Why companies are joining the business-first networking revolution
Today, enterprises want to operate at cloud speed, powered by the latest technologies. As such, digital transformation and cloud initiatives are changing the way organisations think about the business network and how they connect users to applications. It is estimated that over 70% of applications have already moved to the cloud.
Yet, the transformational promise of the cloud is falling short and this is because conventional networks weren’t built with the cloud in mind. Increasingly, IT is finding that fitting cloud computing to existing infrastructure is like using a landline to do the job of a smartphone. Today’s router-centric and basic SD-WAN architectures have either hit the wall or can’t keep up with traffic pattern shifts, distributed applications and the open security perimeters that go hand-in-hand with the cloud, says Simon Pamplin, EMEA technical director, Silver Peak.
Traditional router-centric WAN
The traditional router-centric model is network-driven. Essentially, this means the business is forced to conform to the constraints of the network. Designed in the days before cloud, traditional routers backhaul all cloud-destined traffic from branch offices back to the data centre instead of directly to Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) applications and instances, ultimately impairing performance and business productivity.
Indeed, enterprises are struggling to stretch the cumbersome and complicated router-centric WAN architectures to meet the flexible business needs of a cloud-first enterprise. To be successful, it’s imperative that modern cloud-first enterprises can:
- Use the internet to connect users securely and directly to cloud applications
- Deliver new applications to thousands of sites, across multiple clouds, in 10% of the time
- Deliver 10x more bandwidth at the edge, for the same budget
- Secure the business when the cloud is open, accessible and everything is connected
- Continuously deliver the highest application performance for every business-critical application
Basic SD-WAN solutions
To address such requirements, SD-WAN technologies have emerged to connect users directly to applications efficiently and effectively, using any underlying transport available on the network, including MPLS, 4G or low-cost broadband. However, in the past few years, a plethora of SD-WAN solutions have crowded the market, creating a lot of noise and confusion for network managers.
While basic SD-WAN solutions are a step in the right direction, they fall well short of the goal of a fully automated business-driven network. Basic SD-WANs provide some level of automation and intelligence but are unable to continuously and automatically adapt to the changing network conditions that cloud computing requires. These standard market offerings don’t provide top performance for organisations using real-time voice and video applications when using broadband.
Furthermore, with a basic SD-WAN, IT is unable to deliver simplified end-to-end secure segmentation for traffic across the network to minimise the attack surface. Coupled with the fact basic SD-WANs won’t deliver on the promised savings in operational costs, IT teams turning toward a business-driven WAN edge platform.
The business-driven networking revolution
Simon Pamplin
With a business-driven SD-WAN, the network becomes a business enabler, not a constraint. It acts as a business accelerant with a top-down approach that starts with business intent. Business intent defines how applications should be delivered to end users and can include performance, priority, security, resiliency, and routing commands that should be applied differently, depending on the application. Put simply, IT can tell the business what it wants to do, i.e. prioritise all video calls, and the advanced SD-WAN platform will deploy, deliver and enforce it no matter where the organisation’s offices are located.
A business-driven SD-WAN matches network resources automatically based on the business priority and security requirements for every application. The network continuously monitors the performance of applications and transport resources and automatically adapts to any changes to remain in compliance with centrally-defined application and security policies. A business-driven SD-WAN delivers the highest quality of experience for users with consistent, reliable application performance – including the highest quality voice and video over broadband.
Network managers who take advantage of a business-first networking approach can control the network from a central location, minimise human error, make changes easily and enable faster response to business needs. A business-driven SD-WAN goes beyond the basic to power a ‘self-driving’ wide area network that learns and adapts to the changing requirements of the business and trigger immediate adjustments.
Built-in monitoring, alerts and reporting enables faster troubleshooting when issues occur, helping IT teams to reclaim their nights and weekends. The business-driven approach also orchestrates multiple network functions, such as SD-WAN, firewall, segmentation, routing, WAN optimisation, application visibility and control enabling businesses to manoeuvre multiple aspects of the network ecosystem from one platform.
Ultimately, enterprises that are moving to a business-driven networking approach are capitalising on existing transport, security and cloud infrastructure investments while improving overall business performance. IT managers can now guarantee that their unique organisational priorities are reflected and supported by the network – without cumbersome device maintenance and management. This frees up time for business-critical activities, saving the both time and money.
The author is Simon Pamplin, EMEA technical director, Silver Peak
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