While there are many options for connecting all computing devices across different sites, a wide area network (WAN) is one of the best solutions for ensuring the highest levels of security, reliability, and connection speeds.
A WAN is a solution that allows business organizations to connect all internet-enabled devices and computer-related systems across a large geographic area and develop a unified, centralized network across entire countries.
Connecting all your corporate devices allows you to build a security network for transferring sensitive data. Nowadays, modern businesses can create ad hoc networks using public cloud solutions and the power of the internet.
Although companies could rely on cloud providers, a downside to this option is that problems with the providers could cause network issues. A WAN bypasses that by giving you complete control over your platform. With that in mind, let’s discuss the importance of a WAN for digital businesses.
WAN features and benefits
WANs allow digital businesses to connect their devices and disparate locations via a secure and safe network. This network ensures safe and easy sharing and data access across all existing business websites.
A WAN comes with the following features:
Managed WAN services
Digital businesses have two options on their hands:
As enterprise applications moved to the cloud, the old WAN technologies such as MPLS couldn't support this change. SD-WAN is what enables this digital transformation as it allows not only for site-to-site connectivity but also for site-to cloud.
Additionally, SD-WAN adds agility to the WAN as the SD-WAN routers are typically managed from one cloud management system in which all routing policies and network architectures are defined.
Many of the networking and security vendors already offer SD-WAN products which are used by service providers to offer SD-WAN services to their enterprise customers. These SD-WAN products of the large vendors are typically closed and offered as a large and complex software stack.
One vendor that sicks out of the crowd is the open source company flexiWAN. In addition to being open source, flexiWAN offers a hosted solution in a SaaS (News - Alert) business model and features an application store so 3rd party applications and flexiWAN applications can be dynamically loaded to the system. This open architecture of applications is similar to the evolution of mobile phones from feature phones to smartphones.
Conclusion
The right WAN solutions for your business solely depend on your business model, organizational structure, and networking needs. It also depends on the level of your tech-savvy knowledge and your readiness to operate, manage, and maintain the network.
Even though self-management seems like a more affordable solution, it could cause you significant problems in the cybersecurity department.
Since downtime is not something you can afford, we recommend finding a reliable and trustworthy managed network provider with a range of solutions that can meet your specific networking needs.