Secure segmentation is the Cisco SD-WAN Secure Direct Cloud Access function that separates user traffic into different zones and VPNs or VRFs. In Cisco SD-WAN, VPNs provide logical segmentation that is comparable to VRF separation in traditional routing. Secure Direct Cloud Access extends this segmentation model when users access internet and cloud applications directly from the branch. The design can keep corporate, guest, payment, voice, IoT, and other traffic classes isolated, with policy and security controls applied per segment or zone. Centralized data policy controls forwarding behavior, but the feature that divides traffic into separate zones and VPN or VRF contexts is secure segmentation. Perimeter control and application-aware routing are useful security and performance functions, but they do not describe the core segmentation mechanism. Segmentation is a fundamental SD-WAN design requirement because direct cloud access must not collapse trust boundaries simply because traffic no longer hairpins through a central data center. Reference topics: Cisco SD-WAN secure segmentation, VPNs, VRFs, direct cloud access, zone-based policy.