According to a recently published report from Dell’Oro Group the Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) market grew 21% year-over-year (Y/Y) in 1Q 2026 to over $3-billion.
The quarter reinforced that SASE is a strategic platform investment, with enterprises funding cloud-delivered security, branch modernisation, and AI-era policy controls in the same buying motion.
The pattern was not limited to one leg of the architecture: SSE grew faster, while SD-WAN continued to anchor the branch-networking transition.
“AI is changing the SASE discussion from access and inspection to governance, data protection, and control over agents and machine traffic,” says Mauricio Sanchez, senior director: enterprise security and networking at Dell’Oro Group.
“A 21% Y/Y quarter shows that SASE is not waiting for a future AI refresh cycle; it is already absorbing the early security and networking requirements created by AI adoption,” he adds.
Additional highlights from the 1Q 2026 SASE and SD-WAN Quarterly Report include:
- Security Service Edge (SSE) revenue increased 22% Y/Y, with buyers expanding beyond web and private access into SaaS control, data protection, AI usage governance, and agent policy.
- Access Router revenue declined 10% Y/Y as enterprises continued shifting away from standalone routing toward SD-WAN overlays, secure branch CPE, and SASE-aligned branch platforms.
- Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, Cato Networks, and Versa Networks remained the most balanced top-ten SASE suppliers, with both SD-WAN and SSE contributing meaningful revenue streams.
- SASE is forecast to remain on a double-digit growth path in 2026, with SSE-first rollouts remaining the most common entry point, and SD-WAN supported by branch modernisation, software attach, and branch security refresh.