Ease of deployment, central manageability, reduced costs, and superior remote connectivity. SD-WAN is paving the way for a new kind of network that intelligently adapts to new challenges and changing conditions.
Technology is rapidly evolving, and so are business needs. Technology plays a crucial role in a business’ ability to retain and increase customers and progress with the ever changing market. But then 2020 happened. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought new challenges to businesses, reshaped how and where businesses operate, and brought a sense of urgency to speed up digital transformation.
Digital transformation matters for every business—big or small. It is a necessary change in order to remain competitive and relevant in a rapidly evolving digital space, and above all, survive during unprecedented times. In the wake of the pandemic, business operations were disrupted to varying degrees, and plans to move forward were derailed. While some businesses fared better than others, many were battered, and some were down but not out. And those who remained resilient responded quickly by pushing for digital transformation through investment in technologies such as IoT, AI, blockchain, and the cloud; carrying out several business operations digitally; and embracing the hybrid work model.
The global business community understands that adapting to a post-COVID era calls for uninterrupted and secure connectivity anytime, anywhere, which means a more agile networking capability and a better user experience. To remain competitive, businesses need to be more agile. And business agility depends on IT agility. All these requirements demand more than just router-based systems. It requires SD-WAN.
SD-WAN explained: What is Software-Defined Wan?
A Software-defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) is a software-defined approach to overcome the limitations of traditional WANs. It is an overlay network technology upgrade or update to traditional WAN technologies for better networking agility, centralised configuration, and greater acuity to manage the traffic traversing the WAN. It is designed to address the changing use of enterprise networks due to the growth of cloud computing and mobile devices.
SD-WAN is an exciting technology, considered by experts as the way forward for enterprises. In contract to traditional WAN architecture, the SD-WAN is designed to provide a superior network connectivity experience that simplifies business operations in multiple locations while also securing all business resources from client to employee to cloud.
SD-WAN solution has the following key features:
- Supports multiple connection types-MPLS, Internet, LTE, etc.
- Allows dynamic path selection across WAN selections.
- Simple yet intuitive administration workflows
- VPN and other third-party services are supported.
- Automates orchestration and cloud-based management.
- Provides more comprehensive, end-to-end security capabilities.
Business and industry-specific use cases that leverage SD-WAN
1. Improve business resilience by securing access to branch office networks.
You can keep your branch and remote offices running with remote workers from various locations always connected securely and uninterruptedly. There is no need to backhaul internet traffic to a datacenter or procure stand-alone cloud security solutions. SD-WAN’s end-to-end security and network capabilities and ease of deployment ensure business continuity with much less friction.
2. Optimise global connectivity through efficient payload segregation
You can dynamically route time-sensitive applications over IPVPN while SaaS applications can be directed over the internet for better application performance and an improved user experience. SD-WAN lets you implement management policies aligned with your business needs. This can be done by prioritising traffic and using bandwidth more efficiently while maintaining reliability for priority apps without congesting the corporate network and ensuring all your branch sites operate efficiently.
3. Enhance application performance and collaboration within a secured and unified network fabric
You can seamlessly support all users who require remote access with performance and security requirements that vary by applications, users, and locations. SD-WAN solutions are designed to serve a specific need and optimise traffic to all critical applications, which enables intuitive workflow.
4. Centralise policy control to simplify WAN automation and deployment
You can set up and implement site-based policies centrally. Security is a top business priority. SD-WAN enables you to instantly scale and route unified communications traffic over high-capacity circuits, deploy network segmentation rules, and monitor and troubleshoot performance issues across your network without compromising security or performance.
Common SD-WAN misconceptions
As businesses require higher levels of control, visibility, and security, SD-WAN offers broader capabilities and advantages, such as the ones mentioned above. Some businesses have switched to SD-WAN because WAN connections can be slow and unreliable at times. But while SD-WAN is totally changing the rules of business by promising to deliver the agility and flexibility needed to improve collaboration, accelerate innovation, and provide consistent quality service for customers, others remain skeptical because of a few misconceptions surrounding the technology and its use cases.
Let’s set the record straight on four of the most common SD-WAN misconceptions.
1. All SD-WAN solutions are the same.
Not all SD-WANs are created equal. For instance, basic SD-WAN solutions provide zero-touch provisioning and can direct traffic on an application basis down a single path. On the contrary, advanced SD-WAN solutions have the ability to use multiple forms of WAN transport simultaneously. It can intelligently monitor and manage all subordinate transport services. Basically, you still need to select which deployment model fits your needs. SD-WAN solutions vary among vendors in terms of cost, cloud access, and reliability, just to name a few.
2. You don’t need SD-WAN. The Internet is good enough.
While this is certainly possible for some applications and the type of business, take note that you cannot rely on broadband connections alone, especially for applications such as voice that require stability. While it’s true that SD-WAN delivers its promised performance by taking advantage of the inexpensive public Internet, SD-WAN-orchestrated Internet connections do have the ability to optimise performance.
3. SD-WAN will replace existing network links like MPLS.
SD-WAN and MPLS are complementary technologies and can coexist in a hybrid WAN architecture. SD-WAN is an overlay technology; thus an underlay network access, such as MPLS, broadband or Ethernet, is still necessary. What SD-WAN does is to ensure that your most important applications always get the best treatment. In reality, SD-WAN is just software without a network connected to it.
4. SD-WAN is way too expensive and just an extra spending.
SD-WAN does not require purchasing expensive hardware like routers and switches to perform network management functions. Compared to an MPLS deployment, SD-WAN allows businesses to use premium connections when needed and low-cost internet connectivity for non-critical applications. SD-WAN reduces costs by providing optimised, multi-point connectivity to give users—whether from the network or the cloud—secure, local access to the services or applications they need.
Telstra SD-WAN: Making SD-WAN work for you
SD-WAN is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Each organisation – large and small, in different industries and locations, has a unique network that requires a unique set of services. Telstra SD-WAN can help you get the most out of your SD-WAN implementation and explore a range of possible solutions unique to your business’ demands.
Why Telstra for SD-WAN
- Business-led SD-WAN implementation
- End-to-end existing network optimisation
- SD-everything enabler in one complete solution.
- Expert and capable partners to meet your SDN requirements.
- Leading carriage provider with one of the most extensive IPVPN networks.
How do you benefit
Azentro’s network connectivity solutions consolidate your most important data and communications into one secure and accessible place. Leveraging Telstra’s wide range of network solutions, Telstra SD-WAN can simplify your network operations and enhance your secure connectivity so you can seamlessly transition to today’s cloud-centric business environment.
- Reduced network downtime.
- Simplified and streamlined network management.
- Greater visibility and control on application performance and routing options.
- Efficient use of existing bandwidth.
- Improved application performance across your enterprise network.
- Enhanced end-user experience.
Embrace simplified and flexible networking with Telstra SD-WAN. Ask HexicorToday!
SD-WAN: The way forward
Technology is evolving, and so is the digital transformation of businesses. As organisations adapt to present-day challenges while preparing for the future, SD-WAN technology meets the demands that a traditional router-centric model couldn’t by offering superior flexibility, security, and agility. SD-WAN solutions can deliver the best and most consistent end-user quality of experience (QoEx) for cloud-hosted applications without compromising security.
Does your business or oganisation need SD-WAN?
- is your business growing and needs to be setup quickly and seamlessly?
- is your company vulnerable to internet outages and experiencing network problems?
- do you need to increase the number of cloud applications or services you use?
- do you have remote employees that require high-quality and uninterrupted connectivity?
- do you need to improve the security
If you think SD-WAN solution fits your organisation’s needs, we encourage you to dive deeper. Talk to an expert today to help you make an informed decision.
Check out Hexicoor’s Data & Networks Solutions for more great resources on how SD-WAN can benefit your business and organisation.
