No business has ever enjoyed the benefits of a static, digital landscape that allows them to grow and evolve in their own time. Each and every organization is driven by external pressures and opportunities, and all are at the mercy of rapid technological shifts. The latest shift, which can be broadly described as Digital Transformation, is well underway, and businesses of all shapes and sizes are working hard to adapt and take advantage of it to the best they can. One of the most critical aspects of any digital transformation strategy is, of course, cloud adoption.
Moving operations onto the cloud allows for greater security, higher productivity, less downtime and a much more agile workforce. Most businesses have been working toward this new online status quo gradually, but events in 2020 have understandably made digital transformation a much more immediate priority. The problem is, many businesses are still networking with traditional WAN architecture, and it’s simply not designed to work well with modern applications and their more efficient models of data consumption. This can result in poor performance and a frustrating user experience, leaving many organizations feeling jaded about the purported benefits of cloud adoption.
This is where SD-WAN comes in, just as organizations around the world are beginning to realise its potential.
Traditional WAN architecture was never really designed for the cloud. For that reason, they’re often quite cumbersome, having to backhaul cloud-destined traffic from remote branches to a central hub in order to distribute it securely and effectively. This was fine back in the 90’s and early 00’s, when networking itself was a novelty that many businesses were adapting to, but in the always-on, always-connected digital age of the internet, backhauling data simply won’t cut it. Modern SaaS (software as a service) applications are designed to be much more nimble with far more efficient consumption methods than older installed applications. But in order for SaaS to truly shine, it needs a modern internet-centric network solution - SD-WAN.
SD-WAN, or Software Defined Wide Area Networking can steer traffic and adjust bandwidth on the fly, ensuring that applications that are in demand always have the resource they need, when they need it. It acts as a secured overlay for an existing MPLS network, and can leverage the benefits of much faster, less costly Internet access without having to uproot everything from the ground up. It’s a cloud-first approach that prioritizes applications and puts user experience above all else, and has some very clear advantages for organizations.
First, it makes connectivity far more reliable. By removing the bottleneck issues associated with backhauling data on traditional WAN architectures, SD-WAN allows businesses to “supercharge” their network, making it more secure and resilient. A secure overlay provided by SD-WAN can even combine a mixture of broadband, LTE and MPLS circuits to virtually eliminate the fear of network outages, all the while allowing seamless upgrades and updates to the underlay supporting it.
Second, configuration and maintenance are made effortlessly simple when compared with traditional WAN. By allowing centralized management and full orchestration of resources at scale, SD-WAN gives organizations the global consistency that many have been lacking for years. This also lends itself well to agility, allowing businesses to accommodate traffic of all kinds without compromising on the overall performance of the network.
Third, and perhaps most importantly, is the improved QoE (quality of experience) that SD-WAN brings to the table. Modern applications with contemporary methods of consumption thrive on an internet-centric network, allowing them to reach their full potential with SD-WAN. SD-WAN also enables the enterprise to prioritize specific applications and critical tasks, and better manage allocated bandwidth accordingly. This results in staff always having access to the software and tools they need at that moment, wherever they are, without experiencing any slowdown, downtime or other QoE annoyances.
For business leaders, the message is clear. In order to effectively move the needle on digital transformation strategy and truly leverage everything that modern, cloud-based applications have to offer, they need to address network connectivity. Consider network connectivity as the very foundation upon which the rest of your agile work environment will be built, and not only will you future-proof your organization, you’ll also enjoy a plethora of new efficiencies and an excellent return on investment.
