3 ways SD-WAN solves a modern enterprise's network challenges  

Today, technological advancements drive market competition. There is no business that stays untouched by these transitions. SD-WAN is a similar inevitable tactical shift, redefining how you perceive your enterprise network.

Also, today is the age of cloud adoption. Enterprises are pushing business-critical data and applications and stretching teams beyond centralised hubs. In such times, SD-WAN enhances your network to deliver secure, flexible, agile access across the enterprise.

SD-WAN meets the needs of the new-age enterprise networks and makes them future-ready. Its impact is evident as it has uplifted the network purchase to become a C-level decision. A level where every decision only gets a nod when it aligns with organisational goals. 

Let's explore how SD-WAN solutions resolve network challenges faced by modern enterprises

Enhanced security by eliminating checkpoint bottlenecks

In traditional MPLS network setups, data security focuses on centralised data centres or head offices. These central hubs serve as vaults, and every packet from a remote site tunnel through them for security screening.

Imagine how much you have to overprovision your network to achieve this. You must delegate a dedicated MPLS connection between the center point and every remote site. Also, increasing BYOD practices and reliance on the cloud calls for traffic, not just site data protection.

SD-WANs allow you to optimise network security by providing end-to-end encryption and service chaining. It secures your data on the go and not just at sites. End-to-end encryption protects your data, even if the traffic gets intercepted.

With secure transitions, your packets need not navigate through centralised security screening. It eliminates checkpoint bottlenecks that would otherwise overwhelm your network.

SD-WAN also provides intelligent routing and segmentation. It contains the damage from snowballing in case of a breach. It segments the infected network section and gives you enough cushion to respond.

An adequately managed SD-WAN saves time, reduces operational costs, and ensures security for all users regardless of location.

Better network performance - Utilisation, speed, and reliability

As cloud and SaaS usage increases, bandwidth demands for applications surge, with a daily occurrence of video conferencing and VoIP calls. You need fast and robust connections to prevent packet losses, freezing videos, and clipped words in such applications. 

SD-WAN does three things to enhance network performance for such applications.

• It separates network hardware and control panel using a software-based overlay.
• It prioritises your critical applications.
• It uses Forward Error Correction (FEC) to compensate for packet loss.

SD-WAN's ability to provide a faster, safer connection regardless of the underlying network is a game-changer. Instead of physical routers, it relies on software overlay and dynamic routing for more efficient bandwidth utilisation.

It prioritises your video and VoIP applications and allocates the bandwidth where it matters the most. Intelligent routing helps manage traffic and eliminate network congestion and delays.

With the help of FEC, the receivers can detect and correct errors in the received packets, significantly reducing the need for packet re-transmission and ensuring seamless operations.

Simplified multi-cloud connectivity and integration

Cloud adoption has opened several opportunities for cloud service providers. Enterprises are collaborating with different market players for their network's growth.

With such diverse and lucrative services of multi-cloud environments, you can combine offerings from multiple providers with your on-premises environment to create the best-fit ecosystem. 

Great for the business! Yes, but it comes with several challenges.

• It is tricky to manage multiple service providers.
• Applying integrated security standards across multiple providers can be challenging.
• It demands significant efforts to strike the right balance between your on-premises and cloud environments.

SD-WAN creates an overlay of your entire network by abstracting all its components. It annuls the heterogeneous nature of multi-cloud connections and quickly adapts to your changing cloud needs. It allows you to:

• Tie up resources from all cloud networks to your data centre for seamless access. 
• Build and enforce standard policies for all cloud entities.
• Centrally monitor and govern all clouds.

It's time to move where the technology is heading.

SD-WAN is a secured, scalable solution to meet your changing networking needs. It helps you maintain pace with growing demands on bandwidth-hungry cloud applications and comfortably accommodates their ever-expanding list. It ensures high security and performance regardless of how you connect and where your traffic heads.

In a nutshell, SD-WAN helps you deliver performances where it matters the most and improves network health by:

• Efficient bandwidth utilization and dynamic path selection
• Prioritising critical applications to optimise network performance
• End-to-end encryption for data security during transit
• Minimising packet loss to improve your VoIP experience and minimise the need for re-transmission

Vi Business brings SD-WAN solutions to you in a way that fits your needs best. It does this without any need to revamp the network infrastructure you already have. It maximises your connections' value and draws more from your network investments. 

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