Digital transformation is one of the top strategies many organizations are pursuing to increase their competitive edge. The pandemic forced a greater focus on digital transformation because the business world needed to move toward hybrid workforces as the workforce of the future.
SD-WAN solutions, cloud platforms, and IoT are the three key technologies that are making digital transformation work.
This blog discusses SD-WAN, and how SD-WAN deployment improves everything from application performance to internet traffic optimization for each branch office of a multi-location business.
What Are SD-WAN Services?
Software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) is critical if your business intent is to support network performance, streamline application traffic, and simplify network management.
The days when all networks operated within a data center and were accessed by users in branch offices using direct connections are gone.
Today, networks need to support communications from branch locations to the cloud, and from users located around a region or around the world to a variety of on-premise and cloud providers.
In addition, since so much of your business operations are digitized, you need your network to be fast and to operate uninterrupted 24/7/365. Until SD-WAN technology became available, that was a very difficult challenge.
How does SD-WAN work?
Unlike SD-WAN, traditional network-centric WAN connectivity models distribute control over all devices in the network and route traffic using TCP IP addresses and ACLs. Traditional WAN architecture combines rigidity with complexity, which is inefficient and doesn’t interface well with cloud platforms.
SD-WANs enable enterprise cloud services to offer superior applications to customers. Software-defined WAN can detect applications by automatically enabling centralized routing in the WAN (wide area network). The applications received under each category are assessed for appropriate QoS and security policies according largely to business intent and needs.
Benefits of SD-WAN
Here are some benefits of SD-WAN that make WAN optimization possible for modern businesses:
Software-Defined Networking
SD-WAN architecture adds a layer of intelligence for real-time visibility and control over network and application performance. You no longer need to worry about using broadband internet connections for keeping your business running.
Rather than using expensive hardware to route traffic, you’ll be able to provision connections and services from a single SD-WAN controller. SD-WAN technologies give you a virtualized network environment with the flexibility to scale your network operations to account for peak demands.
Configurable Network Connectivity
With SD-WAN, you’ll be able to set configuration policies that the software will use to select the type of WAN connections that are most appropriate for a particular type of communication.
For example, the resources required to run a video meeting can receive precedence over the delivery of an email. As a result, you can optimize the use of the network bandwidth you have available to save money, improve application performance, and provide better service.
Branch Office and Remote Work Support
SD-WAN solutions also give you the ability to allow users to connect with sensitive systems from anywhere, using any device. That type of flexibility and security is the foundation of the hybrid workforce.
The SD-WAN model offers those same benefits to enterprises with multiple branch offices. Using SD-WAN, your remote workers and employees at branch offices will feel as though they’re working from the same location – because they’ll have equivalent flexibility, wide area network performance, application performance, and security functions.
Secure WAN Connectivity
One of SD-WAN’s biggest advantages over a traditional WAN is that it increases network security. SD-WAN architecture integrates security into an application’s infrastructure to enable secure centralized management. SD-WAN allows organizations to securely connect users in a way that isn’t possible with traditional WAN architecture.
Public or Private Clouds Plus SD-WAN
The need to quickly integrate cloud services into SD-WANs is a big motivator for adoption in the global SD-WAN market.
There are several trends that contribute to the growth in use of SD-WAN products, such as the increased use of container and cloud-based applications that have access to network edge devices.
Customers are increasingly looking for solutions for integrating cloud and storage in a data center, and SD-WAN addresses that need.
SD-WAN vs. MPLS
SD-WAN enables management of WAN traffic within networks. Typical networking technologies can be used in branch operations to retrieve network traffic or get backhaul. Backhaul traffic reduces application performance, causing poor productivity and user experiences.
While MPLS networks are known for reliability and security, they’re also costly. Businesses deploy SD-WAN to simplify network management, improve WAN performance, and route application traffic more intelligently, no matter how many branch offices are involved.
Turn To Momentum for Award-Winning SD-WAN Solutions
Momentum offers Navigator SD-WAN powered by Juniper Networks as our flagship SD-WAN service. We provide our customers with a variety of benefits, including:
- Simplified network infrastructure that runs on universal CPE hardware
- Network bandwidth savings due to tunnel-free SD-WAN
- Ironclad network security to protect even your most sensitive business data
- A path of last resort using 4G/LTE uplinks to ensure your network is always accessible
- Upgrades to your voice capabilities without expensive truck rolls
Experience the Momentum Difference for Yourself
At Momentum, we meet and exceed our customers’ expectations in all areas of service and support. We call this the Momentum Difference. Trust Momentum to deliver:
- Measurable voice quality to improve performance and enhance the customer experience
- Advanced services using the latest technologies
- Superior customer support
If you’re ready to explore SD-WAN solutions for your digital transformation, Momentum can be your guide. Contact us today to get started.
