Cato Networks, a vendor in Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), has implemented network incident detection and response tools into the Cato SASE Cloud platform. This development ushers in the introduction of 'network stories' for Cato XDR, where advanced AI algorithms instantaneously identify outages in customer networks and conduct a root cause analysis. This innovation aims to markedly reduce outage duration from hours to mere minutes. Furthermore, the integration means network operation centre (NOC) teams and security operation centre (SOC) teams can collaboratively work from a common platform for boosted productivity. The platform also enables channel partners to swiftly launch NOC-as-a-service (NOCaaS) to the market.

Shlomo Kramer, CEO and co-founder of Cato Networks, said: "With our converged security and networking platform, we leverage advances in one domain, in this case security, to help another domain -- networking." Kramer added, "Our security-trained AI has now been expanded to help NOC teams become smarter, faster, and more proactive than ever. This is the value of a true SASE platform."

One such company utilising the Cato SASE Cloud platform is Element Solutions Inc. (ESI), a leader in specialty chemicals. ESI connects and secures 118 locations and 4,000 remote users. Brandon Benchley, senior network engineer at ESI, expressed his anticipation for the new tool: "We're very excited about what we’re seeing in Cato's Network Stories. It'll save us the time normally spent hunting around other tools, and that's a big deal."

Network outages continue to pose challenges for enterprise operations, largely due to the sheer volume of network alerts NOC teams are required to sift through for incident diagnosis. Such outages are often triggered by unreported line degradations or occur outside business hours, drawing out their impact on organisations. Using Network Stories for Cato XDR, AI algorithms trained for threat detection now collate and analyse network signals and incidents to pinpoint the root cause behind any network incident.

Besides alerting NOC teams about incidents, Cato also supplies them with a complete set of incident response tools. Generative AI summarises network stories into human-readable explanations and Cato Playbooks guide NOC teams to understand what transpired and how to rectify the incidents. With Cato Support implementing Network Stories, last-mile packet loss identification became nearly instantaneous and average root cause analysis time decreased by 30% to under 35 minutes.

Cato facilitates closer collaboration between SOC and NOC teams for improved efficiency and service quality. In Cato's 2023 SASE Adoption Survey, 82% of respondents indicated that security and networking teams were consolidating or had a management directive to boost collaboration. John Burke, CTO of Nemertes, an industry consultancy, also underscores the importance of convergence, stating: "In an environment where any part of the network might be a key component of the security infrastructure, and any anomalous event could require a comprehensive network AND security response, the convergence of the NOC and the SOC makes more sense than ever."