As the needs of businesses change, they require more sophisticated networking solutions that are faster, more agile, and most importantly, secure. This translates to a rapidly evolving network infrastructure market which is led by SD-WAN.
According to research from IDC, SD-WAN technology is poised to grow at a compound annual rate of just over 30% to reach a market of $5.25 billion by 2023. As traditional WAN technologies struggle to meet the productivity demands of today’s cloud-first business market, SD-WAN is increasingly becoming the go-to for technology leaders. In addition to the simplicity and visibility provided by a virtual network, there are multiple benefits that SD-WAN provides.
In this blog, we explore SD-WAN’s advanced capabilities that make it the go-to solution for network architecture in the coming years.
Although implementation of SD-WAN may require a significant initial investment, the features of the technology allow for greater cost control and long-term savings over time. Additionally, with the innate flexibility of SD-WAN, you can utilize less expensive connections, such as internet or LTE.
Additionally, SD-WAN can provide network engineers with the ability to isolate security breaches by segmenting data flow. This means if a cyberattack takes place, an IT manager can segment that breach by isolating it to a particular device or network group, thus preventing it from spreading to the rest of the organization.
Additionally, SD-WAN can provide network engineers with the ability to isolate security breaches by segmenting data flow. This means if a cyberattack takes place, an IT manager can segment that breach by isolating it to a particular device or network group, thus preventing it from spreading to the rest of the organization.
Think of it like a highway – where trucks are assigned the right lane and cars are assigned the left. They are only allowed to travel in the assigned lane no matter the traffic conditions. This wouldn’t really make sense during office hours where there are less cars, but trucks still can’t use their lane, resulting in a traffic jam – think of this as traditional WAN. Alternatively, if these rules were removed and vehicles were allowed to flow in both lanes, traffic would be able to move faster and more efficiently. This is the kind of flexibility that the dynamic decision-making capability of SD-WAN provides.
The nature of public WAN means that the data being shared is vulnerable to being accessed by ISPs or even hackers. In other words, public WAN isn’t very secure. Private WAN allows organizations to better secure their data and communicate between sites without any intrusion from external entities. Thanks to SD-WAN, security levels of private WAN can be achieved on public WAN infrastructure, thus increasing security.
However, not all SD-WAN solutions are created equal – some (like Fortinet’s) come with advanced features and provide better overall performance. An example of this is the advanced firewall capability provided by Fortinet’s SD-WAN solution that increases the security of Cloud communications from branch sites.
With a rapidly evolving workplace comes increased complexity. Digital transformation requires implementation of new technology that boosts connectivity and productivity, increasing the complexity on networks. With traditional WAN, organizations stand the risk of poor network performance and overworked IT teams. SD-WAN can help businesses lighten the load with greater control over their WAN infrastructure. The centralized control capabilities of SD-WAN allow for automated monitoring, traffic management (as mentioned above), and offloading non-critical business applications.
As organizations expand, so too do their connectivity requirements. With a growing network and the limits placed on connectivity by standard WAN technology, software-based WAN is the next step in networking. The features described above can put you as an IT Manager or business owner on the forefront of technology.
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