Extreme Networks Inc.

08/10/2022 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/11/2022 08:14

Business Continuity – Build it Better with SD-WAN

Retail. Education. Healthcare. Transportation. What do these sectors have in common? In a word - connectivity!

While they seem unrelated, these industries - actually, every industry today - have something significant in common: Their operations depend on a combination of people and digital capabilities - all connected by a network.

What does this mean for decision-makers? As the pace of digital transformation accelerates, a reliable network is crucial for business continuity.

Contemporary Complexity

Modern work-life happens on the go, and in a far-flung range of locations and modalities. You likely have staff on a hybrid schedule, working from home, in the office, and everywhere in between. Some customers are scrolling your page from their smartphones or home desktops, while others enter your brick-and-mortar facilities. Meanwhile, various people in your supply chain regularly log on from the road. Oh, and don't forget - there's an app for everything.

In an economy defined by such a widely distributed and mobile-based exchange of goods and services, your network has to function at peak performance. Yet, many don't. Do any of these network issues sound familiar?

  • Spotty coverage
  • Varying bandwidth from location to location
  • Unstable transitions between fixed and wireless connections
  • Communication bottlenecks
  • Inconsistent application performance
  • Complicated vendor management

All these factors interrupt business continuity. Organizations can't deliver consistent quality to their stakeholders without a reliable network. However, there is a way to simplify, improve, and minimize disruptions.

A Simple, Reliable Path to Resilience

Tired of latency, packet loss, and jitter? A software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) is a transport-independent, modern network architecture. It employs load balancing and link monitoring, so devices can utilize both fixed and wireless connections, with no difference in the quality of connectivity. Those advantages support business continuity not just in the here and now, but for the future.

Despite the many advantages of SD-WAN, many organizations have yet to take advantage of it. In fact, even fewer networking professionals understand or have a definition of SD-WAN. As research and advisory firm Forrester, notes: "Our clients often reference marketing messages from 2017 when the concept emerged."

Growing businesses might want to take a fresh look at SD-WAN and its benefits. Not only can it help you keep pace with the increasing demands of your day-to-day operations, but it can ensure business continuity. Consider the following advantages.

  • Improve performance. You can gain more solid control of your entire network. SD-WAN elevates and extends the quality and performance of your network, from wired to wireless, while saving costs.
  • Standardize policies. Zero-touch appliances enable template configuration, so that policies can be enforced, changed, and updated without a manual process. The IT team can use automation to troubleshoot connectivity issues. This saves time and money by removing the need for technicians to go onsite to assess devices.
  • Reduce complexity. Improve observability with manageable metrics via a granular dashboard, so leaders can see the big picture. It also offers options to utilize automation and examine performance under various conditions.
  • Build resilience. The architecture of SD-WAN employs redundant transport types to boost network availability. Even during local cloud outages, critical systems can maintain continuity while network traffic is simultaneously redirected to an optimized path, helping to ease the frustration of communication bottlenecks.

Scale for the Future with Confidence

Another important aspect of resiliency is the ability to keep pace with new use cases and network demands. With SD-WAN, as your organization grows, adapts, and takes advantage of new opportunities, so does your network. As you add new locations, plug-and-play devices can be rapidly shipped and easily deployed by non-technical staff. Further, it's all customizable, which means you can select the proper transport mode for each new branch, while using one unified application to steer traffic.

In addition, cloud delivery ensures you're always up to date. As consumer demands shift over time, technology adapts accordingly, and apps are constantly updated. SD-WAN ensures there's no lag time between the latest iteration and your implementation.

Extend Your Power

These capabilities empower your organization to achieve a resilient and infinite enterprise. What does that look like? It's sustainable business continuity paired with a loyal base of thriving stakeholders. Now your organization can meet users wherever they are by bringing the workplace to your employees and your services to your consumers.

When you deliver a consumer-centric experience by providing technology tailored to and evolving with the user's needs, you demonstrate your commitment to their satisfaction. And, you can take it a step further by enabling the process at scale, so reliability and security become the norm everywhere, for everyone.

In a volatile world, we're all looking for more stability. When you choose the right technology partner, you can ensure the power is in your hands, and your reach is infinite.

Gain a deeper understanding of how SD-WAN adds up to better business continuity. Download our eBook, The Case for SD-WAN: Optimizing Today's Digital Network, today.