The Cloud-First WAN implies time-to-market, operational simplicity, multi-cloud readiness, enabling an unparalleled end-user application experience. But how does a cloud-first approach embody each of these attributes?
Time-to-market requires a consumption model, an ‘as-a-service’ OPEX-based offering with flexible billing and ease of service integration. You can think of this as a network consumption model, analogous to the better-known cloud consumption model. It drives agility, permitting IT and infrastructure teams to rapidly adapt to the needs to the business... to changing business priorities, supply chains, as well as globalization.
Operational simplicity comes from a best-of-breed managed service that permits enterprises to radically simplify complexity. Taking a step back, the post-MPLS world offers IT planners choice in either constructing or consuming their WAN.
Enterprises who choose to construct will source the technology from one of a number of box vendors, then adding the various security, cloud, optimization, and orchestration components. This DIY approach isn’t all that simple in an era of expertise gaps, and there are numerous examples of enterprises reaching a dead-end due to cost, complexity, or timing.
The other option is consuming the WAN from a service provider, and outside of Aryaka, the provider in-turn sources the technology from a box vendor. This approach still doesn’t engender a truly seamless experience due to the various moving parts between the service provider, the technology vendor, and between what is referred to as the provider’s ‘underlay’ network and the SD-WAN technology vendor’s ‘overlay.’ As mentioned, Aryaka offers a unique take on the consumption model by delivering both the technology as well as the managed service. This ‘best of both worlds’, offers IT the power of ‘and’ instead of ‘either-or.’
Next up is multi-cloud readiness, and this can’t just be bolted-on. A multi-cloud ready architecture offers choice to bring any application to any cloud, connecting public cloud providers, SaaS providers, and partner clouds while delivering a consistency of user experience. This is the linchpin of a cloud-first service offering, an offering with the extensibility to connect to any IaaS, PaaS, or SaaS provider in any region with a minimal amount of effort. Tying this back to digital transformation initiatives, IT must have the flexibility to deploy any application, anywhere, accessible by any employee in any location and at any time. In essence, a LAN-like experience extends to the WAN.
The WAN service must offer a tightly integrated set of capabilities that meet the diverse requirements of enterprise WAN planners. This is where the term SD-WAN comes into play, a next generation, more intelligent approach that meets the needs of digital and WAN transformation initiatives. At a minimum, this service must include connectivity, security, multi-cloud access, application optimization, visibility and control, and of course global orchestration and monitoring. At Aryaka, we call these ‘SmartServices,’ since they make for a smarter and more intuitive WAN.
has always been our flagshi connectivity-as-a-service offering delivering the best application performance in the Industry and simply the best global managed SD-WAN. We’ve now expanding this offering to regional deployments with more affordable price points and the ability to choose an ala-carte service. Customers can use this with our HybridWAN functionality with site-to-site internet VPNs. More importantly, they can move from Internet to Regional to Global SD-WANs, all fully managed and with the consistency of experience giving each application the merit it is due.
brings the goodness of network optimization and application acceleration as-a-service. This is based on Aryaka’s patented multi-segment and multi-layer technology that ensures peak application performance across the globe by eliminating packet loss and managing latency and jitter. WAN optimization doesn’t require a separate box with Aryaka.
is all about choice with mutli-cloud networking as a service. Public clouds, SaaS clouds and partner clouds can all be connected directly from our points-of-presence and be fully managed as extensions to the SmartConnect offering. Each application gets its cloud of choice with consistency.
is all about delivering security-as-a-service. From managed firewalls, to micro-segmentation, to network security with secure transport, it is about taking security seriously. For instance, we’re now offering the Palo Alto Networks firewall integrated as part of our network function virtualization (NFV) architecture, and will manage both physical and virtual firewalls for customers.
is just what it says it is, delivering actionable insights into the state of the WAN. Powered by the MyAryaka cloud portal and providing rich analytics, the user has a single view into application performance, SLA verification and configuration management
is the global foundation that delivers assured connectivity across the first, middle, and last miles, along with orchestration and monitoring. It includes our global PoPs, the Layer 2 interconnectivity, as well as ANAPs at the edge.
