The increasing adoption of software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) and WAN transformation practices are key to enterprises interested in pursuing agility and flexibility in their business plans. These network optimization strategies are making it possible to prioritize digital transformation and other projects that differentiate the brand and provide a competitive edge in the market.
While SD-WAN was originally considered to be a niche approach to networking, it has emerged as an important technology for managing the increasing complexity in the enterprise infrastructure related to cloud migration, Internet of Things (IoT), and overall digital transformation strategies. Better management is accomplished through higher-bandwidth broadband connections and selecting pathways based on applications for improved performance.
The overall results include reduced costs, better performance, and improved agility. In most cases, enterprises are not asking whether to introduce WAN transformation and SD-WAN, but simply how soon they can implement the technology. Here are a few areas where networking advances are driving business objectives:
Digital transformation: Companies prioritizing digital transformation quickly find that SD-WAN is a critical technology for improving the customer experience. The tools and features that improve personalization, user-friendliness, and faster responses are all tied to technology that increases the complexity of the network: cloud solutions, mobile devices, IoT, social media, and big data all increase the growth of network traffic and introduce complexity in traffic patterns.
SD-WAN and WAN transformation offer central management of a distributed network with better visibility into network traffic and the ability to optimize application pathways.
Public cloud adoption: Network traffic has been significantly impacted by the amount of traffic moving in and out of cloud services, which has dramatically changed the traditional hub-and-spoke patterns of traffic moving to and from the data center through multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) pathways. WAN transformation and SD-WAN provide the option to use broadband Internet links, which are overlaid with encrypted tunnels, to connect to the Internet. In most cases, enterprises will set up pathway optimization with automated policies so that mission-critical transmissions are prioritized for higher quality pathways.
Optimizing network management: Some of the interest in WAN transformation and SD-WAN is related to the growing demand for better network performance, improved uptimes and operational efficiencies. Many interruptions in network service are caused by configuration changes or errors, so the move to a centralized control center with better visibility can help eliminate downtime.
Network administrators are also working through these technologies to eliminate the fragmented tools that can make network management complicated and reduce operational efficiency. Centralized control and visibility further simplify management by ensuring that changes can be made and problems identified from headquarters, rather than requiring a network engineer to either walk an employee through a network troubleshooting session over the phone or requiring a trip out to the branch.
If WAN transformation or SD-WAN are on your list of priorities for enabling digital transformation or network optimization, contact us at SimpleWAN. We can help you select the right technology to support your business objectives and simplify network management.
