Netify Marketplace Review
Aryaka SD-WAN and SASE Review
Aryaka is a managed SD-WAN and Unified SASE provider that delivers secure connectivity through a private global backbone that spans over 40 global points of presence.
Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Aryaka owns and operates its own Layer-2 network infrastructure, and in our view, this is one of the most beneficial reasons for choosing Aryaka over other SD-WAN vendors on the market, offering greater depth than overlay-only vendors (that route traffic across the public internet). This is beneficial primarily due to being able to offer businesses with near-MPLS performance (without carrier MPLS circuits), all whilst being backed by end-to-end managed SLAs to reassure business continuity. For this reason, we have seen hundreds of global enterprises, including several Fortune 100 organisations, use Aryaka for their cloud-based SD-WAN and SASE security services, with deployments spanning across more than 100 countries.
We would typically put Aryaka in the same bracket as Cato Networks, with Aryaka and Cato Networks being the only two single-vendor SASE platforms that own and operate a private global backbone (rather than running as a software overlay on commodity internet transit), significant for latency-sensitive applications or cross-border traffic, particularly into China, South-East Asia and Latin America, where public internet routing is often more inconsistent. For deployments where application performance is directly connected to revenue or crucial operations, we would suggest that Aryaka's backbone ownership model and provided SLA-backed predictability is particularly beneficial and something that overlay vendors simply cannot match in the same capacity.
Reviewed by Harry Yelland, Cybersecurity Writer at Netify. Fact-checked by Robert Sturt, Managing Director, Netify. Last reviewed 3 June 2026.
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Aryaka SASE platform components
The full Unified SASE 2.0 module set. Tick the capabilities you need to see how Aryaka covers your requirements.
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Aryaka company facts
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Legal name | Aryaka Networks, Inc. |
| Founded | 2009 |
| Headquarters | Santa Clara, California, USA |
| Founders | Ajit Gupta, Ashwath Nagaraj, Rajeev Bharadhwaj |
| Primary product | Unified SASE as a Service 2.0 (November 2025) |
| Backbone | FlexCore, dual Layer 2 / Layer 3 private mesh |
| Edge appliance | Aryaka Network Access Point (ANAP) |
| Architecture | OnePASS single-pass processing |
| Global PoPs | More than 40 across six continents |
| Country coverage | More than 100 |
| UK PoP and NOC | London (24/7/365) |
| Other NOCs | Ashburn, Singapore |
| UK distribution | TD SYNNEX |
| Security partners | Palo Alto Networks, Check Point, Zscaler |
| Key acquisition | Secucloud GmbH (May 2021) |
Performance and SLA data
| Metric | Aryaka commitment |
|---|---|
| Backbone uptime SLA | 99.999% on the global private core |
| Latency SLA | Sub-30ms to 95% of the global business population |
| Service models | Self-managed, co-managed, fully managed |
| Last-mile management | Wired and wireless circuit procurement, monitoring and SLA |
| WAN optimisation | Native, integrated with FlexCore |
| Customer NPS (Aryaka-reported) | 65 (industry average 12) |
Analyst and market positioning
| Recognition | Status |
|---|---|
| Gartner Magic Quadrant for SASE Platforms (July 2025) | Honorable Mention. Did not meet the 1 April 2025 cutoff. 2025 Leaders: Palo Alto Networks, Cato, Netskope, Fortinet. |
| GigaOm 2025 SASE Radar | Challenger and Outperformer (19 vendors evaluated) |
| Gartner Peer Insights Customers' Choice | Three-time recipient |
| Frost & Sullivan 2025 | Leadership Award winner |
| CRN 2025 Partner Program Guide | 26% year-on-year channel sales growth in FY 2024 |
| Adoption | 65 or more enterprises onboarded since Unified SASE 1.0 (March 2024) |
What Netify thinks
Here at Netify, we have begun to recommend Aryaka's SD-WAN and SASE services more and more frequently as enterprises outgrow overlay-only solutions, and especially for businesses operating within Asia-Pacific, the Middle East or Latin America.
One thing we would note is that Aryaka's cost and inflexibility has previously been a rather big sticking point for customers, with Aryaka's previously managed-only approach making it expensive for SMEs and constraining for enterprises with strong in-house networking teams. This issue has somewhat been alleviated, however, with their introduction of self, co-managed and fully managed offerings, as well as their Universal ZTNA (launched November 2025 as part of Unified SASE 2.0) to replace the bolt-on VPN tooling that earlier deployments required. With these changes, it is our belief that Aryaka has become a somewhat more affordable option and we think the addition of Next-Gen DLP and the forthcoming AI>Secure module for GenAI traffic inspection are strong signals that Aryaka is continuing to build out its security depth rather than resting on its more well-known connectivity credentials.
Furthermore, GigaOm's 2025 SASE Radar, which evaluated 19 vendors, positioned Aryaka as a Challenger and Outperformer, whilst they are also recognised as three-time Gartner Peer Insights Customers' Choice.
Verdict. Our recommendation is that Aryaka is best suited to multinational enterprises that would like to phase out legacy MPLS or that prioritise application performance and operational simplicity over cost, particularly those operating sites within Asia-Pacific or China. We would, however, not necessarily recommend Aryaka for UK-only deployments, only due to these use cases not making the most of the benefits gained from Aryaka's global backbone and we would encourage price-sensitive organisations to examine the total cost of ownership carefully against overlay-only alternatives before committing.
Strengths
Private backbone performance.
Aryaka's FlexCore global core, a dual Layer 2 / Layer 3 private mesh, consistently outperforms public-internet SD-WAN for round-trip latency and jitter, and is further backed by Aryaka's SLAs for sub-30ms latency for 95% of the global business population. We would therefore recommend Aryaka for organisations with performance-sensitive workloads across Asia-Pacific, China or emerging markets, as this is particularly advantageous over overlay-only vendors (where latency follows internet conditions rather than a contractual guarantee).
Fully managed end-to-end.
With a single vendor managing everything (Aryaka handles last-mile circuit sourcing, PoP connectivity and ongoing management under a single SLA), organisations can look to a single vendor if any issues occur, preventing any responsibility finger-pointing between vendor and ISP that can often be seen within DIY SD-WAN deployments. This includes wired and wireless circuit procurement and monitoring alongside proactive management from Aryaka's 24/7/365 NOC.
Unified SASE without bolt-ons.
The OnePASS architecture processes traffic once for all security and networking policies, avoiding the latency penalty of chaining multiple security inspection points and offering a practical advantage over vendors that provide SASE through a stitched-together partner stack. Aryaka's SASE solution covers the full range of typical features, including NGFW, SWG, CASB, IDPS, DLP and Universal ZTNA, with AI>Secure adding GenAI traffic inspection and shadow AI detection (as of the start of 2026).
Flexible delivery model.
Aryaka now offers self-managed, co-managed and fully managed tiers, a significant change from the historic fully-managed-only model. Organisations with strong in-house networking teams can take a hands-on approach via the MyAryaka portal, whilst those wanting to offload operational complexity entirely can do so under a single managed SLA.
Weaknesses
Premium pricing.
One of the primary weaknesses of Aryaka's offerings that we have noted is that Aryaka tends to be priced slightly higher than other vendors and whilst SME-tier indicative pricing often starts from about £150 per site per month, we have seen that mid-market and enterprise deployments (particularly those requiring high-bandwidth circuits, full SASE or MPLS integrations) can incur significant cost premiums when compared to overlay-only vendors and can be a deterrent for customers. Given this, our recommendation is that organisations without a clear global connectivity requirement work through the TCO calculation carefully before shortlisting Aryaka (against more over-the-top vendors such as Fortinet or Meraki).
PoP coverage gaps in smaller markets.
One of the headline benefits that we tend to highlight about Aryaka is their 40 PoPs, though these are somewhat concentrated in major metropolitan regions and therefore organisations with sites in secondary cities or rural locations may experience higher last-mile latency, furthermore their backbone is not typically advantageous or even applicable for UK-only deployments (or organisations whose footprint sits predominantly outside major population centres), making these features somewhat redundant for these businesses.
Security integration model.
Whilst Aryaka's native SASE stack does cover all of the standard security features, its integrations with Palo Alto Networks, Check Point and Zscaler mean the security layer is not entirely built in-house and for organisations that require a fully native, single-vendor security stack with no third-party SSE dependency, we would suggest that vendors such as Cato Networks compare more favourably.
SD-WAN pros and cons
Pros
- Simple configuration and fast deployment
- Efficient QoS and application-aware routing
- Private Layer-2 backbone for near-MPLS performance
- Agile network, changes applied quickly via MyAryaka portal
- End-to-end managed SLAs covering last-mile circuit
Cons
- Premium pricing, higher total cost of ownership than overlay-only SD-WAN
- Self and co-managed options only introduced in 2024 to 2025; fully managed was the historic default
- Limited suitability for single-country or small-geography deployments far from a PoP
- Fully managed model may not appeal to enterprises with strong internal networking teams
Managed cybersecurity (SASE) pros and cons
Pros
- Very strong customer service, NPS of 65 (industry average: 12)
- Unified OnePASS architecture avoids multi-hop inspection latency
- Full SASE stack: NGFW, SWG, ZTNA, CASB, IPS, anti-malware, DLP
- Powerful MyAryaka Cloud Portal for visibility and management
Cons
- Not ideal for smaller or single-country customers, designed for global deployments
- Premium cost relative to point-solution SASE alternatives
Aryaka vs Cato Networks
Aryaka and Cato Networks are the only two single-vendor SASE platforms that own and operate a private global backbone rather than running as a software overlay on public internet infrastructure. When we compare the two, that shared foundation is where the similarities largely end, the differences in architecture, security philosophy and delivery model are significant enough that the right choice depends heavily on what an organisation is optimising for. Cato's SPACE platform actually beats Aryaka for overall PoP count, operating across more than 85 PoPs and is built entirely cloud-native, with all security capabilities developed in-house. However, Aryaka's FlexCore is a dual Layer 2 / Layer 3 private mesh with more than 40 PoPs, and its security stack integrates third-party capabilities from Palo Alto Networks, Check Point and Zscaler alongside native components, therefore in our view, organisations that require a fully self-contained, native single-vendor stack, should favour Cato, whilst those that want best-of-breed features from multiple vendors or for those that have existing investments in Palo Alto or Zscaler and want to preserve them within a managed backbone framework, Aryaka's integration model is often the more pragmatic choice and one we have seen work well in practice. For those going based on technical reviews and Gartner positioning, Cato was named a Leader in the 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for SASE Platforms for the second consecutive year, whereas Aryaka received an Honorable Mention, though we must stress that this is primarily due to Aryaka missing the April 2025 submission cutoff, not because of capability gaps. We would reiterate our caution here: buyers should not let that placement gap dictate their shortlists.
| Attribute | Aryaka | Cato Networks |
|---|---|---|
| Backbone | FlexCore Layer 2/3, more than 40 PoPs | SPACE single-pass cloud, more than 85 PoPs |
| Backbone SLA | 99.999% uptime, sub-30ms to 95% of business population | 99.999% uptime, latency-tiered SLAs |
| Service delivery | Self, co-managed, fully managed | Self, co-managed, fully managed |
| SASE architecture | OnePASS single-pass processing; integrates Zscaler, Palo Alto, Check Point | Native single-vendor SASE; all capabilities built in-house |
| Target market | Mid-market to large enterprise; global deployments | Mid-market to enterprise; strong in EMEA and North America |
| Gartner SASE MQ 2025 | Honorable Mention | Leader (second consecutive year) |
| Pricing model | Per site, partner-quoted | Bandwidth-based, partner-quoted |
Aryaka pricing in the UK
Aryaka's indicative pricing for the SME tier starts from approximately £150 per site per month, which includes managed connectivity, WAN optimisation and bundled security services, however enterprise deployments (particularly those requiring high-bandwidth circuits, full SASE stack or MPLS integration) often have significantly higher costs. Pricing is quoted through Aryaka's partner channel and varies by site count, bandwidth tier, security modules selected and number of ZTNA users.
Best suited for
Our recommendation is that Aryaka is most well-suited for multinational enterprises with more complex global traffic flows (particularly into Asia-Pacific, China, the Middle East or Latin America) where backbone performance and SLA predictability are non-negotiable.
- Aryaka is a strong fit for organisations replacing legacy MPLS that want to preserve end-to-end SLA guarantees without managing multiple carrier relationships.
- UK-headquartered enterprises with significant international office footprints will see a tangible performance advantage over public-internet SD-WAN, particularly where existing connectivity into China is unreliable.
- Organisations with a strong managed service preference (wanting a single accountable provider across last-mile, backbone and security) are also well served by the Aryaka model, and in our experience this is the buyer profile where Aryaka consistently delivers the most value.
Less suited for
We would not typically recommend Aryaka for single-country UK deployments, or organisations with sites predominantly outside major PoP cities (as performance often does not benefit from the global backbone to the same degree).
- Organisations that prefer a self-managed or overlay-only model with low-cost commodity transport will find Aryaka's per-site pricing difficult to justify.
- Price-sensitive SMEs comparing against Fortinet or Meraki SD-WAN baselines are likely to find the total cost of ownership hard to defend without a clear international connectivity requirement, and our advice in those evaluations is usually to look at overlay-first alternatives before returning to Aryaka if performance requirements escalate.
- Teams that want granular hands-on control of routing policy should also note that even the self-managed tier may not offer the same depth of configurability as CPE-based alternatives.
Frequently asked questions
- What is Aryaka?
- Aryaka is a managed networking and security provider founded in 2009 and headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It delivers SD-WAN and Unified SASE as a Service over a private global backbone, FlexCore, with more than 40 Points of Presence across six continents, covering more than 100 countries. Unlike overlay-only SD-WAN vendors that route traffic across the public internet, Aryaka owns its own network infrastructure and provides end-to-end management from last-mile circuit sourcing through to cloud application connectivity. The platform is built on an OnePASS single-pass processing architecture, meaning traffic is inspected once across all networking and security policies rather than through chained inspection points.
- Is Aryaka a Leader in the Gartner SASE Magic Quadrant?
- No, Aryaka was named an Honorable Mention in the July 2025 Gartner Magic Quadrant for SASE Platforms after missing the 1 April 2025 submission cutoff. The 2025 Leaders are Palo Alto Networks, Cato Networks, Netskope and Fortinet. However, it is worth noting that GigaOm's 2025 SASE Radar, which evaluated 19 vendors independently, positioned Aryaka as a Challenger and Outperformer, as well as Aryaka also being named a Gartner Peer Insights Customers' Choice three times, which reflects positive reviews from direct buyers.
- Does Aryaka offer ZTNA?
- Yes, Aryaka Universal ZTNA launched in November 2025 as part of Unified SASE 2.0, delivering identity and posture-based access control across users, sites and cloud applications, primarily built to replace Aryaka's legacy VPN tooling that earlier deployments required and extends zero trust principles beyond remote users to cover site-to-site and cloud access within the same policy framework, which can be advantageous for reducing management burdens on your network administration teams.
- Is Aryaka good for UK deployments?
- For UK-headquartered enterprises with international offices (particularly in Asia-Pacific, North America or the Middle East), Aryaka's private backbone provides a significant performance benefit over public-internet SD-WAN and last-mile circuit management is available in the UK through Aryaka's ISP sourcing model. However, for UK-only deployments or organisations with sites predominantly in secondary UK cities, Netify would not recommend Aryaka so highly as alternatives may deliver better value. Noteworthy: Aryaka operates a 24/7/365 NOC and PoP in London.
- Can Aryaka be deployed without full management?
- Yes, Aryaka now offers self-managed, co-managed and fully managed tiers, which is a significant change from the historic fully-managed-only model (that often deterred enterprises with strong in-house networking teams). Whilst the fully managed tier offloads all operational complexity under a single end-to-end SLA, the DIY tier gives organisations direct control through the MyAryaka portal, whilst co-managed allows a division of responsibility between the customer's team and Aryaka's NOC.
- How does Aryaka secure GenAI traffic?
- Aryaka AI>Secure, due in Q1 2026, inspects every GenAI interaction traversing the Zero Trust WAN. It blocks prompt injection attacks, detects shadow AI tools in use across the organisation and prevents sensitive data from leaking into external AI models. It sits alongside the existing AI>Observe module, generally available since February 2024, which provides AI-driven network observability, anomaly detection and security analytics across the Aryaka platform.
- How much does Aryaka cost in the UK?
- Aryaka does not publish list pricing, though indicative SME-tier pricing starts from approximately £150 per site per month, including managed connectivity, WAN optimisation and bundled security. Mid-market and enterprise quotes scale with bandwidth requirements, site count, security modules selected and number of ZTNA users.
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Build your SASE or SD-WAN RFPHarry Yelland
Cybersecurity Writer
Harry holds a BSc (Hons) in Computer Science from the University of East Anglia and is ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC). He serves as a Cybersecurity Writer here at Netify, where he specialises in enterprise networking technologies. With expertise in Software-Defined Wide Area Networks (SD-WAN) and Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) architectures, Harry provides in-depth analysis of leading vendors and network solutions.
Fact checked by: Robert Sturt, Managing Director, Netify