How SD-WAN Supports an Anywhere Operational Workforce
SD-WAN is one tool that can support a workforce that is working from anywhere.
For 40% of professionals, digital tools have become extremely important to productivity and effectiveness since the pandemic, reporting they’ve used technology or the internet in new or different ways. New requirements for a hybrid or remote workforce call for a better, stronger, and even more reliable network connection to drive success in a remote business environment. Global enterprises are challenged to better equip their workforces with the tools required to work efficiently and remain productive. Salim Khouri, director of global solutions engineers at Expereo, outlines how SD-WAN is one tool that can support a workforce that is working from anywhere.
In a post-pandemic world, hybrid work has become a major part of most employees’ work schedules. This has brought on many challenges from a technology perspective for many enterprises – why? These new working environments require networks to be better and more reliable in order to allow employees to remain productive. The problem for many IT leaders is not a lack of options but too many to choose from.
Among the many acronym-defined options available to IT leaders such as chief information or technology officers (CIO/CTOs) for enterprise global connectivity, software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) has emerged as an ideal internet solution for enterprises due to the key benefits SD-WAN offers: outstanding performance regardless of location and reach built-in data protection and cost-effectiveness. These benefits come from how SD-WAN works; the virtual aspect of the WAN architecture means that software – not manual controllers – is managing network connectivity.
Particularly suited for providing high-quality connectivity to employees, customers, and clients across the globe, SD-WAN delivers the technology components and configuarbility tools that CIOs often look for to keep their globally dispersed constituents connected to critical online tools and services – while also enjoying reasonable costs.
Unlocking Connectivity Capabilities with SD-WAN
Operationally, SD-WAN elevates a previously manually configured system to the next level by allowing users to layer numerous connectivity capabilities. Among them:
- Automation of deployed network services with zero or minimal touch points or outside interventions
- Access to pre-screened connectivity partners that offer additional levels of trust, security, 24/7 monitoring, and optimized performance
- Connectivity for end users in all locations, regardless of national, regional, or global barriers, country-specific regulations, and last-mile access
- Ability to configure and reconfigure the network’s partners and pathways as connectivity needs to change and evolve
- Cost-efficient options that will meet the team’s requirements for high performance, minimal disruptions, congestion, and continual monitoring and maintenance
See More: The Past, Present and Future of SD-WAN
What Defines SD-WAN’s Value?
In their search for connectivity, CIOs and CTOs consider many options, each with its capabilities and features. So what are the options, and what makes SD-WAN a unique choice?
Virtual private networks (VPNs) are operated in-house and on-prem – but are subject to the whims of external forces, as many VPN managers discovered during the COVID-19 pandemic. When millions of global workers began logging into company networks and accessing applications from home, many VPN appliances were overloaded because of an exponential increase in traffic and network demand. This lead to sluggish performance and poor interfacing for most users.
Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) supports global internet connectivity, but enterprises that contract for such Wide-Area Network (WAN) services often struggle to scale those offerings. Again, this became a problem during the pandemic when enterprises could not easily grow their networks in the face of surging Internet traffic.
And finally, SD-WAN, which offers enterprises a solid middle ground between traditional VPNs and MPLS and the Internet-centric cloud systems many organizations are rapidly moving to. SD-WAN gives enterprise technology leaders consistent performance by automating user traffic through a simplified WAN architecture. And due to the software that powers SD-WAN, this tool is easy to scale – up or down – which has been a powerful tool as workforces are increasingly spread across the globe.
Software’s Power in Improving Connectivity
As every CIO knows, the broad power of the Internet is only as good as any of the middle connectivity providers. SD-WAN’s unique role in the connectivity marketplace is its reliance on software-defined networking to route information on public internet infrastructure. Companies that partner with SD-WAN providers experience an easy-to-configure connectivity solution that optimizes information transfers from one place to another.
Through SD-WAN capabilities, delivery of data across networks to a final destination can be further optimized by re-routing portions of end-user traffic through well-managed middle-mile networks. Additionally, SD-WAN can identify pain points in your network and avoid them, accelerating the end-user experience. This capability is particularly valuable for two types of enterprises:
- Those that rely on or serve employees and clients and/or partners in very remote locations where connectivity options might be limited or costly – or both
- Those that operate in areas where massive amounts of traffic and congestion define available connectivity.
The Power of Partnerships
SD-WAN connectivity can overcome the challenges of connectivity slowdowns or endpoint delivery, known as middle-mile or final-mile optimization.
An SD-WAN partner brings to the table pre-existing agreements with internet providers for priority access to busy or difficult-to-access networks. Utilizing a partner spare CIOs, CTOs, and technical support teams, the time and complexity of ensuring sure data is delivered seamlessly throughout the network, from beginning to end. SD-WAN frameworks also keep the CIO and CTO updated on network performance, including service delivery, up-time/outages, capacity, and planning.
The Enlightened CIO’s Approach to Connectivity
To use a familiar travel metaphor, think of the global internet as a roadway system. SD-WAN emerges from the breadth of connectivity options as the equivalent of the high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane on a busy, congested highway. HOV lanes are pre-defined, speeds are usually faster, and users benefit from more with convenience, speed, and peace of mind as a result. In this “lane,” they are confident that they are more likely than other drivers to reach their destination faster and with the fewest hassles along the way.
The CIO’s connectivity goal is? Optimal performance, enhanced data security, and manageable costs for an online pipeline that supports and protects the enterprise and all users, regardless of location.
SD-WAN is a particularly valuable option for CIOs interested in cost-effective connectivity performance and dependability. It delivers value, flexibility, and ongoing configurability, key assets that enable the enterprise to change as the internet and the needs of its employees, customers and clients change. And especially for CIOs looking to quickly connect a global workforce, SD-WAN can be a powerful and effective tool for them to capitalize upon.
How are you making the most of SD-WAN as a tool for smarter connectivity? Share with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
MORE ON SD-WAN:
- How to Get SD-WAN Security Right?
- How To Make Networks Ready for a Cloud-First Era With SD-WAN
- 3 Reasons Why the Next Evolution of SD-WAN Will Be Tunnel-Free
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