The development of digital technologies has been on an upward trend over the past few years. Solutions that make networking secure, reliable, and prompt are being looked for day and night. Such solutions are at the center of SD-WAN technology.
Traditionally, communication traffic was shared through a Wide Area Network (WAN). This type of communication was based on manual direction and control of traffic to individual devices across the web. Although most institutions today still use WAN, the manual operation of WAN has many drawbacks that limit business processes.
The introduction of a Software-defined Wide Area Network or SD-WAN has made communication over networks smoother, secure, and reliable in many ways. To learn more about SD-WAN and SD-WAN providers, keep on reading.
What is SD-WAN?
In simpler terms, SD-WAN refers to a virtual WAN architecture that allows users to utilize various transport services such as MPLS, LTE, and broadband internet services. Through centralized control of functions, SD-WAN providers can securely and intelligently direct traffic across a wide area network.
This intelligent direction of traffic has made the operation of SaaS and LaaS possible. It helps increase application performance and improves the overall user experience for internet users. This explains why most businesses are opting for SD-WAN solutions as they transition into 2022.
Drawbacks of Traditional WAN
The introduction of SD-WAN was meant to address the drawbacks of traditional WAN. These drawbacks are many and have been a problem in ensuring that there is a secure and consistent flow of traffic over wide area networks. By using an SD-WAN router, businesses have a chance to leverage on its benefits.
Below are some of the drawbacks experienced by traditional WAN users:
Risk of Human Error
For a system that is operated manually, there is always an apparent risk of human error. Humans are prone to making simple mistakes that can be costly on a wide scale. Wide area networks form a complex web of communication and any simple mistake can have far-reaching consequences to businesses.
To deal with these issues, modern managed IT Phoenix SD-WAN providers have moved away from traditional WAN. This is the trend across the IT industry, with many service providers, are already shifting from traditional WAN to offer better services to businesses and other internet users.
Research shows that most network outages that occur in WAN-based systems are caused by human error. This is a situation that can be avoided if an automated system is used in place of a manual one. With automated systems, errors that are caused by humans are limited and the systems enjoy longer uptimes.
Services Velocity
In our modern fast-paced world, any technology that does not embrace transformation and changes can be quite challenging to use. Most network engineers agree that traditional WAN is the slowest when it comes to embracing new vertical features.
Experts say that dealing with manual systems makes it difficult to introduce new services. In most cases, the cost of introducing new features is higher and most likely affects the cost of running a business. As a result, businesses that want flexibility must opt for the tested and proven SD-WAN.
Analytics
Most managed IT Phoenix firms are established on the premise of service delivery. At our managed IT Phoenix, analytics lies right at the center of all services rendered. It is critical for businesses and IT service providers to analyze services and features. This is the only way to find value for money.
With traditional networks, devices were managed in a centralized manner making it difficult to analyze each network service or user. With modern SD-WAN routers, data analysis is much easier. Devices can be tracked on the network and accurate data is provided for each device with a click of a button.
The benefits of SD-WAN are many. Some of the top benefits are as follows:
Automation
The first and main reason why our managed IT Phoenix promotes SD-WAN is the possibility of automation. With modern SD-WAN router, allows the operation of a system in a centralized manner. All processes can be controlled from a centralized point, managing traffic across wide networks.
These centralized operations make automation so easy. With automation, the risk of human error is eliminated. Furthermore, the inconsistencies such as outages experienced with manual systems are cut out. It is also easy to detect problems through troubleshooting with this type of system.
Reduced Cost
Every business owner wants to cut down the cost of operations and the use of SD-WAN is on its way. To fully understand what is SD-WAN to a business, think of it as a way of cutting down IT operations while at the same time increasing the IT system’s reliability. These systems are much faster and more convenient than traditional WAN.
The reduction in cost among SD-WAN benefits comes from the fact that users can combine services such as broadband, 4G, 5G, and MPLS to facilitate public transport. Managed IT Phoenix experts can help businesses by providing guidance in this area, so that users know what they are getting into.
Improved Uptime
Let us first understand what is SD-WAN uptime and downtime. As mentioned, traditional WAN systems primarily rely on manual operations, which can lead to human error. When a human error occurs, the entire system may stop functioning, leading to what is known as downtime.
Downtimes are expensive for businesses. They often mean that business processes such as production, and communication have to come to halt until normalcy is restored. With modern SD-WAN solutions provided by managed IT Phoenix, downtimes are a thing of the past.
More Secure
The security of communication networks is another aspect of networking that must always play a role in decision-making. Even the most developed corporations first analyze the security standards of technology before deploying it. When making the choice of system to display, security must always count.
So, what is SD-WAN’s role in the security of a system? Our managed IT Phoenix experts look at security in two ways. First, with SD-WAN, there is centralized control of traffic. This means that each device on the system can be managed independently and reduce the risk of data losses that are associated with traditional WAN.
The key security advantages of SD-WAN include:
- Quick detection of security bridges thanks to the automation of the entire system.
- Advanced security measures such as firewalls can guard individual devices on the network.
- Possibility of monitoring high-risk devices on the system to ensure that they are shielded from potential threats.
- The possibility of applying end-to-end security is something that is not possible when using the box-to-box approach.
For business models where personal data and company information needs top-notch security, the best way out is to opt for an SD-WAN solution. This type of network solution guarantees security any time and any day at a lower cost as compared to traditional WAN solutions which are also costly.
Better Analytics
For all types of businesses, analytics is a key feature. There are business models that rely on data to make decisions. Such businesses want a system that supports analytics so as to provide custom solutions based on the needs of the business model.
Our managed IT Phoenix analytics offers the following benefits to businesses and organizations that use SD-WAN solutions include but are not limited to:
- Analytics helps users of networking services determine the features that are productive and ones that are redundant for a business.
- Analytics is the key feature used by network service providers to determine how to price their features.
- Analytics is one of the key features needed for customization based on the needs of network users.
- Analytics can be quite helpful, for businesses to determine non-performing departments and employees.
Businesses should request to have access to analytical data on how networks perform. To fully understand what is SD-WAN and enjoy its benefits, businesses should be allowed to have access to analytical data and other relevant information.
With traditional wide area networks, no one could grasp the big picture. WAN networks usually have a huge number of network devices that have to be managed on a large web. This makes it impossible to analyze the large volumes of water. These large volumes of networks have always been a bottleneck.
The above benefits of SD-WAN are just but a tip of the iceberg. The features provided by this system are far-reaching and massively beneficial to businesses at all levels.
How to Get SD-WAN and the Best Managed IT Phoenix Services
All types of businesses that utilize IT services must start thinking about migrating from traditional WAN to SD-WAN services. This migration will not only make the cost of IT services cheaper but will also provide the many SD-WAN benefits seen above. At Techtopia, we know all about WAN Services.
As one of the leading managed IT Phoenix, we know what SD-WAN is and how it works. We have many years of experience in delivering reliable and actionable solutions or internal and external networking for businesses. If you are interested in our services, we are ready to listen. Fill our contact form for more information.
