It’s the digital era. WAN (Wide Area Network) enabled branches and offices set across different locations to seamlessly exchange data and ensure customer-centric services. But the traditional WAN chokes when it comes to handling increased workloads and complex digital transmissions. The advent of SD-WAN thus provides competent handling of business-critical services through cloud computing.
Besides real-time data exchange, the avant-garde networking technology also promises utmost safety to customer data. Read through to know about the many benefits of SD-WAN.
Advantages Of SD-WAN
With changing times and ever-evolving technologies, businesses today are relying on the use of Software-as-a-service (SaaS) and infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) applications running in multiple clouds. Cloud technology is a boon for businesses as it eases management complexity, decreases data vulnerability, and enhances application performance. Listed below are ways in which SD-WAN can prove beneficial for your business.
Improves Application Experience
SD-WAN offers high availability backed with predictable service to all critical enterprise applications. One can enjoy multiple hybrid active links for all networks. With application-aware routing, the application traffic is routed more dynamically. This ensures efficient delivery and improves user experience manifold.
Improves Business’s Connectivity
SD-WAN technology is all about uncompromised connectivity. It enables its users to create a common network infrastructure that accommodates different internet connections. Moreover, by removing the routing hardware and bringing together the provisioning connectivity and services from the cloud on a common platform, it ensures improved connectivity. It also offers flexibility to scale up and down the connectivity according to your prerequisites.
Increased Security
The emerging Security Services Edge (SSE) solutions help an organisation attain secure and safe access to any cloud-based service or application via an edge appliance such as the 5G router as its access point. When an SD-WAN router is at the edge, it is possible to enable better network security features to vet users and prevent breaches in security. It also helps to segment traffic and improve network protection from malicious activities by providing edge-to-edge security.
Improved Network Agility
SD-WAN offers a flexible networking environment. It is competent to diversify the bandwidth access with the help of a local internet provider. It also adds newer sites more easily and quickly. The speed of any site can be increased anytime simply by adding another connection and upgrading the site licences.
Increased Responsiveness and Reliability
SD-WAN is a seamless extension of the WAN on multiple public clouds, implying real-time performance for all SaaS applications. This also optimises workflows for cloud platforms. Speed and links play a crucial role in data transfer. While the links must be undisturbed, the speed must be optimal. To achieve this, SD-WAN relies on direct internet connectivity to connect to cloud-based applications. This ensures simpler and consistent performance.
Reduced Operational Expenditure
Automated software configuration and self-managed protocols of SD-WAN reduce the dependence on external IT experts. Bringing new branches and locations to the SD-WAN network is now easy, effortless and time and cost-effective. As the SD-WAN network replaces the expensive Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) services with more cost-effective and flexible broadband, it reduces operating expenditures further.
Decongests Traffic Through Traffic Prioritisation
The level of criticality is different for different applications. Thus, the treatment plan varies. As critical business data requires higher quality data transfer, the infrastructure and performance have to match the expected pace. SD-WAN decongest traffic through traffic prioritisation. This implies that it selects the most appropriate routes for important applications. It identifies the congestion points much more quickly and diverts the traffic through less-utilised paths. This maintains high-quality data transfer throughout.
Centralised Management
SD-WAN is a policy-driven and centralised management network. It not just manages the traffic, but also monitors it. Its dynamic path selection allows traffic prioritisation which is controlled and audited by a centralised management plane. This reduces complexity and enables the management from a single zone. This helps track the application and improves its performance.
Includes IoT Technology Carefully
For organisations that have their branches spread across different locations, the SD-WAN solution offers the perfect network to bring them together. Using the best IoT (Internet of Things) enables careful management of all distributed networks efficiently. This increases ease of usability with an enhanced ability to integrate with the existing network without any hassle. It also intelligently handles traffic flows to accommodate the varied network conditions effortlessly.
SD-WAN and Unified Communications
In today’s digital world, connecting across different branches through voice and video is widely prevalent. To make this possible, optimum usage of bandwidth must be ensured. The SD-WAN consolidates with unified communication applications to reduce the jitter and latency.
Optimises Cloud Usage
With increasing web traffic, businesses are increasingly adopting cloud services. As SD-WAN enables direct cloud access by connecting with cloud-based applications, it ensures optimised cloud usage. This eliminates traffic backhauling as all routing is done through a data centre. Furthermore, by prioritising business-critical applications and allowing the offices to directly communicate to the Internet, SD-WAN plays a crucial role in improving cloud application performance.
Conclusion
SD-WAN is a relatively new technology in the networking interface. With 100% dependence on cloud-based applications, it seems to add worth to your business operations and digital interactions. Not to miss the utmost safety of your business-critical information transmitted on a real-time basis.
FAQs
Can SD-WAN reduce latency?
Yes, the SD-WAN network reduces latency and packet loss. This is done through a dynamic path selection algorithm. The SD-WAN solution chooses a better-performing Internet connection to route the real-time transport protocol (RTP) stream, reducing latency and packet loss.
Will SD-WAN improve the application experience?
SD-WAN offers predictable services to all critical-enterprise applications. It also offers multiple hybrid active links for all networks. When applications are routed depending upon their criticality, the application traffic routing is more dynamic. This improves the application experience manifold.
How does SD-WAN improve security?
The Security Services Edge (SSE) mechanism aids in attaining secure and safe access to all cloud-based services and applications. This is done via an edge appliance like the 5G router set as the access point. The SD-WAN router at the edge ensures better network security features. These are passed on to all users to prevent possible breaches in security. Edge-to-edge security further segments traffic and protects the network from malicious activities
How does SD-WAN decongest traffic?
The degree of criticality varies for applications. Therefore, the treatment plan also varies. When critical business data is transferred, the infrastructure and performance are lifted through traffic prioritisation, implying that the most appropriate routes are assigned to the most critical data. The SD-WAN network also identifies the congestion points much more quickly. The data traffic is thus diverted through less-utilised paths to maintain high-quality data transfer throughout.
How does SD-WAN route traffic?
The process of traffic routing in SD-WAN networks is policy-driven and automatic.