What’s Driving SD-WAN Migration for Global Enterprises

Legacy WANs are unfit for the digital era. The public Internet continues to be plagued by congestion and reliability problems caused by exponential traffic growth, bandwidth-intensive applications, and expanding network complexities. MPLS was designed before the cloud and brings along with it high costs, inflexibility, and long deployment times. These deficiencies have given rise to a technology known as SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Network).

As enterprises embark on their transformational journeys, they are experiencing key business and technology trends causing them to migrate to SD-WAN. Specifically there are five driving forces behind this movement:

1. Globalization is having an impact on virtually every enterprise: incorporating mergers and acquisitions; expanding into new markets and geographies; working with partners, suppliers, customers across time zones. To maintain competitive advantage in this environment, enterprises need global networks that can be deployed quickly and deliver performance for applications.
2. IT outsourcing helps increase agility and reduce capital and operational costs. Also, enterprises may not have the required resources or interest in maintaining complex infrastructure. Just look at cloud computing and its prevalent use. A managed network takes the operational burden off so companies can focus more on running the business.
3. Cloud adoption changes everything. Business applications that used to reside exclusively in the corporate data center have been shifting to the cloud. In fact, over 50% of enterprise WAN traffic can be attributed to cloud. A network that is optimized for multi-cloud connectivity and application delivery is paramount.
4. New applications such as team collaboration – voice and video conferencing, IM, file transfer, project management – are commonly used by enterprises daily to increase productivity. Many of these applications are cloud-based. Delivering a consistent, high-quality experience to users anywhere in the world should be a key capability of the network.
5. Mobility has increased dramatically as enterprise users utilize multiple devices and connect from remote locations. Wi-Fi or other public networks are typical used for access which introduces a whole set of security risks. To protect users, data, and applications, the network should have multi-layer security.

Key Attributes to Consider in Selecting the Right SD-WAN

It is important to realize, however, that not all SD-WANs are created equal.   There are three key attributes to consider when looking to achieve the full benefits of SD-WAN.

The SD-WAN must be purpose-built and optimized for application delivery

Most do it yourself SD-WAN offerings do not meet this criteria. Aryaka’s SD-WAN as a Service has been designed to deliver any application, anywhere in the world in hours. It offers WAN optimization, QoS, multi-cloud connectivity, SaaS acceleration, and multi-layered security.

The network should be private, and not shared like the public Internet

An SD-WAN that keeps up with the pace of digital will operate over a global private network rather than the Internet or MPLS. Aryaka leverages a software-defined, Layer 2 network that reaches 95% of the world’s business population in 30 milliseconds or less. It’s secure and purpose-built for application delivery.

SD-WAN should be offered as a fully managed service

Enterprise networks are complex, so you have to weigh the time and dollars involved in design, deployment, management, and monitoring. And what about handling multiple network contracts and inconsistent customer support. Aryaka provides the only SD-WAN as a Service that is backed by a 99.99% reliability SLA. Cloud, new applications, mobile and global users – you leave all that to us.

Today’s networks are going through a rapid evolution to keep up with ever-growing and changing demands of a digital enterprise. A global SD-WAN as a Service that is purpose-built for application delivery can meet these demands. We have seen the limitations and frailties of the public Internet, broadband networks, MPLS and hybrid networks, and indeed, the game has changed for global network connectivity. Welcome to the new world as delivered by Aryaka’s SD-WAN as a Service.

About the author

Ian McEwan

Ian McEwan is the Vice President of EMEA for Aryaka. He has over 25 years of executive experience in the software-defined networking and IT industries having led EMEA operations in the region for several high-profile companies. Ian is a thought leader and industry expert on digital transformation and GDPR. He actively contributes to strategic alliances, product management, sales, and marketing in Aryaka.