The shift to cloud-based applications and distributed working means that employees and the applications they use can be located anywhere in the world; which begs the question, does routing applications through the data centre make sense anymore?
The short answer is no.
Most forward-thinking organisations are now adopting SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Network). SD-WAN is an architecture designed to respond to the common challenges businesses face when they adopt features like SaaS and cloud computing and need to manage and secure increasing numbers of remote workers at branch offices and edge locations.
VMware SD-WAN by VeloCloud
Consistently recognised as a global leader in SD-WAN for excellence in product quality, customer service, price, and performance, VMware is the go-to expert for businesses looking to overcome network connectivity and security challenges in the distributed era.
VMware SD-WAN smoothly integrates with existing networks for simplified WAN operations, seamless cloud migration, and the secure connection of any device or user to any application, across any location.
Benefits of SD-WAN
So what are the benefits of SD-WAN and what difference can it make to your business?
Cost reductions
According to Gartner, an SD-WAN deployment is 2.5 times less expensive than traditional WAN architectures. This is largely due to the savings made on bandwidth costs by augmenting existing architecture like Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS).
Flexible, pay-as-you-go subscription models also help defray high upfront investment costs, upgrade fees, and ongoing maintenance costs. And being able to centrally manage and control network activity means any issues are quickly identified, so there's no need to deploy trained technicians for costly assessments and repairs.
Speed and ease of deployment
Once a business migrates to the cloud, traditional MPLS technology loses its efficiency, becoming expensive and impractical. SD-WAN, however, was designed for agility and flexibility. Offering a range of deployment options, branch offices can be up and running in a matter of minutes, thanks to zero-touch provisioning and plug-and-play install that requires no prior knowledge.
Secure and reliable access
If you have a distributed working model, you know how critical it is to ensure that all employees or third-party users have secure, continuous access to the applications and cloud resources they need to do their job whatever their location and whatever device they're using.
Because SD-WAN is software-based and cloud-delivered, it can optimise network traffic over multiple connections, immediately selecting the best link, and troubleshooting any issues to ensure high availability, superior performance, and the best user experience.
The VMware SD-WAN Orchestrator also solves the problem of poor network visibility, which is a common issue for companies grappling with increasingly complicated networks. It provides IT and security teams with an end-to-end view of the entire network and uses real-time analytics for simplified management and built-in security for peace of mind.
To sum up, VMware SD-WAN by VeloCloud is the ideal fit for any business with a distributed workforce and evolving environments, that wants to ensure high application performance, security, and availability while lowering networking costs.
This post is funded by VMware
