Traditional networking approaches require traffic from branch offices to be backhauled to headquarters. This introduces latency and impairs application performance. SD-WAN simplifies network operations and reduces costs by providing centralized management and WAN optimization. It also provides bandwidth efficiency and a seamless on-ramp to the cloud. An SD-WAN service monitors network conditions and sends data traffic over the most reliable links to support productivity. This improves WAN resiliency and availability.
Enhanced Security
Maintaining network uptime in today’s fast-paced business environment is more critical than ever. A single hour of downtime costs an organization $300,000 on average in lost revenue and productivity. SD-WAN explained helps minimize downtime and other network performance issues by combining security functions with WAN connectivity to create a more resilient network built to handle increasing data traffic. Secure connectivity is a core feature of an SD-WAN solution, utilizing encrypted end-to-end tunnels to protect the network and data from cyber-attacks. In addition, an SD-WAN solution can also provide network segmentation to limit access to critical applications. Another key benefit of an SD-WAN is that it simplifies network management by allowing IT teams to deploy company-wide connectivity policies from a single dashboard. This will enable IT to have visibility into all aspects of the WAN and ensure that they align application criticality with performance needs. It also allows monitoring of latency, jitter, and packet loss so that applications are automatically routed to the best-performing network connection to support application performance.
Scalability
Today’s business operations require perfect communication and flawless online facilities. Unfortunately, these requirements cannot be met with traditional network architecture. The centralized control offered by SD-WAN lets organizations optimize traffic flows for performance and cost. It also helps businesses avoid costly MPLS circuits by routing large portions of their traffic over more cost-effective services like broadband internet and LTE. This way, companies can improve the performance of cloud-based applications accessed from multiple branch offices by reducing latency and improving application response times.
Additionally, SD-WAN reduces costs by avoiding expensive backhauling by sending data directly between the branches and the headquarters over low-cost local Internet or wireless WAN links. Moreover, deploying new connections at remote sites is a simple task for IT teams with SD-WAN. It also allows them to use bandwidth on demand, ensuring mission-critical apps get the needed performance. In addition, SD-WAN converges WAN and security services like CASB, FWaaS, and Zero Trust into a single platform that delivers consistent performance for the entire network. This enables organizations to keep up with business growth while lowering operating costs and equipment spending.
Flexibility
Bringing new sites online can be difficult with traditional networking models. SD-WAN reduces complexity and makes it easy to add recent locations without compromising security. This is especially important for businesses dealing with mergers and acquisitions or expanding into new territories. In addition to centralized, automated orchestration, SD-WAN provides greater network performance visibility through centrally managed dashboards and reports. This gives IT teams a holistic view of the entire infrastructure and allows them to make changes quickly and easily. High bandwidth and uptime are critical for business networks that deliver personalized, anywhere, anytime experiences for customers and employees. Legacy WANs have reached their tipping point, and IT leaders must find ways to deliver applications and experiences with greater agility and consistency. With SD-WAN, you can prioritize WAN traffic and leverage multiple connections (including MPLS, broadband Internet, LTE, and mobile uplinks) for lower latency, more bandwidth, and increased reliability. The result is improved application performance and a faster, more straightforward way to connect all your offices. It also simplifies management and reduces OPEX. The agility and performance that SD-WAN offers are essential for organizations that operate across a wide range of locations. An SD-WAN network can help your organization better connect to networks, data centers, and multiple cloud platforms while reducing latency and jitter. SD-WAN technology automatically funnels traffic to the best path, optimizing your business applications for maximum uptime and performance. It can also detect and prioritize real-time services like voice and video, helping your organization to reduce packet loss and latency that could negatively impact employee productivity. A centrally managed SD-WAN network provides visibility into application performance, allowing IT teams to align network and security policies to business goals and objectives. It’s also easy to bring a new branch or remote location online by leveraging low-cost broadband connections, and adding additional bandwidth is simple without reconfiguring edge devices. This flexibility helps your organization keep costs down while delivering unstoppable uptime and superior application performance.
Cost-Effectiveness
When businesses invest in SD-WAN, they can eliminate the need for costly MPLS backhaul connections to data centers. Instead, SD-WAN allows data to be transmitted over the best available bandwidth, including low-cost broadband or wireless WAN (LTE/4G) connections, saving overhead costs like power and cooling. Moreover, SD-WAN simplifies IT operations by reducing the number of network devices like routers and firewalls that need to be installed at each remote location. Instead, a centralized IT team can manage the system through a single interface.
This reduces IT expenditures and helps ensure business applications run smoothly across all locations, even those with limited bandwidth. For example, application optimization enables VOIP calls and other real-time services to work well over internet connections that can sometimes experience latency and packet loss. Ultimately, this leads to higher employee productivity and improved customer service, boosting profitability. A single hour of organizational downtime can cost a business more than $1 million, so keeping critical systems up and running is essential for success. With SD-WAN, organizations can improve uptime with intelligent routing that uses multiple connection types and prioritizes data based on security and performance.
