Companies with multiple offices face network complexity and cost challenges (it takes staff to manage infrastructure in remote locations). SD-WAN simplifies the WAN, uses low-cost broadband internet connections to offload non-critical traffic, and centrally monitors and processes traffic through a single controller. The technology provides site-to-site connectivity, application performance optimization, and improved resiliency. But how does it do so?
Improved End-User Experience
Today’s digital transformation initiatives require data to travel across various connections, including MPLS, broadband Internet, and virtual private networks (VPNs). SD-WAN can help you optimize bandwidth by prioritizing business-critical applications and ensuring application performance. SD-WAN solutions with network intelligence capabilities automate traffic routing and failover, reducing the need for manual intervention by IT teams and saving costs. Additionally, monitoring key performance indicators like round-trip time (RTT) and packet loss enables your team to quickly identify issues and self-heal to prevent costly outages. Understanding the importance of SD WAN and its added flexibility, it’s easy to connect new and remote locations without investing in additional infrastructure or relying on truck-roll for network configurations. In addition, you can secure connectivity with encryption to protect sensitive data from being intercepted when transmitted over the Internet. This is especially important when workers access the corporate network from home or on the road over public Wi-Fi connections like those in hotels and coffee shops. This helps to ensure a consistently high-end-user experience.
Enhanced Security
SD-WAN solutions offer centralized policy management to automate and optimize connectivity, security, and management capabilities across distributed sites. IT teams get a single-pane-of-glass view into applications, devices, users, and networks to ensure network configurations align with business goals and objectives. Compared to traditional MPLS network architectures, which often require round-trip signaling between branches and data centers, SD-WAN provides an alternative path that eliminates backhaul penalties and delivers superior application performance. Software-based intelligence prioritizes real-time and business-critical traffic while dynamically directing the signal to the most optimal pathway. This flexibility reduces congestion on existing infrastructure and allows companies to transition from expensive MPLS connections to broadband Internet, cellular, or satellite links. SD-WAN also improves site-to-site reliability and uptime by providing a secure and reliable backup connection in case of a transport outage. In addition, business-driven SD-WAN supports a wide range of advanced security functions, including cloud access security brokers (CASB), firewall as a service, and zero trust network access (ZTNA). IT teams can deploy and manage these premium technologies without requiring specialized IT expertise at each site.
Scalability
A key to digital transformation is scalability. SD-WAN solutions enable organizations to scale as they grow – adding new locations, replacing existing hardware, or changing security rules can be easily accomplished. The ability to manage firewalls, routers, virtual private networks (VPN), and remote clients from a central interface also reduces the time IT teams spend on routine maintenance. By monitoring network paths and selecting the best one for traffic, SD-WAN solutions can optimize performance for critical applications and improve application quality of experience (QoE). For example, ensuring voice and meeting apps get all the bandwidth they need while deprioritizing downloads and social media. When you choose a fully managed services provider, they’ll take care of all design, configuration, and daily operations so your IT team can focus on core projects. With centralized management, zero-touch provisioning, and integrations with your cloud access security brokers, your partner will help improve IT productivity while reducing costs. The best providers will also offer a unified management interface to speed up the deployment and configuration of security policies across multiple appliances.
Cost-Effectiveness
One of the most significant benefits of SD-WAN is that it significantly reduces networking costs by providing an alternative to expensive leased MPLS connections. It does this by leveraging public internet connections for business applications rather than routing them back to a data center or central HQ hub for access. This means a reduced need for expensive private WAN circuits, plus lower bandwidth requirements as data is prioritized and only routed over the most cost-effective links at any given time. The move to software-defined networking and a cloud-based infrastructure makes managing an SD-WAN easier. This helps reduce maintenance expenses by lowering the occurrence of technical support calls and simplifying network management with a single console. In addition, choosing a solution with an intuitive user interface is critical to ensure employees can quickly adopt and use the technology. This minimizes the time and resources needed to manage a new network system, allowing organizations to realize the ROI they expect from their investment. This enables them to focus on strategic initiatives and drive growth.
Scalability
Whether you’re looking to deploy new applications and cloud services, expand your network footprint, or adjust security controls, the centralized control function of an SD-WAN solution can help. The technology automatically propagates policies from a single pane of glass and across multiple sites to reduce manual configuration efforts. As a result, you can optimize IT costs by connecting your branches with affordable broadband Internet instead of costly MPLS. Moreover, you can increase performance for latency-sensitive applications like VoIP with intelligent application routing. Depending on the vendor, SD-WAN solutions can include a mix of routers and virtualized customer premises equipment (vCPE) connected to a central controller that manages policy. You can access the management portal through an intuitive graphical interface and configure devices at each branch office to prioritize mission-critical applications according to your business needs. Many vendors also offer fully managed services to remove the burden of 24/7 monitoring and threat detection. When selecting an SD-WAN provider, check user reviews and attend their annual users’ group event to understand better how the solution will perform.
