MEF announced that 15 leading companies have achieved SASE Certification and the certificate is now available to all MEF members.
During the Global NaaS Event by MEF, the organization stated that the companies achieving SASE Certification through MEF’s rigorous independent program receive a rating on product effectiveness and are listed in MEF’s registry of certified companies.
Technology providers Fortinet and Versa have achieved full SASE Certification, while service providers AT&T, BT, Colt, Comcast Business, Console Connect, Liberty Latin America, Lumen, Orange Business, TPG, and Verizon have also earned full SASE certification.
Additionally, technology providers Broadcom Inc. and Palo Alto Networks, and service provider Sparkle, are expected to achieve full SASE Certification shortly.
“As cyber threats continue to escalate in complexity and frequency, enterprises need absolute confidence in their security solutions,” said Nan Chen, Chief Executive Officer of MEF.
“MEF's independent SASE certification program provides assurance, enabling organizations to choose validated solutions that protect their digital assets and support their transformation initiatives.”
MEF's comprehensive certification program addresses today's critical cybersecurity threats through rigorous testing of SASE, which includes Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN), Security Service Edge (SSE), and Zero Trust (ZT) capabilities. The program is delivered in partnership with CyberRatings.org (CRO), a world-class testing laboratory that ensures transparency and confidence in cybersecurity solutions.
Technology providers must successfully complete all three certification modules to achieve full SASE certification. Service providers can achieve certification by integrating MEF-certified technology solutions, ensuring that enterprise customers can trust the security and performance of their provider's ecosystem.
“Building secure, high-performing networks is critical to enterprise success,” said Pascal Menezes, Chief Technology Officer of MEF. “By achieving SASE certification, technology and service providers are proving their commitment to delivering reliable, scalable, and secure solutions.”
Tyler Hemmen, Vice President of Enterprise Products and Solutions at Colt Technology Services, stated, “MEF’s rigorous certification program gives businesses the peace of mind that comes from knowing their service providers meet the highest industry standards. At Colt, we’re very proud of our MEF 3.0 SASE Certification—it recognizes our ongoing commitment to delivering industry-leading customer experience while supporting our customers in improving their security posture.”
“This achievement highlights our dedication to providing advanced technology solutions that address the evolving needs of our customers. SASE-based services offer businesses a unified approach to security and network access, ensuring that their data is protected, and their operations remain seamless, regardless of location,” said Bob Victor, Senior Vice President of Customer Solutions at Comcast Business.
Paul Gampe, Chief Technology Officer at Console Connect, MEF Board of Directors, expressed that SASE Certification validates their commitment to delivering secure and high-performance data-movement solutions to enterprises in over 100 countries.
The certification program validates compliance with MEF standards, including MEF SD-WAN (MEF 70.1) and industry-first standards for SASE (MEF 117) and Zero Trust (MEF 118). Certified solutions receive detailed ratings displayed in MEF's certification registry, enabling enterprises to make informed decisions about their security investments.
John Maddison, Chief Marketing Officer at Fortinet, emphasized, “Fortinet’s Unified SASE solution aligns perfectly with our founding principle of converging networking and security to help our customers reduce complexity, improve security, and centralize management.”
“For customers leveraging Lumen’s Private Connectivity Fabric as their trusted multi-cloud interconnect, the ability to integrate powerful, policy-driven overlay networks is a crucial value-added service that ensures enterprise-class security for diverse customer workloads,” said Carole Gridley, Senior Vice President of Product at Lumen.
Usman Javaid, Chief Products and Marketing Officer at Orange Business, added, “Delivering secure, scalable, and high-performance services to meet the digital infrastructure needs of enterprises is at the heart of everything we do at Orange Business. Achieving MEF 3.0 SASE Certification underscores our dedication to providing trusted and powerful services that simplify network and security integration for our global customers. This certification validates our ability to deliver the total experience that is a priority for businesses today, especially given the dynamic cybersecurity landscape.”
Kelly Ahuja, Chief Executive Officer at Versa, concluded, “We are delighted to be one of the first companies to achieve an AAA rating and full MEF certification for our SD-WAN, SSE, and ZTNA solutions. With global demand for SASE accelerating, real-world testing is essential for identifying the right products and technology as opposed to relying solely on vendor claims or qualitative analysis. The MEF 3.0 SASE Certification program delivers concrete results and data to help organizations make informed decisions.”
