With the digital metamorphosis, the digital workplace is becoming an essential part of the company, with strong impacts on the infrastructures and the level of IT security of companies.
As a priority, the IT department must guarantee the reliability of the IT infrastructure in the service of users through agility, security and cost control. Traditional networks have weaknesses in these areas. SD-WAN represents an alternative with many advantages. 25% of enterprises will move to SD-WAN in the next two years, Gartner estimates.
Confronted with a transformation of working methods and tools, companies are strongly increasing their level of requirement towards enterprise networks. There are three main reasons for this:
– the digitalization of organizations,
– the increased mobility of employees,
– the massive use of the cloud.
The volume of data generated by cloud usage is exploding. The strategic role of data reinforces the requirement to offer a flawless network, without deteriorating performance or availability.
Enterprise bandwidth requirements are increasing by an average of 28% per year, according to Gartner.
Each year, the bandwidth bandwidth needs of enterprises increase by 28%.
The existing WAN infrastructure must be able to support the increase in bandwidth requirements, a direct consequence of new business uses. It must also be easy to administer in order to ensure that services are available to the business in a short time.
The network infrastructure must take into account the requirement of mobile workers to access company data through a secure connection established via wifi or mobile network. Data protection implies reinforced identity management and a controlled IS security policy. This includes encrypting information flows and making employees aware of cyber security.
The use of the cloud is very popular.
The emergence of the cloud has revisited the way we work. The “as a service” model provides access to advanced functionalities, delegated administration, guaranteed high availability and the OPEX financial model. The cloud makes it much easier to be mobile at work.
In this “cloud first” perspective, CIOs are obliged to rethink the operation and architecture of their WAN. The infrastructure must be able to absorb the additional bandwidth requirements as well as a satisfactory level of performance and security.
After IPsec (internet protocol security) and MPLS (multi protocol label switching), SD-WAN (software defined wide area network) is the third generation of wide area networks. It represents a major innovation for private enterprise networks.
Based on a software foundation, SD-WAN infrastructures allow to secure and control private networks and Internet access. Access links such as ADSL, SDSL, fiber, 4G or MPLS can be integrated into the WAN infrastructure. The flows are routed to the most suitable links. The routing of flows is done dynamically according to pre-established rules. These rules take into account security, cost and performance issues.
Each site within an organization can have its own routing capability. Flows to remote sites no longer have to pass through a main site. SD-WAN technology responds to the transformations taking place in organizations.
SD-WAN technology responds to the transformations taking place in organizations.
Optimization of the bandwidth.
An SD-WAN solution performs optimal link management to target the best possible bandwidth. It allows to aggregate links of various natures, and to route the flows dynamically towards these links according to their availability. The objective is to guarantee the security and performance of applications. The SD WAN ensures that traffic is directed to the various links based on their actual usage. With SD-WAN, the network becomes intelligent. In the end, SD-WAN brings a more reliable network, which mechanically reinforces the productivity of organizations.
Instead of investing in new links to cope with the surge in digital usage, SD-WAN optimizes the use of existing bandwidth. Indeed, the bandwidth of each link being mutualized, when the bandwidth of a link is saturated, the flows are automatically redirected to another link of the network. The use of links is thus optimized, and the operation of the network is fluid.
SD-WAN allows you to optimize the use of existing throughput.
In addition to the savings achieved through the optimization of data rates, the SD-WAN also allows the use of less expensive connections. Since the settings are dynamic, the network support is less stressed.
The SD-WAN infrastructure can be managed from a central controller for all locations. Administration includes management rules, routing and prioritization of flows for any site, in France or abroad – regardless of the operators involved. The activity monitoring gives the possibility to readjust the settings and to act on the security level in real time. As the needs of the organization change, so does the infrastructure.
With dynamic flow routing, intelligent link management and centralized network administration, SD-WAN provides optimized WAN management, limiting administration time. SD-WAN reduces setup time and the cost of infrastructure administration.
7 steps to a successful SD WAN migration. Download the Apixit white paper.
