Cato Networks

What is Cato Networks?

Cato Networks is a cloud-native cybersecurity and networking platform that delivers a unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) solution, combining networking and security into a single global cloud service. It enables organizations to securely connect users, applications, and data across offices, cloud environments, and remote locations using technologies like SD-WAN, Zero Trust access, and advanced threat prevention. By replacing multiple legacy tools with one platform, it simplifies IT operations, improves performance, and provides real-time visibility, threat detection, and data protection across the entire infrastructure.

Founded in 2015 by cybersecurity pioneer Shlomo Kramer (co-founder of Check Point Software and Imperva) and Gur Shatz (former co-founder of Incapsula) in Tel Aviv, Israel, Cato Networks pioneered the SASE category years before it was formalized by Gartner. Backed by top-tier venture firms including Lightspeed Venture Partners, SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Greylock Partners, Coatue, and Singtel Innov8, Cato has raised over $770 million in funding, achieving a valuation exceeding $3 billion. Powering thousands of enterprise customers across 150+ countries, Cato connects remote branches, multi-cloud datacenters, mobile workforces, and SaaS applications with sub-second convergence and 99.999% SLA reliability.

• Founder / Leadership: Shlomo Kramer (Co-founder & CEO) and Gur Shatz (Co-founder, President & COO)
• Launch Year: 2015 (Coined and launched cloud SASE architecture)

Use Cases:

• Replacing unpredictable public internet routing and expensive legacy MPLS circuits with an SLA-backed global private backbone
• Consolidating branch networking hardware, SD-WAN devices, and firewalls into lightweight zero-touch Cato Socket appliances
• Delivering high-performance, identity-aware Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) for roaming and hybrid enterprise workforces
• Enforcing real-time Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB), Data Loss Prevention (DLP), and Firewall-as-a-Service (FWaaS) across all traffic

Technology:

• Single-pass cloud engine (SPACE) inspecting all network and security policies concurrently in a single processing pass
• Global private backbone comprised of 90+ geographically distributed Tier-4 Points of Presence (PoPs) connected via multiple SLA carriers
• Zero-touch edge routing hardware (Cato Socket) and cross-platform unified clients (Cato Client) routing traffic securely to the nearest PoP

Target Users:

• Enterprise network directors and infrastructure leads seeking to retire costly telecom contracts and hardware sprawl
• Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) requiring uniform security posture across physical sites, cloud VPCs, and mobile workers
• Global manufacturing, retail, and logistics enterprises connecting geographically remote facilities and factories
• Content creators using writing tools to draft enterprise networking migration proposals, SASE evaluation RFPs, and zero-trust policy frameworks

Corporate Entity: Operates as Cato Networks Ltd. (Tel Aviv, Israel & Alpharetta, GA)

Key features of Cato Networks

Cato Networks' key features are

• Single-Pass Cloud Engine (SPACE): A single unified software architecture that decrypts and inspects network packets once, applying routing, firewalling, IPS, and CASB rules simultaneously without performance latency.
• Global Private SLA Backbone: An interconnected global mesh of 90+ Points of Presence (PoPs) monitored 24/7 with built-in route optimization, eliminating internet packet loss and jitter across international paths.
• Cato Cloud-Native SD-WAN: Dynamically optimizes traffic across commodity internet, fiber, 5G, and LTE links with sub-second failover and automated path steering.
• Firewall-as-a-Service (FWaaS) & Next-Gen IPS: Cloud-delivered application-aware Layer 7 firewalling and advanced threat prevention protecting all traffic entering the Cato Cloud.
• Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA): Granular identity- and context-based access controls connecting remote workers directly to authorized applications without putting them on the broad network.
• Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) & DLP: Enforces granular visibility and governance over sanctioned and unsanctioned SaaS applications, preventing confidential data leaks inline.
• Zero-Touch Edge Sockets: Simple plug-and-play branch appliances (Cato Socket X1500/X1700) that establish encrypted tunnels to the nearest Cato PoP in minutes without onsite IT expertise.
• Single-Pane-of-Glass Management: Unified multi-tenant web console delivering comprehensive real-time network visibility, threat analytics, and policy configuration from a single screen.

Cato Networks Pricing

Cato Networks operates on an enterprise subscription model based on site connection bandwidth, number of connected locations, edge hardware sockets, and roaming mobile user licenses.

Site & Backbone Licensing:

• Billed annually based on committed site bandwidth throughput (e.g., 25 Mbps, 100 Mbps, 500 Mbps, up to 2 Gbps+) connected to the global private backbone
• Includes full access to the global SLA backbone, dynamic multi-link failover, and central management

Edge Sockets & Hardware:

• Cato Socket hardware appliances (X1500 for branches, X1700 for datacenters) offered via affordable upfront hardware purchases or annual hardware-as-a-service leases

Mobile Users (ZTNA / SASE Client):

• Priced per named mobile user/month (typically ranging from ~$6.00 to $12.00 per user/month depending on fleet volume and security feature tiers)
• Includes unified Cato Client for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android with built-in ZTNA, SWG, and CASB inspection

Disclaimer: Cato Networks is customized to enterprise infrastructure scale through authorized partners and direct enterprise sales. Custom quotes and guided architectural proof-of-concept evaluations are available at catonetworks.com/pricing.

Who is using Cato Networks?

Cato Networks is designed for modern enterprise organizations with distributed physical and remote operations, including

• Multinational Corporations & Manufacturers: Connecting overseas plants, distribution centers, and headquarters across North America, Europe, and Asia with predictable backbone latency
• Retailers & Multi-Branch Financial Firms: Retiring high-cost MPLS and fragile legacy firewalls across hundreds of branch stores using plug-and-play Cato Sockets
• Fast-Growing Cloud-Native Companies: Unifying AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud VPC connectivity with roaming remote workers under unified zero-trust rules
• Engineering & Construction Firms: Rapidly deploying high-speed connectivity to temporary job sites and project trailers without waiting weeks for telecom circuits
• Content Creators: Using writing tools to draft enterprise networking migration proposals, SASE evaluation RFPs, and zero-trust policy frameworks
• Healthcare & Life Sciences Providers: Ensuring secure, HIPAA-compliant patient record access across hospital networks and remote telemedicine doctors

Best Cato Networks Alternatives

Some of the strongest Cato Networks alternatives include

• Zscaler 
• Palo Alto Networks 
• Cisco 
• Cloudflare One
• Versa Networks

Pros and Cons of Cato Networks

Pros

• True single-vendor converged SASE platform: networking and security are built together in one software stack rather than stitched through acquisitions
• Private global SLA backbone delivers guaranteed low latency and zero packet loss for international cross-region traffic
• Single-Pass Cloud Engine (SPACE) prevents the latency penalties and performance degradation of multi-box security inspection chains
• Zero-touch edge Sockets make provisioning new branch offices fast, intuitive, and viable without specialized on-site engineers
• Consolidates dozens of vendor contracts, licensing keys, and support desks into a single unified service agreement

Cons

• Focused primarily on mid-market and enterprise scale; not suitable for micro-businesses or small single-office setups
• Requires ongoing annual subscription commitments tied to site bandwidth throughput tiers
• Organizations committed to maintaining deep on-premise hardware-heavy DMZ architectures may resist full cloud-backbone routing
• Organizations with heavy multi-gigabit campus LAN requirements may still require separate high-density core layer switches

Why Choose Cato Networks?

Cato Networks is the premier choice for organizations that want to eliminate the operational complexity, performance lag, and hardware bloat of legacy enterprise networking.

• Delivers an authentic cloud-native SASE architecture engineered from a single codebase
• Bypasses unpredictable public internet routing with an SLA-backed global private backbone
• Deploys to global branches in minutes with zero-touch plug-and-play hardware sockets
• Combines SD-WAN, ZTNA, FWaaS, SWG, and CASB in a unified single pane of glass
• Founded by the creators of Check Point and Imperva, backed by over $770M in top-tier venture capital

Cato Networks vs. Competitors

The main difference between Cato Networks, Zscaler, Fortinet, and Palo Alto Networks Prisma SASE is that Cato Networks converges SD-WAN, a private global SLA backbone, and full SSE security into a single cloud platform, whereas Zscaler is a cloud-only proxy security service (SSE) that relies on third-party SD-WAN providers for physical branch connectivity, Fortinet combines custom ASIC hardware firewalls with hybrid software, and Palo Alto Networks integrates acquired SD-WAN with Prisma cloud security. Cato stands out for its all-in-one single-vendor simplicity, native global private backbone, and unified single-pass architecture.

How do we rate Cato Networks?

Cato Networks Review

Cato Networks has redefined enterprise connectivity by delivering what the cybersecurity industry promised for a decade: a single, truly unified cloud architecture that blends high-speed networking with deep security inspection. While legacy vendors attempted to adapt by acquiring different SD-WAN, CASB, and proxy companies and attempting to glue their disparate control planes together, Cato designed its platform from the ground up as a cloud-native single-pass engine. Connecting an overseas factory or branch office is remarkably straightforward—plug in a zero-touch Cato Socket, link standard commodity broadband connections, and the site is immediately enveloped in an SLA-backed global backbone with enterprise-grade firewalling and threat prevention. For global enterprises looking to escape the telecom billing trap and eliminate hardware sprawl, Cato Networks is an exceptional platform.

Conclusion

Cato Networks is an industry-leading single-vendor SASE platform that completely reimagines enterprise networking and cybersecurity for the cloud era. By unifying SD-WAN, a private global SLA backbone, FWaaS, ZTNA, SWG, and CASB into a single-pass cloud engine, it provides unmatched speed, reliability, and security without physical appliance sprawl. While smaller businesses will look to lighter SMB networking alternatives, Cato Networks’ architectural purity, global backbone scale, and operational simplicity make it an indispensable enterprise networking platform.