As the world becomes increasingly more connected, traditional networking methods have struggled to keep up. The complexity and cost of maintaining a secure, reliable, and high-performance network with the ever-increasing number of devices and applications have driven IT professionals to look for alternative solutions. The emergence of software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) may be the answer they are looking for.
What is SD-WAN?
SD-WAN is a technology that separates network control and management from the underlying hardware and physical infrastructure using software. It allows businesses to create a virtual WAN that assigns network resources according to user needs and network conditions in real-time, prioritizing traffic and routes that are critical or cost-effective.
In short, SD-WAN enables businesses to optimize and manage their network from a centralized location, with security enhancement, at a lower cost than traditional WAN infrastructure.
Why is SD-WAN the Future of Networking?
It is not enough to have a fast network, but it is also essential to ensure that it is always available, and secure. SD-WAN offers several benefits that traditional WAN architecture cannot provide, including:
1. Cost Savings
SD-WAN simplifies network infrastructure, mitigates the need for expensive proprietary hardware, and delivers bandwidth optimization, ultimately reducing network operation costs.
2. Centralized Management
SD-WAN enables companies to manage their entire distributed network from a centralized location, allowing network teams to manage policies, configurations, updates, and security protocols.
3. Better Network Performance
SD-WAN optimizes traffic routing and automatically selects the best path, disables lower-performing WAN links, and supports Quality of Service (QoS) policies, ensuring that critical traffic takes precedence.
4. Enhanced Security
SD-WAN leverages encryption and other security techniques, enabling cybersecurity teams to monitor, enforce, and verify security policies and configurations.
5. Scalability
SD-WAN enables network managers to add or remove sites quickly and easily, supporting larger network connections without reducing performance. This flexibility reduces expansion costs and enables easier integration with emerging technologies.
What is next for SD-WAN?
As technology advances, so does SD-WAN. The technology market is likely to see a substantial growth in the adoption of SD-WAN, in the coming years. These improvements may include:
1. Artificial Intelligence
AI plays a vital role in network optimization, identifying network bottlenecks, and resolving connectivity issues promptly. The integration of AI with SD-WAN could enable the system to adapt and optimize the network in real-time.
2. UCPaaS
Unified Communication Platforms as a Service (UCPaaS) may make it easier for companies to integrate new communication channels into their SD-WAN networks as technology advances.
3. Secure Access Service Edge
Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) is a cloud-based architecture that will object-oriented networking, security, and cloud technology into one platform, allowing for more secure and efficient SD-WAN networks.
In conclusion, SD-WAN is the future for organizations looking for more cost-efficient, scalable, flexible, and secure network architecture. The technology offers many benefits over traditional WAN infrastructure, including centralization, management, enhanced security, and network performance. With the integration of emerging technologies like AI, UCPaaS, and SASE, SD-WAN will become even more critical for organizations looking to keep up with the ever-evolving digital landscape.