6 Benefits of SD-WAN for Business

SD-WAN is a scalable and cost-effective network solution.

Articles published November 15, 2017 by Jack Kapustka

How does your organization currently manage and monitor its network traffic? How do you connect all your office branches on one network?

In the past, to connect multiple office locations on one Wide Area Network (WAN) would require the installation (and maintenance) of hardware in each location. This method proved to be both laborious and costly.

Enter the Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) solution. Compared to a traditional WAN, an SD-WAN solution can still manage and monitor network traffic and keep all locations connected on a single network, but it also provides additional business benefits.

But first, a better understanding of what SD-WAN is and how it works.

What is SD-WAN?

As the name implies, SD-WAN relies on software, rather than hardware to connect a network. This unique approach uses both WAN and broadband connections to find the best path for data. An SD-WAN solution measures the traffic and selects the best route for each data packet in real-time.

SD-WAN provides a more efficient way for organizations to route traffic to remote locations and multiple offices, along with the ability to monitor and manage network traffic. With SD-WAN, organizations can connect all of their offices to a central network in the cloud, which gives them more control and flexibility among other benefits.

SD-WAN Benefits

Here are six key business benefits of implementing an SD-WAN solution.

1. Improved Application Performance

Efficient application performance is an essential part of doing business. Your software and systems require the right amount of bandwidth as well as reliable internet connectivity. SD-WAN solutions allow prioritization of your data traffic, like voice and video, so your business-critical applications receive priority over others. This ensures Quality of Service (QoS) and allows your organization to stay productive, without interruptions or delays.

2. Enhanced Network Security

Every organization needs security measures in place to be protected from attacks and potential breaches. While a traditional WAN is relatively secure, many SD-WAN solutions also provide encryption, which reduces risks associated with data transfers and breaches.

When you are choosing an SD-WAN provider, ask about additional security, such as firewall protection. Firewalls provide an additional layer of security and defense—the more layers the better.

3. Lower Costs and Increased Speeds

SD-WANs allow for bandwidth independence and can lower costs and increase speeds by combining multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) WAN connections with low-cost broadband internet connections. By combining these connections, SD-WAN technology gives an organization the ability to use all of its connections at full capacity. This can lower costs associated with carrier-grade connections, and enhance network performance.

4. Redundant and Reliable

SD-WANs can dynamically and intelligently route traffic over multiple circuits to improve efficiency, and if there’s a circuit failure, an SD-WAN provides seamless packet by packet routing to keep you up and running. With little downtime, you and your employees can be more efficient and productive throughout the day.

5. Greater Visibility and Control of Network Traffic

With the ability to manage and monitor your network traffic with SD-WAN, you have increased visibility and control over your traffic. It’s easier to identify where there are bottlenecks and what applications are consuming a lot of bandwidth. With this insight, it’s simple to adjust and control your network appropriately.

6. Scalable Solution

SD-WAN technology is also scalable. This allows you to connect and deploy branch offices quickly, without major changes to your network or infrastructure.

SD-WAN as a Managed Service

At Aureon, we offer a hybrid approach to SD-WAN. The Aureon Cloud WAN offers all the benefits of SD-WAN and a simple, scalable infrastructure deployed with a variety of managed service options to remove your burden of network management. This enables businesses to focus on other IT projects and priorities.

With our approach to SD-WAN, managing your network and traffic becomes significantly simpler. When you prioritize traffic and connect your branch offices with an SD-WAN solution, you’re able to be more efficient and productive.