At Succurri, our technicians answer questions like “What is SD Wan,” and how does it work?” whenever we conduct an IT assessment. SD-WAN technology can improve user experience, application performance, and enterprise security. We will outline how in this explainer.
How Does SD-WAN Work?
An SD-WAN solution stands for a software-defined area network, which are internet connections that rely more heavily on programs instead of ethernet hardware to transport internet data over enormous geographical distances. It is popular among small to mid-sized businesses for being cheaper than competing products for large-scale corporations, allowing them to access and combine a broad range of commercial and consumer-grade tools to improve network security and stability while minimizing costs.
SD-WAN solutions can utilize multiple broadband connections, Wi-Fi, multiprotocol label switching, and virtual private networks or VPNs to allow employees and executives to work remotely from anywhere in the world.
A custom-built program will track the performance of all wide-area-network connections and intelligently reduce or increase bandwidth to users who need it the most. For example, your video editing team might require higher internet speeds than your bookkeeping department. An SD-WAN solution will optimize your intranet bandwidth allocations to ensure they get it.
SD-WAN eliminates the need for network engineers to write policies and rules manually to direct data flow.
What Are the Benefits of SD Wan?
An essential part of answering the question, “What is SD Wan?” is discussing its numerous benefits. Here are four of them:
Simplicity
Implementing a traditional WAN will require building a network of routers that will physically connect different branches of your business to a data center, where employees can access the applications they need to do work. An SD-WAN solution features a software-defined controller that lives inside the cloud, requiring no leased lines, dedicated wiring, network boxes, and long-distance circuits.
Better Application Experience
An SD-WAN solution will intelligently reduce the risk of having overloaded servers, lack of backups, and unreliable internet speeds. According to research from Faction, over 92% of business organizations in America are adopting a hybrid or 100% cloud infrastructure, moving their business process to the internet instead of hosting them locally.
Lowered Costs
A next-generation SD-WAN solution will reduce operating costs by eliminating the human component in your web infrastructure, minimizing the margin for error, and making data-oriented transactions faster.
More Security
SD-WAN security features centralized cloud-based controllers that allow business owners to deploy and enforce new security policies as the enterprise scales, changes, and hosts new applications.
In What Ways Does SD-WAN Support Network Security?
One of the most sought-after benefits of SD-WAN solutions is its amenability to modifications as businesses grow and change, making data exchanges between employees, customers, and even one data center to another more secure and speedy. As mentioned above, an SD-WAN solution will have a cloud-based controller, which allows businesses to detect, track, and respond to security threats without affecting other network activities. You can block, filter, and redirect malicious website traffic and eliminate requests from known perpetrators.
An SD-WAN solution will also port video, audio, and streaming traffic into high-bandwidth and low-latency links. This separation enables you and your network engineers to exchange data through faster and more secure lines that viruses and hackers can not influence. Zero-touch provisioning allows your IT team to create new virtual locations and add links to physical branches in seconds, distributing new security policies to thousands of devices that share a connection with your SD-WAN.
Business-related programs like Office 365, CRM systems, and SAP S/4HANA Cloud can run under user-defined security policies with an SD-WAN. If a malicious actor exploits a vulnerability within one of these programs, your network team can immediately update security measures and save you from data loss.
Contact Us About SD-WAN Services Today
If you’re still asking, “What is SD Wan?” and how it can benefit your business, contact our technicians at Succurri by dialing 206-340-1616 and receive a free consultation. We will simplify your business processes, improve your operating speeds, and upgrade your network security.
