-site technical staff at branch locations. As such, IT staff responsible for connecting, securing and managing retail locations must rethink the way they architect their branch networks. A unified edge-to-cloud architecture that automates and secures LAN, WAN and cloud connectivity is paramount to driving operational efficiency and addressing the lack of IT staff. While retailers are embracing digital technologies – such as mobility and IoT – to enhance the shopper experience, they are also facing new security threats and an increased attack surface. Traditional security techniques were simply not designed to handle these new and evolving threats; as a result, many IT teams are adopting a Zero Trust Security framework, an architecture that dictates that no one within or outside the network is trusted. Key elements of a Zero Trust Security framework include a policy engine/trust broker, the ability to dynamically segment traffic on the basis of identity and role, and continuous monitoring for changes in security status with the corresponding real time adjustment of access policies. In addition, IT teams gain enhanced security by employing a Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) approach, which combines network security functions with WAN capabilities to support the dynamic secure access needs of organizations. Aruba has long supported the principles of a Zero Trust Security framework with its market-leading role-based access technology and Dynamic Segmentation which provides unified, software-defined micro-segmentation across the network, in branch and campus environments, to isolate users, devices and applications from one another based on role, not the type or location of the network connection. Aruba is advancing its unified branch defense capabilities with new IDS/IPS functionality that integrates with Aruba’s ClearPass Policy Manager and Policy Enforcement Firewall. By leveraging role-based access, Aruba adds a new identity-based detection dimension to traditional intrusion detection and prevention, enabling security teams to focus on alerts that matter. Aruba’s unified branch defense also includes: One-click integration with cloud-based security solutions; Threat visibility and trend analysis; Correlation of security events with sites, clients, applications and network infrastructure; Out-of-box policies for enforcement and incident response; Security event streaming to third-party Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solutions; ClearPass Policy Manager for global access policy development and propagation. Aruba’s unified branch defense capabilities deliver a complete solution for security and connectivity at retail locations, defending against a myriad of threats, including phishing, denial of service (DoS) and increasingly widespread ransomware attacks.