As already proven, Pandemic accelerated the process of Digital Transformation for companies.
Covid-19 has forced several companies to shift their focus to launching new and expanded digital services to support a completely remote workforce and accelerate the transition to a new Cloud world. This entire process resulted in increased exposure to threats and compliance problems. That said, one of the major challenges facing companies has focused on protecting critical assets.
In order to resolve these issues, the new network model, the SD-WAN, emerges, which, defined by software, is the new approach to connectivity, reducing not only operational costs but also improving the use of resources in implementation with several locations. In this way, network administrators can use bandwidth effectively, ensuring a higher level of performance, without sacrificing data security or privacy.
The Wide Area Network defined by Software (SD-WAN) is, then, a type of computer network, which covers a wide geographic area, generally covering Local Area Networks (LANs), allowing the connection of multiple access resources to the Internet. Internet, from cables, mobile phones, or any other IP transport, with the purpose of providing high production and reliable data channels.
In turn, the traditional WAN was limited between the company, the branch, and the Data Center. As organizations adopted cloud-based services, in the form of SaaS / IaaS, the WAN architecture experienced an increase in traffic, which accesses these globally diverse applications. Consequently, employee productivity was affected, while WAN expenses increased, with the ineffective use of dedicated and backup circuits.
Thus, an SD-WAN, has a virtual WAN architecture, and software-oriented technology. The crucial element of this new technology is its centralized control, so that network connections, security mechanisms, among other services, are separated from the hardware to which it is associated.
As the Pandemic proved, for security reasons, communications between offices and, in particular, in hybrid work, must be carried out via VPN and channeled through the main office premises. For this, it is essential to have a high-power IP tunnel, which is secure for this data connection. This is where SD-WAN comes in, as it allows a high-speed IP communication framework between the main office and a head office, as well as between other branches, regardless of geographic area. Through this solution, the two devices form a transparent, high-speed data tunnel between them, which combines access resources on each side.
These solutions have been gaining more and more stage in organizations, as companies look for fast, scalable and flexible connectivity between different network environments, and they are also eager to reduce the total cost of ownership, preserving the user experience, characteristics of the SD-WAN. By betting on this software, the main objective is to increase business results. However, the advantages do not stop there:
Simplify Management
Once IT teams are able to automate the implementation, without interventions at a global level, through a single management interface, that is, the connectivity process is simplified, namely in mixed environments, including on-site, hybrids, and in clouds.
Improves User Experience
Since it allows optimal performance of applications in the Cloud and multiple clouds to users, anywhere. In the event of link failures or degradations, traffic is dynamically routed between dedicated circuits and secure Internet connections to provide a constant delivery of critical applications. Likewise, it increases user productivity, and also allows for the reduction of IT costs. Furthermore, remote users typically experience less network latency and faster connections when using Cloud/SaaS based applications.
Facilitates Accessibility
Enabling the connection of users, regardless of where they are, from the Data Center to the Cloud, with lower latency, better performance, and reliable connectivity. In this way, this technology traces the best path, which meets the ideal performance needs of a given device.
Increases Security
Because threat prevention is applied in the right place, providing distributed security across the enterprise. This means that data does not need to return to headquarters or the data center for added protection. Additionally, they encrypt WAN traffic as they change locations, segment the network, minimizing damage in case of a breach. SD-WANs can also help IT administrators detect attacks faster, allowing them to monitor the amount and types of traffic on a network. There is increased security because SD-WANs allow the use of VPNs.
Multicloud Readiness
There is positive management of these means. Multicloud focuses on selecting the best Cloud provider for each of the existing needs. SD-WAN, by complementing all automation features, has become the perfect solution for rapidly evolving cloud network innovations, as they alleviate the pressure of continuous implementation and management, ensuring a high, consistent, and secure level of performance for application users over any WAN infrastructure, anywhere and from any device.
Increased Agility
Since SD-WANs allow multiple connections, devices, and services to coexist with older infrastructure. Thus, companies are able to reduce implementation and configuration times. In fact, network agility was recently cited as one of the top reasons companies are adopting SD-WANs, according to an industry study.
As per the opinion of experts from International Data Corporation (IDC), the SD-WAN market will continue to grow, with a compound annual growth rate of 40.4%, reaching 4.5 billion dollars by next year.
If you don’t want to be left behind in the digital transformation, contact ActiveSys, which will help you throughout the process, advising you on the best path to take.