As today’s businesses have done their best to embrace the newest solutions in an ever-changing technology landscape, it has become clear that conventional network architecture can’t always support the workloads and complexities of the latest digital initiatives.
Here comes SD-WAN.
SD-WAN stands for the software-defined WAN (Wide Area Network). It is a virtual WAN architecture that allows for any combination of networking services such as LTE, MPLS and broadband internet services. It acts as a centralized control function to direct traffic across the WAN.
SD-WAN can help minimize overhead costs while increasing network performance, as well. It also offers flexibility to access multi-cloud services. This advanced technology not only streamlines network management but also ensures several real-world business advantages. Here are a few:
Managing Connection Options
With SD-WAN technology, organizations can create a single network infrastructure that can handle several connection types such as MPLS, broadband or cellular connections.
In addition, SD-WAN can also facilitate the cable or wireless connection between the branch office and data centers.
And when there is a need to connect more remote locations to the network, the connection can be spun up quickly and more easily.
SD-WAN technology eliminates the need of installing expensive routing hardware. Instead, it provisions connectivity from a single location, such as the cloud or headquarters. It also ensures improved flexibility, letting you scale connectivity down and up as per your requirements.
Improving Performance
Not all network traffic carries the same importance to the organization. To answer this reality, companies can configure SD-WAN to prioritize network traffic components, ensuring that vital traffic like VoIP always has the bandwidth and is configured to run over the most reliable route at any point in time.
By delivering important applications through dependable, high-performance connections, you can minimize packet loss and latency concerns, improving productivity and keeping frustrating at bay.
SD-WAN also increases IT efficiency at your other business location as it enables automation and establishes dependable links for IoT projects.
Reducing WAN Costs
MPLS bandwidth is significantly more expensive than public internet bandwidth. However, the costs of MPLS aren’t just an outcome of significantly higher bandwidth charges. Installing an MPLS link can take a huge amount of time, whereas a properly configured SD-WAN installation can be completed in a very short period of time – and additional locations added with just a few clicks!
Time is money for all businesses and eliminating the WAN as a bottleneck can help give a big competitive advantage. SD-WAN can minimize ongoing operating expenses by switching from costly MPLS lines to commodity broadband like cable, DSL, fiber, and even mobile technologies.
Increasing WAN Agility
MPLS wasn’t made with agility in mind. But that’s not the case with SD-WAN, which was designed to maximize agility and flexibility.
By eliminating the hidden complexities of multiple transport systems and allowing for performance-based routing (PBR), SD-WAN lets enterprises meet the unique demands of cloud workloads. Like we have said before, the installation of MPLS can take a huge amount of time. With SD-WAN, the installation at new sites can be done within hours or days.
Likewise, it takes nearly a month to add bandwidth in many MPLS applications, while SD-WAN enables quick bandwidth provisioning at all sites.
Supporting Edge Computing
Another advantage is that SD-WAN can support Edge computing.
Edge computing is a distributed computing technology to deliver computation and data storage to the location where it is needed, which improves response times and conserves bandwidth usage.
With SD-WAN, important data at the edge can be kept at the branch office network—and less important data can be shifted to the cloud. This way, it leads to reduced latency, lower bandwidth usage, and improved reliability.
To learn more about how SD-WAN might improve your business operations while saving you money, as well, contact us for a 1-on-1 demo.
