Wireless Freedom: True Wireless SD-WAN on the Horizon

Enjoy freedom with wireless SD-WAN. Simply put, it is wireless technology integrated into SD-WAN solutions. It is cheap and versatile and ideal for remote, branch, and mobile offices. With true wireless SD-WAN, organisations can improve application performance and network management. The availability of cellular wireless has given SD-WAN a boost. 4G/5G offers data that is faster than wired services. The latest features promise high-speed connectivity with low latency.

Features of wireless SD-WAN

• SD-WAN chooses the best path for real-time network conditions, pre-defined policies and application needs.
• SD-WAN enables hybrid WAN by combining MPLS, broadband and wireless technologies
• Using SD-WAN is less expensive than using a traditional network, as it optimises traffic flow to reduce network costs.
• SD-WAN enhances application performance by intelligently routing traffic across the most efficient paths.
• SD-WAN allows faster deployment and provisioning of new connections and services.
• SD-WAN allows centralised management and a dashboard to simplify network operations.

The increasing demand for networks due to distributed offices has forced organisations to shift to wireless network technologies instead of wired technologies like MPLS. Traditional networks face limitations, with restricted network coverage making it hard to access remote locations and connect to IoT devices. Cellular wireless SD-WAN is the new face of network connectivity, offering reliability, agility, and scalability where fixed lines are not feasible. It helps organisations streamline costs by generating new revenue streams and delivering QoS and application performance.

SD-WAN and 5G technology
Undoubtedly, 5G speed offered better performance compared to wired internet broadband offerings. The potential of a 5G network combined with SD-WAN provides excellent speed for distributed organisations, offering greater reliability, high-speed bandwidth and rapid provisioning. SD-WAN combined with faster cellular wireless connectivity has significant benefits for remote and WFH employees, who typically connect to data centres, public cloud or remote network infrastructure.

Modern IT leaders are replacing wired services with wireless service providers. Organisations already running on LTE at branch locations provide high reliability and availability in the event of downtime in wired circuits. Moreover, LTEs are ideal for temporary locations like events, exhibitions, kiosks, etc.

Use cases of wireless SD-WAN.
Healthcare, factory automation, oil and gas fields, and factory automation are also implementing AI, IoT, and data analysis. To avoid network congestion and outages, uninterrupted network connectivity is important. Wireless SD-WAN is the right solution for these verticals. Business-critical WFH and remote employees use wireless SD-WAN as secondary network access for redundancy and application performance. Cellular wireless offers additional WAN connectivity for remote offices and WFH to access higher bandwidth at fixed budgets, even in remote locations.

SD-WAN technology is advanced in security, offering relief from attack surfaces and excellent traffic management capabilities. With high-speed connectivity like a 5G network, IT organisations can enjoy another WAN option. The 5G links are quick and simple and provide link diversity to protect against backhoe and cable cuts.

Wireless SD-WAN is an alternative to MPLS, ISDN, broadband, and DSL. It is cableless and easier to deploy and manage. The key benefit of SD-WAN is simplified management of multiple links to enjoy load balancing, redundancy, or traffic segmentation.

Benefits of wireless SD-WAN

1. Link redundancy and QoS
2. Easy link provisioning
3. Diversified connectivity for WFH and remote locations
4. Active-active connections with latency performance and bandwidth when compared to MPLS
5. Superior application performance with network slicing
6. Excellent security, traffic management and visibility
7. Support for edge computing environments
8. Affordability
9. Improved functionality at branch locations

Wireless SD-WAN is used as a backup circuit in organisations when the primary wired connection fails, there are outages, and performance degradation occurs. Cellular services are widely available, and vendors have packages designed for various users. Wireless SD-WAN is seen as a strong alternative connectivity for organisations with a distributed workforce.
Some SD-WAN service providers integrate 4G and 5G services for the best results.

Organisations must consider 5G integrated SD-WAN for temporary setups where broadband is not available. Unlimited plans in 5G services are a boon for users who are on the move and want to access data in real time.

SMOAD True wireless SD-WAN on 5G keeps you connected while on the go irrespective of the availability of terrestrial connection. Now, you can set up operations anywhere without waiting for a terrestrial connection. With agile WAN connectivity for remote offices and pop-up stores, get your mobile office going. Organisations can add 5G as a primary connection with a fallback to 4G LTE.

Want to know more, contact us for a demo.