Joshua Galyon
With SD-WAN, employees can access their data regardless of internet connectivity or physical location. It helps improve productivity and provides a better user experience. Rather than relying on traditional routing protocols, SD-WAN creates a new service overlay with a new set of interfaces to drive and optimize the WAN in real time. This platform can handle everything from optimization to low-level packet control.
Improve UCaaS Performance
By recognizing UCaaS (Unified Communications as a Service) traffic, SD-WAN can optimize routing to reduce latency and packet loss. It can also increase bandwidth efficiency by prioritizing this type of traffic over other applications.
Better Security
With the emergence of cloud computing and workers increasingly working remotely, IT teams have had to adapt how they manage their networks. Legacy WAN architectures that rely on private MPLS connections can be costly and difficult to scale. With SD-WAN explained businesses can get better performance at a lower cost. This solution from Fortinet replaces multiple hardware devices (firewalls, routers and WAN path controllers and optimizers) with a single virtual system, often including firewall capabilities. It reduces upfront expenses and improves return on investment. Central orchestration and automated provisioning also make it easier for IT to update configurations across the network, reducing the risk of human error and improving consistency and global visibility. With granular, easy-to-understand data about application performance and WAN bandwidth usage, businesses can confidently make changes to meet business requirements. This level of flexibility and agility is a big win for companies that want to future-proof their networks against security and performance risks. However, this increased power should come with the responsibility to understand the implications of any potential configuration change thoroughly.
Better Performance
SD-WAN enables better application performance and quality of experience for business applications. Its centralized control function ensures that business-driven operational policies are consistently implemented across the network, eliminating inconsistent security and performance across sites. It provides cost savings by leveraging low-cost local Internet access, mobile 4G or broadband connections for backhauling to the data center rather than expensive MPLS circuits. It also allows traffic destined for SaaS applications to be routed directly to the Cloud, further reducing costs and improving performance and agility.
It can also be deployed as a cold-standby connectivity solution, providing rapid start-up for businesses that need to keep operating despite a lack of MPLS bandwidth. The WAN connectivity can be switched to an alternate connectivity type or carrier, and business services can continue running with minimal impact. It enables enterprises to re-focus their IT resources on other critical projects, such as accelerating the deployment of new applications and digital initiatives. It can even support reimagining business processes, enabling new ways of working to drive innovation.
Better Visibility
In addition to reducing WAN costs, SD-WAN enables businesses to be more flexible with their connectivity. By providing a secure overlay over a diverse mix of broadband, LTE and MPLS circuits, companies can quickly scale up or down bandwidth to support business operations without suffering from costly outages or the fear of a lack of flexibility.
Boost Security
SD-WAN can provide a more secure network with advanced technologies like granular, easy-to-understand data on application and user behavior, as well as built-in encryption. It can help to protect against ever-growing digital threats. With SD-WAN as a service, managed third-party providers host and delivered the technology on a cloud network that organizations can easily access on a subscription basis. This centralized configuration and automation minimize human error that could compromise performance or security. This model also reduces cost by paying only for functionality required each month rather than a set amount upfront.
Better Scalability
For a growing business, SD-WAN is an ideal solution for future-proofing networks. The centralized configuration makes it easier to deploy new policies across network locations. It’s a significant improvement over traditional networks that require hands-on programming of each endpoint device when changes are needed. When a new application or traffic pattern is added, the zero-touch capabilities of an SD-WAN overlay make it possible to reroute traffic to the correct destination without having to replace or upgrade existing network infrastructure. It enables businesses to quickly scale their network capacity without incurring a large capital expense. SD-WAN also provides an effective means to prioritize real-time applications like VoIP over less critical data while providing administrators with clear visibility into performance to ensure that traffic is being routed in the best possible way. It helps to reduce packet loss and latency, which can negatively impact user productivity. SD-WAN can help businesses improve employee performance and boost business success by delivering reliable, high-performance connections.
Better Flexibility
As we move into a more distributed workforce, the needs of a business are changing. With SD-WAN, companies can provide a more flexible and dynamic network for remote employees with better application performance and security. The network can automatically scale up or down based on real-time demand. It allows for more manageable scalability. The technology also provides better visibility and streamlined provisioning to reduce the manual work of updating multiple network locations.
With a more agile and scalable network, the business can adapt to new demands, such as secure connectivity in an emergency or disaster. The nature of the software control makes it possible to invoke DR plans that prioritize applications and users, even during complete outages. As a result, businesses can have confidence that they are supporting remote workers in a way that keeps their networks safe and their teams working effectively. It helps organizations to thrive in a more diverse and dispersed workplace and to remain competitive in the marketplace.
