The Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) market reached $3,5-billion in 2Q 2026 and extended its run of growth above 20% year-over-year to a fifth consecutive quarter, according to Dell’Oro Group.
Underneath the headline, however, the composition of growth changed meaningfully as branch-network modernisation strengthened while Security Service Edge (SSE) expanded into a broader set of data, experience, and AI-related controls.
“The more interesting story this quarter is not simply that SASE remained a strong-growth market, but that the sources of growth are changing,” says Mauricio Sanchez, senior director, Enterprise Security and Networking at Dell’Oro Group. “Branch refresh became more prominent as enterprises addressed aging infrastructure, support requirements, security exposure, and higher capacity needs.
“At the same time, SSE is becoming more than an access-and-inspection platform,” Sanchez adds. “Enterprises are increasingly looking to the same control point for data protection, AI governance, operational visibility, and policy consistency. That broadening opportunity is creating new areas of competition without eliminating demand for the core SSE functions.”
Additional highlights from the latest report include:
- SD-WAN strengthened materially as branch modernisation moved higher on enterprise priority lists. The evidence points to selective replacement of aging or higher-risk infrastructure rather than a broad, simultaneous refresh of entire branch estates.
- SSE Core remained the foundation of SASE security spending, although growth moderated as vendors and customers continued migrating from legacy products toward broader cloud-delivered security platforms.
- SSE Extended grew faster than the Core market as Data Security and Digital Experience Management became more meaningful monetised extensions. AI governance is reinforcing this expansion, although AI is not yet a standalone explanation for overall SASE growth.
- Access Routers remained under pressure as more branch value migrated toward SD-WAN and security-converged platforms, although traditional routing performed better than previously expected as some legacy equipment still required replacement.
- SASE architecture remains contested. Single-vendor consolidation continues to appeal to customers seeking operational simplicity and accountability, while multi-vendor designs remain viable in complex enterprises which value control-point choice and have the operational maturity to integrate multiple platforms.