All over the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has upended traditional working arrangements. Now, after many months of remote working, businesses are reassessing their workforce strategies as they figure out how to create more agile, productive businesses.
While many companies are eager to bring their workers back to the office, it seems unlikely that employees will be required to be physically present all the time. The idea of hybrid working is gaining popularity among both workers and employers as the future.
This necessitates a rethinking of current infrastructure, especially as businesses move toward software-as-a-service (SaaS) and infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) cloud-based solutions such as Cisco Webex, Salesforce, Microsoft 365, and G-Suite, which are putting unprecedented demands on enterprise organizations’ networks.
Existing network infrastructure, including legacy routers, are typically slow to provision and lack critical features needed for success in today’s world. As such, enterprises need to revisit their network architectures to support hybrid working – but what is the best way?
SD-WAN as a solution to build a hybrid workplace
SD-WAN are best known for supporting hybrid workplace and remote office networks. One way to quickly and securely improve network security and connectivity is to use Software Defined Wide Area Networks (SD-WAN) solutions. SD-WAN is designed as an overlay on top of existing Wide Area Networks (WAN), enabling businesses to use a combination of MPLS, LTE and broadband to provide a secure, high performance connection for their users wherever they happen to be, with minimal additional investment.
SD-WAN uses dynamic networking to support the new demands imposed on enterprise networks, enabling more robust and scalable architecture. In short, SD-WAN simplifies the distribution of WAN services to branch offices by using software and cloud-based technology. By overlaying SD-WAN service, enterprises can improve connectivity and security, while flexibly deciding how much they want to spend, depending on the level of performance they opt for.
Before the pandemic, many businesses were already moving to SD-WAN due to its flexibility, scalability, security and the potential savings. Among others, banks and large retailers use SD-WANs to simply and easily connect their branches or stores to their headquarters. Unsurprisingly, interest in SD-WAN has accelerated during the pandemic, as confirmed by an IDC study released in November 2020.
According to Brandon Butler, senior research analyst of network infrastructure with IDC, “COVID-19 has caused enterprises around the globe to reassess their distributed network architectures, with a specific focus on enabling efficient connectivity between remote workers and cloud-based applications”.
In other recent report, research firm Enterprise Management Associates (EMA) found that almost 98% of enterprises are engaged with SD-WAN in some way, and 37% have fully implemented SD-WAN. In addition, top reason why SD-WAN can support enterprises during a crisis are secure connectivity (67%) and optimized connectivity for hybrid workplace (58%).
Challenges in the hybrid workplace
In the old days, organizations relied on WAN to connect remotely. But times have changed, and WAN are no longer equipped to handle the demands of cloud-based services and software-as-a-service (SaaS). Before, users typically accessed business applications by connecting to the corporate data center; now, they are accessing those same applications in the cloud.
As a result, latency on WAN networks increase as traffic must travel further from branch offices to the headquarters to the cloud and back. In addition, traditional networks and virtual private networks (VPNs) are unstable and contain security vulnerabilities, which are being increasingly exploited by hackers.
To solve this problem, companies are adopting SD-WAN. SD-WAN increases WAN network performance and security through bandwidth efficiency, enabling companies to seamlessly on-ramp to the cloud without sacrificing security and data privacy. SD-WAN further gives visibility into the traffic passing through the WAN, while giving you next-gen firewalls and DDOS protection. In addition, with SD-WAN, policies can be transmitted from a central controller to the entire WAN Edge using an application program interface (API), and so security services such as encryption and app fire-walling become very easy to deploy across the entire company.
Finding the right SD-WAN
Many providers are offering SD-WAN solutions, so why choose Telin? Our customers tell us that they chose Telin for our excellent track record of performance and customer services, backed by our capabilities as the international arm of one of Southeast Asia’s biggest telco players, Telkom Group, with the ability to utilize our international private circuits and multiple interconnectivity options supported by Telin MPLS.
Telin, as a domestic and global provider and cloud-first technology partner, can offer proven solutions that are moreover secure reliable with a secure by-design framework and advanced security solutions. In addition, customers enjoy 24/7 dedicated support from Telin.
Since Telin’s SD-WAN operates as a transport independent overlay across the existing network, there is minimal disruption to your existing network and configuration. Making things even easier, Telin has created a plug-and-play SD-WAN solution that enables enterprises to connect, enhance, combine and integrate with scalable cost and coverage. Everything is preconfigured in this cloud-based solution, so that all customers have to do is plug in to connect!
In other words, Telin SD-WAN is a connectivity and security-enhancing solution that is simple to implement, enabling clients to improve business productivity and scale and build out their competitive advantage.
Telin SD-WAN for building the hybrid workplace
Since Telin SD-WAN can be overlaid over existing WAN infrastructure, with Telin SD-WAN, you can immediately advance to the next level of connectivity, beyond what you can do now. By steering traffic along the best path among multiple connections, Telin SD-WAN can ensure application performance and network uptime in line with the SLA needed by the client for successful hybrid working.
Specifically, Telin’s SD-WAN service connects customers to WAN through VMware Edge devices located on the customer premises. Telin’s network then utilizes the VMware gateways, which are supported by a centralized management platform, to find the most optimal path of connecting the WAN to the cloud.
Telin SD-WAN also gives businesses full visibility and control of their data, cloud and connectivity, which is crucial for successfully maintaining a secure hybrid workplace. With Telin SD-WAN, administrators can easily set access rules and enforce compliance policies for both remote and on-premise workers across on-premise, private and public cloud networks. In addition, businesses can maximize traffic to high priority apps.
In short, Telin SD-WAN delivers improved connectivity, control and security with easy implementation and roll-out, towards enabling a successful hybrid workplace.
Check out telin.me/SDWAN for more information. Or simply send us an email at marketing@telin.net with your questions and we can discuss how our products can improve your productivity and performance. Stay safe and stay healthy!