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SD-WAN is a software-defined networking technology for managing wide-area network connections. It has become the standard option for businesses that are looking to improve business application performance, increase agility, and enhance security, while reducing costs with transport independence across MPLS, LTE, and 3G/4G network carriers. SD-WAN simplifies operations with cloud-based management and automation.
The key goal for businesses in adopting SD-WAN as a connectivity solution across the enterprise infrastructure is to optimize the user experience and efficiency for private, public, and SaaS cloud applications. To understand more about what SD-WAN is, we’re going to have a deeper look at:
- The differences between traditional WAN and the new WAN
- The challenges that IT experts face today
- The benefits of SD WAN
- How SD WAN helps IT departments
Understanding the Traditional and New WAN
The traditional WAN connectivity has long been the mainstay in connecting users across multiple branches and organizational setups to applications hosted on servers in the company’s data center. In this setup, dedicated MPLS circuits were typically used by IT experts and network administrators to ensure reliable connectivity, application performance, and security. The traditional WAN connectivity is no longer viable in today’s cloud-centric business world.
Enter the new WAN – SD WAN. There’s no doubt that cutting-edge business models are increasingly driving the need for a new network connectivity model: SD-WAN provides that solution. Software-defined WAN is a highly effective approach to enterprise network connectivity that not only improves resource usage for multi-site network deployments but also lowers operational costs for enterprises.
Network administrators and IT experts can ensure the highest level of performance for business-critical applications and use network bandwidth more efficiently without worrying about sacrificing data privacy or security. SD-WAN is the core element in improving user experience end-to-end. Now that you understand what SD-WAN is, let’s move to the next step.
Understanding Today’s Dynamic IT Challenges
As more businesses race to adopt the use of Software-as-a-Service(SaaS) and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) applications in private, public and hybrid cloud environments, IT experts are realizing that the user application experience is significantly being affected. This is mainly because traditional WAN networks are not well-equipped to handle the unprecedented increase of WAN traffic that multi-cloud technology adoption brings.
The ever-increasing traffic that comes with cloud applications often causes connectivity management challenges for IT, data vulnerability, and application performance unpredictability. Putting these factors in mind, enterprises are faced with growing threats and compliance issues as they get more exposure to the cloud environment. This means that protecting critical business assets when applications are being accessed by a diverse workforce becomes even harder.
Employees, business partners, contractors, guests, and even vendors are accessing enterprise networks and applications at any given time from a myriad of connected devices. Enabling broadband internet in WAN makes enterprise security requirements more critical, creating bigger challenges for IT experts in trying to balance user experience, network complexity, and security. Understanding what is SD-WAN and how it can benefit IT is vital.
The Benefits of SD-WAN
Despite the challenges that the rapidly-evolving cloud environment is bringing to IT departments, the good news is that managed SD WAN services from companies like Mosaic NetworX are enabling companies to gain simplicity, performance, and control over their enterprise-wide connectivity while reducing operational costs.
Here are the core benefits of SD WAN:
Seamless WAN Management
SD-WAN is a cloud-delivered WAN architecture that provides centralized management for enterprises, making it easier to scale connectivity across thousands of endpoints, whether in the cloud, branch, or campus. IT departments can enjoy the ability to automate zero-touch WAN connectivity deployment globally, using a centralized management interface. What managed SD-WAN does is easing provisioning, integration and management processes.
Improved User Experience
SD-WAN optimization plays a critical role in delivering and maintaining optimal cloud application connectivity and performance from multiple enterprise-level clouds to thousands of users from anywhere. Even if there is link degradation or failure, the in-build application-aware routing functionalities can dynamically route network traffic between dedicated circuits and secure internet connections to ensure business-critical applications are constantly being delivered.
Increased Security
Threat prevention is a top priority for enterprises in today’s connected world. SD-WAN architecture for businesses features distributed security at the branch. This means that data being accessed or shared doesn’t have to travel back to the data center or enterprise headquarters to ensure advanced security protection. Increasing security at the right place is exactly what SD-WAN enables enterprises to achieve with less effort.
How SD WAN Helps IT Departments
As businesses adopt cloud-based applications, IT departments are faced with multiple challenges, including fighting the day-to-day complex battle of connecting multiple types of end users connecting through multiple devices to multiple cloud environments. With fully-managed SD-WAN, IT can enjoy a number of benefits that help them deliver threat protection, smooth routing, efficient offloading of expensive network circuits, and simplified WAN network management.
Some benefits for IT departments include:
- IT experts can enjoy reliable connectivity for all critical business applications. The functionalities offered are capable of handling multiple hybrid links to support all network scenarios. Route application also makes it easy to drive efficient service delivery.
- Real-time security enforcement and troubleshooting of network problems with integrated threat protection and secure traffic flow across the entire broadband internet connection.
- IT experts can enjoy cloud optimization and seamlessly extend the connection to multiple public cloud infrastructures, ensuring improved performance for their diverse SaaS applications.
- With access to a single-source point with centralized management for configuration, control, and management of WAN connections, cloud, and application security, IT departments can enjoy operational simplification across the enterprise.
With a clear understanding of what SD-WAN is, IT experts can make use of this networking technology to take business operations to another level, but with the right SD-WAN as-a-service.
Get Started With Mosaic NetworX’s SoftWave SD-WAN as-a-Service
Want to simplify your enterprise application delivery infrastructure for SD-WAN related services? Mosaic NetworX works closely with you to ensure branch and WAN simplification by eliminating the need to plan, design, negotiate with multiple carrier MSAs, and manage WAN connections.
Get started with our proven SD-WAN solutions today or contact us to learn more.
