Redwood City, Calif. – September 18, 2026 -- The Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) market reached $3.5 billion in the second quarter of 2026, extending year-over-year growth above 20 percent for a fifth consecutive quarter, according to Dell'Oro Group.
SD-WAN spending strengthens as enterprises replace aging branch infrastructure
SD-WAN demand rose materially in Q2 as branch-network modernization climbed enterprise priority lists. Dell'Oro Group found the trend reflects selective replacement of aging or higher-risk equipment rather than a wholesale refresh across entire branch estates.
Security Service Edge expands beyond core access controls into data and AI governance
SSE Core remained the largest component of SASE security spending, though its growth moderated as customers migrate from legacy products to cloud-delivered platforms. SSE Extended -- covering data security and digital experience management -- grew faster than the Core segment, with AI governance reinforcing that expansion. Dell'Oro Group noted AI is not yet a standalone driver of overall SASE growth.
Access router demand holds up better than expected despite migration pressure
Access Routers remained under pressure as branch value shifted toward SD-WAN and security-converged platforms. Traditional routing nonetheless performed better than previously forecast, as some legacy equipment still required replacement.
Architecture debate persists between single-vendor and multi-vendor SASE deployments
Single-vendor consolidation continues to attract customers prioritizing operational simplicity and accountability. Multi-vendor designs remain viable for complex enterprises that value control-point choice and possess the operational maturity to integrate multiple platforms.
"The more interesting story this quarter is not simply that SASE remained a strong-growth market, but that the sources of growth are changing," said Mauricio Sanchez, Sr. Director, Enterprise Security and Networking at Dell'Oro Group.
Sanchez added that branch refresh became more prominent as enterprises addressed aging infrastructure, support requirements, security exposure and higher capacity needs, while SSE evolves into a control point for data protection, AI governance, operational visibility and policy consistency.