SASE Deployment Models: Cloud vs. Sovereign SASE Explained
SASE deployment models explained: Cloud SASE vs. Sovereign SASE, and how to place your requirements from Level 1 to Level 5 on the SASE Sovereignty Scale.SASE started as a cloud-delivered security model. Today it comes in deployment models that range from fully cloud to fully on-prem, driven by organizations and governments that need more control over where their data is stored, where security inspection happens, and who operates the infrastructure. This episode compares six SASE deployment models by where the three core components live and who runs them.Key takeaways:• The three core SASE components: the control plane, the data plane, and user data and logs• Level 1, Cloud SASE: the provider runs everything, and remote access from another country can itself count as an international data transfer• Level 2, data residency: logs, telemetry and customer data stay in a region, but data residency is not the same as log residency• Level 3, in-country processing: inspection and data stay in-country, but a third party subject to its home jurisdiction still operates the service• Customer-hosted PoP: local inspection and better performance for large sites, but not a sovereignty control on its own (Level 1 by default)• Level 4, Sovereign SASE with a cloud-managed control plane: inspection and customer data stay on-premises• Level 5, fully self-hosted Sovereign SASE: the control plane moves on-premises too, up to air-gapped deployments• The levels are requirements, not a ranking. Pick a "sovereign enough" model, not automatically Level 5, and weigh who operates it and where it's managed from as heavily as where your data livesChapters:0:00 Intro0:27 Why SASE deployment models evolved1:16 The three core SASE components2:49 Cloud SASE and the SASE Sovereignty Scale3:56 Level 1: Cloud SASE4:54 Level 2: Data residency6:23 Level 3: In-country processing7:48 The customer-hosted PoP9:07 Levels 4 and 5: Sovereign SASE11:03 The full scale: choosing "sovereign enough"12:16 Closing takeawaySources:• Gartner, "How to Choose a Sovereign SASE Deployment Model" (Sep 2026): https://www.gartner.com/en/documents/8395381• DORA, Regulation (EU) 2022/2554, Art. 30: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2022/2554/ojMore from The CISO Perspective: https://cisoperspective.comWatch the full video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71zTuHOxZuoFollow on X: @CISOPerspectiveKeywords: SASE, SASE deployment models, sovereign SASE, cloud SASE vs sovereign SASE, what is SASE, secure access service edge, data sovereignty, digital sovereignty, data residency, in-country processing, SASE architecture, cybersecurity podcast