In a world of burgeoning SaaS applications, enterprises expect fast and reliable connectivity across WAN edges. SD-WAN makes this possible by combining network intelligence with software.
Yet, implementing it is challenging. For example, NetOps and IT teams need more unified visibility into network path views. This prevents them from leveraging the full range of benefits that SD-WAN provides.
Streamlined Management
Look at how is SD-WAN explained and its implementation challenges in this article. NetOps and IT teams require more unified visibility into network path views to leverage SD-WAN’s benefits fully.
SD-WAN solutions can also offer a more efficient way to connect remote offices to cloud-based applications. Traditional WANs route data by backhauling it to a central data center, but this approach can slow down application performance. With SD-WAN, users can avoid the delay by connecting directly to the cloud through a secure local internet breakout, which offers better application performance and security.
Another challenge associated with traditional WANs is the complexity of configuring and deploying new sites. A fully managed SD-WAN solution can simplify onboarding by enabling enterprises to easily and quickly deploy new branches. This can allow businesses to grow their customer base before a slow and inefficient network infrastructure catches up.
A managed SD-WAN solution can also increase business agility by eliminating the need for manual configuration changes. A managed SD-WAN solution can ensure consistent networking and security policies across the enterprise WAN by automating and centralized management. This can also help to avoid costly outages by detecting and rerouting traffic around congestion or other problems.
Enhanced Visibility
A major challenge that many organizations face is the need for more visibility into their network traffic. When they need to troubleshoot issues, it can be difficult to pinpoint where the problem is – and how to fix it. SD-WAN can help with this issue by combining WAN optimization, security, and routing into a single solution managed on a central dashboard. This simplifies management and improves performance by providing a clear view of all data flows across the enterprise WAN.
This centralized management also provides greater visibility into application performance and allows IT teams to prioritize specific applications over others. The result is a better user experience, improved productivity, and lower operational costs.
Technology departments must optimize connectivity as the workplace becomes more distributed so users can access apps and resources anywhere. SD-WAN’s ability to optimize any combination of network access types, such as MPLS, broadband, and wireless options, helps achieve this. By combining this with link bonding, which enables multiple internet connections to be aggregated into a single connection, it’s possible to get high-quality global connectivity at a low cost.
A business-driven approach to SD-WAN is critical for achieving these benefits. While basic SD-WANs offer some application classification capabilities based on fixed definitions and manually scripted ACLs, they don’t automatically adapt to changes, which can cause SaaS and IaaS applications to stop working at remote locations. A business-driven SD-WAN will offer automatic daily application definition and IP address updates to ensure consistent and reliable performance.
Enhanced Security
SD-WANs offer a secure environment for data access, with stronger, universally applied app-level policies and data segmentation, allowing businesses to reach remote locations without sacrificing security. In addition, many SD-WANs incorporate advanced security tools like behavioral analytics and sandboxing to protect against threats that target in-transit data.
SD-WAN delivers better application performance by separating apps from services through policy-based virtual overlay and monitoring site links to route traffic to the best available network. It also reduces bandwidth consumption and ensures consistent performance for critical applications across the WAN while improving WAN redundancy, security, and agility.
In today’s rapidly evolving business climate, speed is everything. Customers want to get their products and services quickly, and employees need to be able to work remotely at any location on any device with a reliable internet connection. SD-WAN provides a streamlined and efficient way to connect offices and remote workers, increasing productivity and satisfaction.
To make the most of the benefits of an SD-WAN, look for one that has integrated AI for IT operations (AIOps). This technology automates manual tasks and helps IT teams identify issues faster, prioritize problem remediation, and optimize performance. AIOps also enables real-time visibility into the global infrastructure and cloud for enhanced application performance and security.
Enhanced Flexibility
The ability to monitor jitter, latency, and packet loss at each remote site makes it possible for SD-WAN to prioritize critical business traffic over the best-performing Internet links. This can help IT teams minimize the time they spend troubleshooting application performance issues and reduce the number of failed transactions that impact employee productivity.
As enterprises grow and evolve, supporting their operational agility goals with a smarter network is essential. A smarter SD-WAN delivers on that goal by automatically finding the best connections to cloud applications across the WAN and delivering performance with a business impact.
Read Also:Â Key Benefits of SD-WAN for Business Networks
A smarter SD-WAN can also handle the network changes teams must make to meet their objectives. This includes changing connectivity arrangements after a merger or acquisition, accommodating growth by adding connectivity at a new site and supporting temporary priority changes like when a chief financial officer works remotely for a few weeks.
The right SD-WAN solution can also improve the performance of costly MPLS and private data networks. It can do so by utilizing WAN optimization and TCP acceleration techniques to reduce the packet loss, jitter, and latency common in traditional routed network connections. It can also use techniques like link bonding to combine multiple Internet links for higher performance and reroute traffic around problems on a single connection.
