Optimizing your network with SD-WAN? Here's what you need to know

What is SD-WAN?

SD-WAN (software-defined wide area network) is a technology for managing wide area networks (networks with connections distributed over a large area). SD-WAN simplifies the management of a WAN by decoupling network hardware from the operating system. With SD-WAN, you actually lay an intelligent software layer over the existing network, including the connections between different branches that are physically a long way apart.

Traditional WAN architectures were limited to an enterprise, a specific branch office or a data center. Such a setup no longer works when an organization moves to cloud applications such as SaaS and IaaS on a serious scale. In fact, you then have to deal with an explosion of data and Internet traffic toward globally distributed applications.

The 7 benefits of SD-WAN

SD-WAN has a number of significant advantages over traditional network architectures. We list the most important ones.

1. Flexibility and scalability

SD-WAN offers a high degree of flexibility and scalability. You can more easily add new locations to the network, adjust network settings based on current needs, and flexibly and securely add new applications to your network.

2. Improved network performance

SD-WAN uses intelligent, application- and application-specific routing. This ensures that business-critical applications are prioritized. SD-WAN also recognizes which available connection is the most stable and sends data preferentially over that connection. Thus, the user always benefits from the best available connections.

3. Cost savings

With SD-WAN, you do not need to build expensive MPLS lines and you need less hardware. This allows you to save on IT expenses. Because SD-WAN automatically chooses the best connection and optimizes bandwidth usage, you also don't lose money and time due to data transmission delays.

4. Centralized network management

SD-WAN is designed to manage the entire network and is controlled from a central management system. You benefit from one central dashboard in the cloud from which you manage and monitor all aspects of your cloud, WAN and security. The result? More overview and a simplification of network management. This not only saves time and work, but also makes it easier to notice network problems and security incidents earlier and resolve them faster. 

5. Reliability and redundancy

By making multiple connections available and flexibly switching between these options, SD-WAN ensures greater reliability and good failover capabilities (for example, via a mobile backup connection). In addition to Internet access, the underlying network can consist of a private network, such as an Ethernet VPN, without using the public Internet. This allows internal, sensitive information flows to be reliably transported within the private domain.

6. Better security

SD-WAN offers a host of options for increasing security within your network. Examples include end-to-end network segmentation, secure traffic in the cloud and over your Internet connections, real-time access control, integrated threat protection at the right location and distribution of security applications to different branches and endpoints.

7. A better user experience

With SD-WAN, you get applications up and running faster. You don't have to spend a lot of time and money on establishing an expensive connection first. Moreover, application users can invariably count on constant and predictable performance.

Applications of SD-WAN

SD-WAN offers solutions in various business situations and sectors. Examples include:

• Mobile and distributed work environments. SD-WAN makes it easier to connect separate business locations to the internal network by connecting to the internal network via an open Internet connection. All without additional hardware.
• Cloud integrations. Because you have the freedom to choose between multiple (secure) connectivity routes, SD-WAN is ideal for connecting different cloud environments. Especially organizations that work intensively with cloud applications and have a lot of data traffic and multiple sites (large retailers, schools, healthcare institutions, transportation companies) really can't do without a solution like Secure SD-WAN (the extra secure variant of SD-WAN). The reason? Controlling all those data flows is complicated and poses security risks.  
• Advanced security. SD-WAN has several built-in security features in terms of data protection and network monitoring. Moreover, the technology is excellent to combine with a wide range of different security tools.

Considerations for implementing SD-WAN

When considering SD-WAN for your organization, there are a number of factors to consider. The most important are:

• Integration with your existing infrastructure. It is important to carefully map out in advance how you will combine SD-WAN with existing networks without major disruptions.
• Management and monitoring. SD-WAN provides comprehensive management tools to monitor and adjust network traffic. Which of these digital tools will you deploy and how will you use them in the best and most efficient way?
• Partner with a trusted provider. Partner with a provider that is knowledgeable about SD-WAN and specializes in delivering smart and modern connectivity solutions. Examples include Eurofiber, Fortinet and Telindus.

Discover the power of SD-WAN

As you can see, SD-WAN has several potential benefits. The technology has the ability to make your network faster, more responsive, more flexible, more secure, more manageable and more stable. So it's definitely worth exploring the possibilities SD-WAN offers for your organization.

About Eurofiber

As a specialist in smart and complete connectivity solutions, Eurofiber Belgium is happy to help you with this. We offer SD-WAN in collaboration with our partner ecosystem, leading to a solution that is reliable, secure and fast. So you get a grip on your data flows and benefit from high-level connectivity and network management.