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Is it time to rethink your network? Are users complaining about network sluggishness, taking forever to open a large email attachment, or being constantly kicked out of apps during peak hours? As corporate networks continue to evolve rapidly, the volume of data, the speed at which it needs to be accessed, and where that data exists is also constantly changing.
Gone are the days when the majority of a company’s applications and data were housed in the workplace in a centralized data center. Applications and their data move outside the organization’s wide area network (WAN) to Software as a Service (SaaS), Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and Platform as a Service providers. service (PaaS).
It is essential that your network infrastructure can adapt to meet the changing needs of your business. Here are some technologies that are fundamentally changing corporate networks:
Software Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN)
The need for higher network speed for internal and external resources is increasing rapidly. Coupled with the declining costs of high-speed Internet circuits, SD-WAN is changing the way businesses view traditional WAN architecture.
SD-WAN is the concept of leveraging multiple low-cost high-speed internet circuits to connect remote offices to each other and reach cloud-hosted applications. SD-WAN is a compelling case for companies to replace their expensive private circuits, such as multi-protocol label switching, with one SD-WAN device and multiple low-cost high-speed Internet circuits, resulting in redundancy and low cost. increased speed while maintaining the quality of experience of traditional private line services.
In addition to providing private connectivity between locations, some SD-WAN solutions have a cloud presence in various point of presence (POP) zones, which can improve the performance of cloud-based applications.
Cloud-based firewalls
Cloud-based firewall services have been around for quite some time. This service provides a solution that addresses today’s unique situation with the COVID-19 pandemic. Support for a large remote workforce has become the new norm, and cloud-based firewalls provide a scalable, redundant, and cost-effective solution that can save a business from having to spend large amounts of money. amounts of capital to upgrade firewall platforms and increase operational costs to upgrade Internet circuit speeds.
Many cloud-based firewall vendors offer zero-trust solutions, which assume that not all users are trusted, not just those outside the network. Zero Trust solutions dramatically increase a company’s level of security as an enhanced option over the traditional remote access virtual private network (VPN) model.
Cloud-based firewalls can complement SD-WAN solutions. Instead of sending all of your company’s Internet traffic to the data center and then to the Internet, your branch offices can send traffic directly to the Internet through the cloud-based firewall. This translates into more efficient use of bandwidth while preserving your company’s cybersecurity policies including, but not limited to, URL filtering, intrusion prevention system, and intrusion protection. malware.
Wi-Fi 6
As modern office spaces become more collaborative with open floor plans and more employees use mobile devices and wireless collaboration tools, wireless traffic is growing exponentially. Wireless networks present a number of technical challenges, such as interference and inefficient use of bandwidth resulting in poor or unpredictable performance.
Wi-Fi 6 or 802.11ax is the next generation of today’s fastest Wi-Fi protocol, 802.11ac. Simply put, Wi-Fi 6 harnesses technologies to increase the density of devices that can coexist in a single space and the speed at which those devices can connect to the network. Wi-Fi 6 technology will provide a better user experience to support the growing number of mobile devices in the organization.
2020 has been an unprecedented year with unique challenges for businesses around the world, but there is still room to meet your business goals. The key to your success? Building a scalable and adaptable network infrastructure and the exciting technologies listed above are just a few examples of solutions that will help you design a network to help you get there.
Davin Yasuda is Senior Consultant – Network at CBTS. Contact him at [email protected]
