Exclusive: Check Point’s Gianluca Busco Arré on shaping hybrid security

Cybersecurity is changing fast.

For Gianluca Busco Arré, Head of Security Service Edge (SASE) at Check Point, the pace of transformation is both a challenge and an opportunity.

Speaking during his visit to Australia, he said organisations face mounting pressure to secure hybrid environments while cutting through the noise of fragmented tools.

"I'm leading the global sales organisation for SASE at Check Point," he explained.

"I'm in Australia for meetings with strategic customers across Sydney and Melbourne. It's great to connect with them and to talk about how the market is evolving, the cybersecurity landscape and how we can support them in this transition."

What does SASE really mean?

TechDay asked Busco Arré how he explains SASE to non-technical leaders, and he gave a simple analogy.

"SASE is like moving your company's security controls into the cloud. Instead of relying on siloed technologies – VPNs, firewalls, proxies – everything is unified in a single cloud platform," he said.

"Every identity and every device is checked before granting access. Employees, partners and contractors can get the tools and data they need from anywhere, on any device."

This simplification, he argued, is vital for organisations that now juggle complex hybrid workforces.

Fragmentation, not mistakes

When asked about the biggest errors companies make, Busco Arré preferred to frame them as difficulties.

"It's more about challenges than mistakes," he said. "Organisations use separate tools that don't talk to each other. Policies can be inconsistent – you might be secure in the office but not when you're in a café. Fragmentation leads to operational overhead and a lack of automation."

Check Point's unified platform, he said, is designed to bring consistency.

"Everything is enforced in the same way, across devices, users and locations. It makes the transition much easier."

Moving from legacy to new models

Most customers transitioning to Check Point's platform are coming from traditional setups. "They often have their own data centre, their own SD-WAN devices, and they manage remote work with a completely different set of tools," he explained. "The challenge is moving from that legacy model to something new."

He described Check Point's approach as "a very unique architecture." Unlike some rivals, it does not rely solely on the cloud. "We also have on-device security, which we call hybrid SASE. It means customers are more agile, with no latency. We're ten times faster in connectivity. We're not putting organisations in the position of having to choose between security and usability."

The role of AI

Artificial intelligence, he noted, is shaping both sides of the cybersecurity battle. "AI is now heavily used by cyber criminals. Of course, we use AI as well," he said. "We leverage AI for assisted detection and threat hunting. That includes spotting AI-generated threats, synthetic phishing or deep fakes. We also go beyond traditional identity checks to verify if AI is impersonating someone across text, voice or video."

Tool sprawl and consolidation

One major issue for Chief Information Security Officers is "tool sprawl". Busco Arré defined it clearly: "Most organisations have accumulated a lot of tools. Sometimes they do similar things. Each tool has its own console, its own policies and logs. This is fragmented security and it's a real struggle."

He pointed to research from Gartner as evidence of where the industry is heading. "By 2028, 50 per cent of new SASE deployments will be based on a single-vendor platform, up from 25 per cent in 2024. Strategic planning is very important. Organisations need to consolidate and provide a single platform."

Automation and simplification

Automation, he added, is another essential theme. "IT and security teams today spend a huge amount of time managing separate products. These systems must be kept up to date continuously. Troubleshooting connectivity can be an issue. Automation brings value by freeing time for something more strategic."

Check Point's hybrid SASE platform, he said, ensures policies are applied consistently across devices and users. "Network traffic optimisation is managed in the backend by us, not by the customer. It brings real relief for IT teams."

Leapfrogging in APAC

In the Asia-Pacific region, adoption is accelerating quickly.

"Australia, India and Japan are very fast in adopting cloud technologies," he said. "What is interesting is that in Australia, organisations often leapfrog traditional architectures and move directly to SASE. It's not a bad thing – it's a strategic vision. It's about rethinking how you secure users and provide connectivity in a more efficient way."

What will secure connectivity look like in the near future?

Busco Arré said the trade-off between security and usability will continue to shape decisions.

"Organisations struggle with hybrid complexity, with multiple products, and with the user experience versus security trade-off. Most say they will not compromise security. With a different architecture, those decisions are much easier."

"My role is to support our customers in the transformation from a traditional network to an SASE journey," he said. "This is only possible through simplification and consolidation – and that is exactly what we are delivering with Check Point," he added.

"Security always comes first."