Dell’Oro Group reports SASE market grew 21% in 1Q 2026 to over $3 billion

Dell’Oro Group reports that the secure access service edge market grew 21% year over year in 1Q 2026, exceeding $3 billion, as demand expanded from access and inspection to governance for SaaS use and AI agents.

Market Overview

Dell’Oro Group said the SASE market grew 21% year over year in 1Q 2026 to over $3 billion. The report describes SSE and SD-WAN as contributing to enterprise buying patterns that include cloud-delivered security and policy controls.

It also reported that “SSE grew faster, while SD-WAN continued to anchor the branch-networking transition.”

Key Findings for 1Q 2026

For 1Q 2026, the report stated that “Security Service Edge (SSE) revenue increased 22 percent Y/Y,” driven by expanded buyer use cases. It said buyers moved beyond web and private access into SaaS control, data protection, AI usage governance, and agent policy.

The report also said that “Access Router revenue declined 10 percent Y/Y” as enterprises shifted away from standalone routing toward SD-WAN overlays and SASE-aligned branch platforms.

Supplier and Segment Notes

Dell’Oro Group reported that Cisco, Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, Cato Networks, and Versa Networks remained the most balanced top-ten SASE suppliers in 1Q 2026. It said both SD-WAN and SSE contributed meaningful revenue streams for those suppliers.

Technology or Trend Analysis

In the report’s discussion, Dell’Oro Group framed AI as changing how SASE is evaluated, shifting attention toward governance and control of agents and machine traffic. It said, “AI is changing the SASE discussion from access and inspection to governance, data protection, and control over agents and machine traffic,” according to Mauricio Sanchez, Sr. Director, Enterprise Security and Networking at Dell’Oro Group.

Sanchez added, “A 21 percent 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.”

Forecast and Analyst Outlook

The report forecast SASE would remain on a double-digit growth path in 2026. It said “SSE-first rollouts” would remain the most common entry point, supported by software attach, branch modernization, and branch security refresh.

It also maintained that SD-WAN continued to support branch modernization as part of SASE-related deployments.

Conclusion

Dell’Oro Group’s 1Q 2026 SASE update attributes market growth to SSE expansion into SaaS control, data protection, and AI usage governance, alongside continued SD-WAN participation in branch modernization efforts. This Analyst Signals brief reflects a neutral, fact-based summary of the original research note.