Do branch office users complain about slow network or application performance? Do you have SaaS applications that run from the cloud? Are you concerned with the security of your connection to the cloud? If so, an SD-WAN solution may be right for your organization.
Software-defined WAN improves WAN reliability, availability, performance and security to meet your business needs regardless of the location of your applications – whether corporate data center or cloud.
Benefits of an SD-WAN solution
- Optimize WAN performance with SD-WAN – SD-WAN uses several techniques to optimize performance, such as monitoring bandwidth, packet loss, jitter and latency of WAN links to make proactive, intelligent decisions about the optimal path for data traffic.
If you have a business-critical SaaS application, for example, Cisco’s Cloud OnRamp for SD-WAN can monitor its performance through all data paths—from the branch office to the application—and make real-time decisions to choose the best-performing path.
- Reduce WAN costs with SD-WAN – Most SD-WAN solutions are transport independent, which means they can support many types of connections, such as MPLS, broadband Internet and 4G LTE. This support allows organizations to choose lower cost link options like broadband Internet. Using multiple Internet connections from different providers, instead of more expensive lower bandwidth MPLS, can greatly increase bandwidth while reducing costs.
- Increase WAN reliability with SD-WAN – SD-WAN also utilizes multiple WAN links, simultaneously eliminating “idle” backup connections, increasing the overall bandwidth and providing added resiliency.
- Bring new remote offices online faster with SD-WAN – Many SD-WAN solutions include Zero Touch Provisioning (ZTP) services. ZTP uses the SD-WAN controller to push out device configurations via templates as well as perform code upgrades. With standardized configurations via ZTP, you can deploy your branch office networks quickly, while reducing administrative costs.
- Software-defined WAN enhances WAN security – An SD-WAN solution can encrypt network traffic and provide data segmentation. Segmentation can provide a level of security by isolating certain types of traffic, like traffic from IoT or mobile devices, over the WAN just like we do in the local area network using VLANs. This segmentation minimizes the attack surface if a security breach occurs.
- Increase visibility into your WAN – SD-WAN continually monitors and gathers data from the WAN. This data provides visibility and insight into the WAN that allows your network administrators to quickly isolate and resolve issues. SD-WAN solutions also use this data (analytics) to predict issues before they happen, potentially avoiding costly downtime.
Does your organization need an SD-WAN solution?
If you’re concerned with WAN performance, reliability, cost or security, then consider the value an SD-WAN solution can bring. An SD-WAN solution may be right for your business if you’re:
- Preparing the network for SaaS (e.g. Microsoft Office 365, Salesforce) or moving workloads to the Cloud IaaS (e.g. AWS, Azure).
- Looking to simplify your WAN architecture and make it easier to manage, operate and consume.
- Balancing security and application performance/experience with direct Internet access from the branch.
The Logicalis SD-WAN solution
The skilled architects and professionals at Logicalis provide consulting and advisory services to help you develop and design a WAN and SD-WAN that best meets your business requirements. Based on these requirements, as well as your budget and timeline, we’ll provide our advice as to the right solution for your organization.
Our technical consultants and engineers also provide a wide range of professional services to help you implement your SD-WAN solution, as well as expert customer support should any issues arise after implementation.
Download this IDC technology brief to learn more about the tangible benefits of early adopters and how to create value and sustained ROI from an SD-WAN solution.
Troy Sempsrott brings 25 years of experience in networking and collaboration to his role as Logicalis’ Director of Architectures, responsible for go-to-market strategies and solutions development for networking and collaboration.