What is SD-WAN and what are the benefits?

What is SD-WAN?

A Wide Area Network (WAN) is a connection between two local networks. Software-Defined (SD) WAN means that the WAN is managed through software or programming.

What are the benefits of SD-WAN?

The short story is SD-WAN enhances agility, and it’s easy to deploy. SD-WAN networks can be quickly updated to suit the business as its needs change. Add five locations, no problem. Your IT team configures the devices and sends them out to target locations. It’s also easy to deploy since network equipment can be pre-configured and then plugged in for access. 

Why is SD-WAN better than other solutions?

Ease and efficiency add up to cost savings. SD-WAN allows businesses to get rid of expensive MPLS circuits as devices automatically create secure virtual private network (VPN) tunnels to other devices once brought online. This makes getting remote access to corporate resources much faster than with traditional methods.

What problem does SD-WAN solve?

Traditional solutions like MPLS route traffic to a corporate hub for security and then push back to the remote locations, which causes application performance issues and delays. SD-WAN gets it all done securely without all the time-wasting.

Why is SD-WAN beneficial for remote workers?

A home-based employee can get their equipment powered up and access corporate networks without direct IT assistance. Plus, their applications work better without all the lag time.

What’s cool about SD-WAN?

An SD-WAN network for business isn’t a static data pipeline. The system can analyze and learn from traffic patterns to optimize application performance. You have enhanced visibility into your network in multiple locations and can see bandwidth usage. That also means you can prioritize and control applications for optimization. It’s flexible, so you can easily add bandwidth and locations.