SD-WAN Takes Networking
To the Next Level
THE POTENTIAL FOR DEPLOYING AND MANAGING NETWORKS
as software has long been a dream for IT leaders.
Traditionally, networks have been hardware-based,
saddling enterprises with equipment that’s both
resource-intensive and expensive to manage. Deploy-
ing and managing networks as a service via the
cloud represents a visionary approach that’s gaining
momentum in today’s digital environments. And as
mission-critical enterprise applications move to the
cloud, wide area networks (WAN) must be able to pro-
vide agility, flexibility, and the ability to scale rapidly.
Luckily, today’s cloud-delivered software-defined
WAN (SD-WAN) offers the potential for networks to
extend from the data center and the cloud all the
way to the edge, leveraging the speeds and pro-
grammability of technologies such as 5G. Innovative
SD-WAN approaches are possible in every business
sector, from convenience stores to manufacturing
and energy.
“Software-defined WAN purchased as a service
from the cloud is a long-term trend that will occurover the next several decades.
It’s the network of the future,”
says Sanjay Uppal, senior vice
president and general manager
of the VeloCloud Business Unit at
VMware. “And VMware has been
saying ‘The cloud is the network’
right from the start. It’s a phrase
that captures it all.”
As on-demand networking via
the cloud becomes widespread,
companies will gain new business
potential, with opportunities to
identify and upsell to customers
who want network analytics that
reduce IT deployment costs. The
challenge for IT and business
managers will be to provide high-
quality WAN services to remote
locations, such as branch offices
or retail chain stores.A NEW HORIZON
FOR NETWORKING
As connectivity options expand,
workers in every industry can ac-
cess corporate applications and
data at any time, from anywhere.
A key IT goal is ensuring that
remote employees experience the
same levels of network access and
application performance as col-
leagues located at headquarters.
Through centralized, cloud-
based SD-WAN management, IT
leaders can eliminate network challenges such as poor
reliability and unpredictable performance. Moreover,
greater network automation ensures that security
policies are in place and that networks seamlessly
adjust to evolving application and end-user demands.
“Networks are now becoming fully automated so
that a human doesn’t have to intervene to ensure
functionality, remove bottlenecks, and confirm secu-
rity protocols are in place. These analytics and server
decisions are being made across cloud and telecom
networks that are connected and orchestrated with
zero-touch open-source software,” says Arpit
Joshipura, general manager of networking, edge,
and IoT at the Linux Foundation.
Increased automation sets the stage for self-
healing networks that will fix anomalies on the fly
and strengthen overall network security. By creating
SD-WAN innovations such as these, VMware allows
business executives to focus on business growth
instead of spending time and resources managing
their networks. ■The network of the future will be virtual,
cloud-delivered, and self-healing.SPONSORED CONTENT