Switching to SD-WAN: The Top Things You Need to Consider

As technology continues to expand at a rapid rate and companies begin to move to the Cloud, having an old-fashioned infrastructure may not be the most efficient way forward for your organization.

One of the reasons why you’re company’s facing these frustrations could be your MLS WAN. It’s the reason why many business owners or IT managers have turned gray overnight. And if this sounds familiar to you, it could be time to start considering a nifty SD WAN solution.

However, what do you need to consider in order to get this switch over right?

Cost

It perhaps goes without saying that cost is one of the major decision-making factors that companies will consider. And with the amount of savings on offer, it’s perhaps no surprise. If you need refurbished network equipment than these are available too in the market.

Compared to your current MPLS network, you could see savings in a number of different areas. Why? Because, to put it quite simply, broadband is cheaper. An MPLS network can prove costly, especially when you consider that many in-house data centers are behind the times and the Cloud is starting to become a dominant force.

Security

Second on the list of priorities is security. As we become increasingly connected with everyone and everything, the threat of hacking is a constant. That’s why one of your main priorities will be the safety of your company’s, your employees’ and your customers’ information.

When you’re concerned about this private data being leaked, the concept of moving all of this information to the Cloud can be a little unnerving. However, it needn’t be.

Many studies into SD-WAN solutions have found that, compared to sticking solely with MPLS, this full or hybrid solution is actually more secure. That’s because the security perimeter your IT team have put in place can be expanded from your office to the Cloud and all the way back again.

Reliability

Even though SD-WAN is a bit of a buzzword at the moment, it’s actually been around for quite some time. And because of this, some of the issues identified with the technology are already being tackled. These include the fact that increased amounts of Cloud traffic are decreasing app performance, and that IT teams have experienced a lack of control with applications.

However, even though measures are being taken to combat these teething problems, it’s still worth bearing in mind that you’re handing over a lot of your administrative tasks to a third party. This means that your IT team can lose some of the control they’re used to having.

Nevertheless, many vendors are now creating software that provides IT personnel with full access to Cloud usage, traffic, and application performance.

Current Infrastructure

Even though many companies are changing over to SD-WAN, this doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the right decision for you. Instead, you need to assess your current infrastructure and the unique considerations of your business.

Put together a list of the pros and cons with the existing infrastructure. If one of these outweighs the other it’ll probably help you come to a decision with greater ease. And if you do decide that SD-WAN is the way forward, don’t forget to look at your current applications to see if they’ll allow you to migrate them to the Cloud.