In an era where businesses are becoming more distributed, with multiple offices, remote workers, and an increasing reliance on cloud services, traditional WAN (Wide Area Network) architectures struggle to keep up. SD-WAN as a Service (SD-WANaaS) offers a solution, providing a more agile, cost-effective, and scalable approach to managing complex, multi-site networks.
Here’s what SD-WAN as a Service is and how it simplifies networking for businesses with multiple locations, improving performance, reducing costs, and enhancing overall network management.
What Is SD-WAN as a Service (SD-WANaaS)?
SD-WAN as a Service (SD-WANaaS) is a cloud-based networking solution that simplifies the management and operation of a Wide Area Network (WAN) by decoupling the network hardware from its control mechanism. It uses software-defined networking (SDN) principles to route traffic across multiple WAN connections—such as MPLS, broadband, LTE, and 5G—in the most efficient way possible.
Unlike traditional WAN setups that often rely on expensive, dedicated circuits like MPLS, SD-WANaaS allows businesses to optimize and manage their network traffic across a mix of connection types, providing improved performance, reliability, and cost-efficiency. Since it’s delivered as a service, businesses don’t need to invest in expensive hardware or dedicated IT teams to manage it.
Key Benefits of SD-WAN as a Service
1. Centralized Network Management
One of the biggest challenges for businesses with multiple locations is managing networks across different sites. SD-WANaaS provides a centralized control panel where IT administrators can manage and monitor the entire network from a single interface. This includes traffic optimization, bandwidth allocation, security settings, and performance monitoring for all connected locations.
- How it helps: Centralized management simplifies network operations, making it easier to apply network policies, troubleshoot issues, and optimize performance across all locations without on-site visits.
2. Optimized Performance for Cloud Applications
As businesses increasingly rely on cloud-based applications like Microsoft 365, Salesforce, Google Workspace, and AWS, ensuring fast and reliable access to these services is critical. SD-WANaaS intelligently routes traffic to prioritize these applications, reducing latency and ensuring smooth, uninterrupted performance.
- How it helps: SD-WANaaS ensures that business-critical applications receive priority on the network, optimizing performance for cloud services, VoIP, video conferencing, and other bandwidth-intensive tasks.
3. Cost Savings with Flexible Connectivity Options
Traditional WAN solutions like MPLS are known for their high cost due to the need for dedicated circuits. SD-WANaaS reduces this dependency by allowing businesses to mix and match various types of internet connections, such as broadband, LTE, and 5G, along with MPLS. This flexibility enables businesses to leverage more affordable broadband connections without sacrificing performance or reliability.
- How it helps: By utilizing a combination of connection types, SD-WANaaS reduces the cost of networking while still delivering high performance and reliability.
4. Improved Network Resilience and Uptime
SD-WANaaS offers automatic failover capabilities, meaning that if one connection fails (e.g., an MPLS line goes down), the system will instantly reroute traffic to another available connection, such as broadband or LTE, without interrupting network operations. This ensures 99.99% uptime for critical applications and business continuity.
- How it helps: Businesses can maintain continuous operations and minimize downtime, even if one or more network connections fail, ensuring high availability for all locations.
5. Enhanced Security with Built-In Features
SD-WANaaS includes advanced security features like encryption, firewalls, intrusion detection, and secure access across all locations. It can also integrate with existing security solutions to create a robust, multi-layered defense against cyber threats. Additionally, many SD-WANaaS solutions support Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), ensuring that only authorized users can access critical resources.
- How it helps: By integrating security directly into the network, SD-WANaaS reduces vulnerabilities, protects sensitive data, and ensures compliance with industry regulations, all while simplifying the management of security policies.
6. Seamless Scalability
As your business grows and adds new locations or users, SD-WANaaS makes it easy to expand your network without the need for major infrastructure upgrades or reconfigurations. With zero-touch provisioning, new sites can be brought online quickly, with configurations pushed out from the central management console.
- How it helps: Businesses can quickly scale their network as they grow, adding new branches or remote sites without the complexities of traditional network expansion.
7. Traffic Prioritization for Critical Applications
SD-WANaaS allows businesses to set Quality of Service (QoS) policies, ensuring that mission-critical applications (like VoIP, video conferencing, and cloud apps) receive the bandwidth they need to perform optimally. Less critical applications can be deprioritized, ensuring that essential services always have the best possible performance.
- How it helps: By prioritizing traffic for key applications, SD-WANaaS ensures that your business’s most important tools always run smoothly, enhancing productivity and customer satisfaction.
8. Real-Time Analytics and Monitoring
SD-WANaaS offers real-time visibility into network performance across all sites. This includes monitoring traffic patterns, identifying potential bottlenecks, and generating performance reports. IT teams can quickly diagnose and resolve issues using real-time analytics, improving network reliability and efficiency.
- How it helps: The ability to monitor and analyze network performance in real-time allows businesses to optimize their network, identify issues before they impact operations, and improve overall performance.
How SD-WANaaS Simplifies Networking for Multi-Site Businesses
1. Effortless Multi-Site Connectivity
SD-WANaaS simplifies the process of connecting multiple locations, remote workers, and cloud applications into a unified network. By eliminating the need for complex hardware and traditional WAN setup at each site, SD-WANaaS allows businesses to connect new branches or remote offices with minimal effort and cost.
- How it helps: Multi-site businesses can connect all locations with ease, using SD-WANaaS to manage and monitor their network from a central location.
2. Reduced IT Complexity
Managing traditional WAN infrastructures across multiple sites is complex, requiring on-site IT support, specialized hardware, and dedicated lines. SD-WANaaS reduces this complexity by shifting network management to a cloud-based platform. This eliminates the need for on-site hardware at each location and allows IT teams to manage the entire network centrally.
- How it helps: SD-WANaaS reduces the burden on IT teams, freeing up resources to focus on strategic initiatives rather than routine network maintenance and troubleshooting.
3. Fast and Easy Deployment
With zero-touch provisioning, SD-WANaaS allows businesses to quickly deploy network connectivity to new locations or remote offices without requiring technical expertise or on-site configuration. The central control panel pushes out configurations automatically, reducing deployment time from weeks to days (or even hours).
- How it helps: Businesses can quickly bring new locations or branches online, ensuring fast expansion and seamless integration into the existing network.
4. Consistent Security Across Locations
Managing security across multiple locations is often challenging, but SD-WANaaS simplifies this process by applying consistent security policies across all locations. By centralizing security management, IT teams can enforce network-wide encryption, access controls, and threat detection without having to configure each site individually.
- How it helps: SD-WANaaS ensures that all locations benefit from the same level of security, reducing the risk of cyberattacks and ensuring compliance with data security regulations.
Key Use Cases for SD-WAN as a Service
1. Retail Chains
Retailers with multiple branches need a reliable and cost-effective way to manage connectivity between stores, warehouses, and headquarters. SD-WANaaS allows for centralized network management and traffic prioritization for key applications like point-of-sale (POS) systems.
2. Healthcare Providers
Healthcare organizations with multiple locations can use SD-WANaaS to ensure secure, high-speed connections for accessing electronic health records (EHR), telemedicine services, and cloud-based applications, while maintaining strict compliance with data security regulations like HIPAA.
3. Financial Services
Banks and financial institutions benefit from SD-WANaaS by ensuring reliable, high-performance connectivity between branches, data centers, and cloud services, while maintaining compliance with stringent security regulations.
4. Manufacturing and Logistics
Manufacturers can optimize their global supply chain operations by using SD-WANaaS to improve connectivity between production facilities, warehouses, and distribution centers, ensuring seamless communication and real-time data sharing.
Why Choose SolveForce for SD-WAN as a Service?
SolveForce offers tailored SD-WAN as a Service solutions that provide businesses with the flexibility, scalability, and security they need to simplify network management and improve performance across multiple sites. With access to top-tier SD-WAN providers, SolveForce ensures that your business benefits from cutting-edge technology and expert support.
Contact SolveForce today at 888-765-8301 to learn how SD-WAN as a Service can transform your business’s network and streamline multi-site connectivity.