How Can SD-WAN accelerate crucial Application Performance?
For IT and network administrators, creating a better, faster, seamless network has always been a top concern. However, the use and ubiquity of third-party platforms in the business ecosystem, including big data and analytics, cloud, and hosted applications, are straining the existing networks, hampering the productivity of the organisations. In this context, the role of SD-WAN (an acronym for Software-Defined Wide Area Network) is much appreciated. SD-WAN has become the most efficient solution for procuring integrated application connections. It significantly eases routing and network management, boosting security, helping in cost-savings for IT teams, and providing a more straightforward route to the hybrid cloud.
How SD-WAN Helps In Bettering Application Performance?
SD-WAN comes with several benefits that help accelerate the application’s performance.
• Swiftness and Flexibility
There are specific applications like VoIP and Unified Communications that demand high bandwidth. Most such applications use WAN optimisation technologies. But in several instances, these WAN solutions need to be more sophisticated to support bandwidth-intensive applications. SD-WAN offers an excellent solution in this regard. SD-WAN offers immense visibility and flexibility, making it the preferred platform for running such applications. With the help of hybrid deployment, users can shift traffic between MPLS and Public Internet connections. As such, SD-WAN offers a seamless and undeterred experience as far as application performance is concerned. With enhanced speed, organisations using SD-WAN can better their application performance manifold times.
• Better Load Balance
Different applications require different levels of services, and IT networks are filled with applications that come with their specific requirements. Each application has a unique set of specifications. Performance-sensitive applications tend to congest the network and hamper the performance of other applications. SD-WAN solutions help in this regard. They provide adaptable pathways in keeping with individual application requirements. This way, the congestion in the network is done away with as the traffic is diverted to alternate channels that are not so busy. This also helps with a data transfer that is far more trustworthy and is not lost or blocked as in other cases.
• Affordable Price
SD-WAN is far more affordable and flexible than traditional WAN. However, traditional WAN provides each site with pricey custom routers and carrier MPLS. This kind of solution is not only expensive, but it is also tough to change as per requirements. It is especially true for businesses operating internationally or with highly advanced IT environments. Businesses can utilise any available connection to provide connectivity in the case of SD-WAN. These sites can be quickly turned up, thanks to the versatility of SD-WAN. The SD-WAN, along with off-the-shelf hardware, decreases capital expenses, does away with the requirement of maintenance contracts, and eliminates the need for deploying expensive professional services to set up the network. With SD-WAN, network characteristics and hardware profiles are automatically configured and deployed. Adding new websites to the existing WAN becomes easy with SD-WAN; all it requires is a click of a button and a few data entries.
As is apparent, using SD-WAN enhances the performances of the applications to entirely new heights altogether, but simply switching over to the SD-WAN platform does not help. SD-WAN is only a part of the solution; there are other requirements that businesses need to acquire to improve their application performances. One such requirement is WAN optimisation. SD-WAN solutions with WAN optimisation and application acceleration technology are the real game changers. Solutions like these help businesses to open files over 100 Mbps connections in just 90 seconds. Similar file-opening processes would take close to 20 minutes in an environment without SD-WAN. With the help of such solutions, businesses cannot only enhance their productivity to new levels but the cost incurred in installing such a solution would be paid off within a month itself, thanks to such high productivity levels.
Therefore, businesses must comprehend the best ways to use SD-WAN completely and the ancillary tools required to optimise their applications’ performance.