By today's standards, if you’re not connected, you’re disconnected. For businesses with a strong digital workplace strategy, employees need to be fully immersed, and fully connected. That means secure access to the company network from a laptop, tablet or smartphone -- from the office, the beach or another country. Add team collaboration to the mix and being connected is even more critical; with authorized access to data, information, co-workers, customers and suppliers to get things done.
Cloud computing is on the rise, and more organizations are moving toward cloud apps and services, which means IT departments must establish ways to access these applications through a myriad of user devices and connections. Let’s talk about why SD-WAN is a smart solution.
The shift from WAN to SD-WAN
Traditionally, WANs (wide-area networks) are used, requiring leased lines or multi-protocol label switching (MPLS). But with evolving enterprise requirements, and rising costs, this is becoming an outdated method.
SD-WAN (Software Defined Wide Area Network) is a relatively new technology allowing the enterprise to connect branches and staff regardless of geographic location. From a cost standpoint, SD-WAN is more affordable than traditional connections, because there are no hardware requirements and no installation costs either. What’s more, traffic management is shifted to software instead of physical utilities and appliances, offering greater scalability.
Advantages of SD-WAN Connectivity
- Simplicity Opening up a new branch with an SD-WAN in place means all you need is a broadband internet connection; allowing you to be up and running and connected to the rest of the organization quickly.
- Security The ability to keep data and networks secure is always top of mind. With SD-WAN connectivity you can rest assured users, connected devices, application usage and all traffic are secure.
- Reliability Although MPLS (multi-protocol label switching) providers will say they are more reliable, SD-WAN is reliable too; providing faster response times with reduced latency. And because SD-WAN can accommodate various connections, you can easily switch from one to another if need be.
- Flexibility With SD-WAN on the rise, you don’t have to kick your traditional infrastructure to the curb. A hybrid infrastructure allows for ease of integration and secure device connectivity without having to worry about compatibility challenges.
Cisco’s SD-WAN allows you to secure connectivity and protect both users and devices, without compromising user experience. It also enables your IT team to achieve desired results more easily and improves many of the day-to-day challenges they may encounter with traditional technologies. SD-WAN advantages include:
- Simplifying threat prevention with the shortest time to threat detection.
- Reducing operational and capital expenditures
- Minimizing the work involved to add locations, devices, and apps
- Getting intent-based networking to automate app assurance and business insights
Cisco SD-WAN security allows you to virtually transform the branch with new DIA (Direct Internet Access) breakouts at multiple locations for improved security, better performance, ease-of-use, and cost savings. Other technologies are difficult to manage, costly, and offer limited control and advanced security.
If you’d like to learn more about SD-WAN, we’re the experts! Contact us today for a complimentary consultation.