How SD-WAN is Securing Enterprise Network?

Federal agencies across the nation have mandated enterprises to modernize and consolidate their legacy IT networks solutions. However, such efforts don’t actually come with complete lack of challenge, including increased security complexity and lack of visibility as the surface of attacks are ever-expanding. The adoption of new networking solutions and innovation of new technology that demand faster networking solutions that can solve most of the present challenges regards with resources-intensive and latency-sensitive applications that are regarded with voice, video, critical and cloud applications like Office 365 designed to enhance the productivity and collaboration. They have put the growing strain on the bandwidth and traffic management, leading to the increased scope of potential attacks over the complete surface and exposition of critical data to the constantly increasing threats from attackers. The development in networking has portrayed several challenges for the businesses, and these challenges have only increased through the ongoing acquisition of additional cloud-based applications and other resources, especially when they have deployed to current infrastructure remote branches and departments. The alarming rise in a number of cases that have led to networking loopholes modernize for gaining access to the business network, it has led to shadow the current IT problems wherein individuals with procurement business are acquiring assets without actually having a discussion with other leaders about infrastructure that the business needs. When it happens in the overly complex IT environment, troubleshooting network issues, and implementing what could be simple kind fixes can often cost you days or weeks, hindering mission-critical and time-sensitive work process. Few of enterprises that had recently worked with government agencies as a contractor had to completely overhaul their infrastructure because their network had outdone their requirement exposing many of the faults in the system.

Secured SD-WAN

Many of the enterprises are directly or indirectly working with several federal agencies and sensitive business data that makes the challenge even more difficult for network admins. Regulations and privacy laws make it imperative for businesses to find new security solutions that can secure the network and even prevent the technology overhaul. The current solutions implemented by the enterprises that are SD-WAN based have a built-in security solution that completely eliminates the downtime and reduces costs without hindering critical business operations. Many of the SD-WAN solutions combine the routing, critical network functions, and applications that include voice, video, Wi-Fi, and Internet few of them even provide the required comprehensive network security. For a complete SD-WAN security solution, the basic function that is required, a complete security suite must be integrated, resulting in what some of the businesses are referring to as a secured SD-WAN solution. Additionally, all the functions that can be embedded in the networking infrastructure will provide the improved security infrastructure, reducing WAN operating expenses that enable applications that are much more reliable, robust and secure, it gives the businesses the required flexibility that can assist them in adopting based on the network changes.

Getting Started: The major challenge for businesses is associated with implementing a secured SD-WAN solution that can be addressed by following a few of the best practices.

1. Getting a move with a holistic strategy

Define and differentiate the different branch locations, giving a complete agency even as the main headquarters or remote locations, and satisfying the unique needs. SD-WAN solutions will identify various requirements along with application automation and added simplified network operations that they often would be lacked by critical interaction with other different branch devices. Extending the secure SD-WAN functionality into the complete branch offices via an SD-branch solution that integrates secure access points and switches can improve the functionality and integrity for the entire remote office and not just it’s WAN link.

2. Having an integrated management

Having a proper secured SD-WAN solution in place will allow the network managers to deploy, configure, and monitor all of the major functions that include security even through the single management interface. In this way, businesses can introduce rapid changes, quickly mitigate the risk, or even deploy the upgrades as quickly as possible. They can be easily achieved and even automated, thereby even reducing the required IT overhead cost.

3. Make a complete security a priority

Enterprises are increasingly adopting the cloud solutions that have regards with direct internet along with access in the new SD-WAN deployments, raising many of the security concerns. Integrating the SD-WAN solution is much easier in saying part, but when it comes to implementation, you will have to face several challenges. According to Gartner, most SD-WAN vendors support the basic capabilities that involve stateful firewall and VPN; they will need to regard with the security partners for advanced functionalities such as intrusive prevention system, malware analysis and sandboxing. Agency must ensure that security is not an afterthought when adopting one of the dozens of SD-WAN solutions available in the market. 

Solution

The adoption of bandwidth depended on applications that are software-as-a-service, businesses must rethink based on their ability of using wide-area networking strategy and how they can be used to deliver the secured, modern and cost-effective networking capabilities. Traditional WAN allows agencies to ensure the required distributed remote locations that maintain seamless network access as digital demands increase. Businesses need WAN solutions that improve efficiency and enhance security to keep pace with greater demands on the network and increased cyber threats. Agency needs to add the required software-defined approach to deliver and manage the WANs.  One solution that is followed by the businesses today in to overhaul the existing wide area network with SD-WAN to give the remote offices increased flexibility that enables the central management of network connections in a secure, cost-effective and completely apparent manner.

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