Learn how to save money and optimize your network with SD-WAN

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Imagine network downtime bringing your business to a sudden halt. For many organizations, this nightmare is all too real — and costly.

The average cost of downtime has historically been roughly $5,600 per minute. Some say it’s now jumped to $9,000 per minute.

The pace of business moves faster than ever, often pushing IT departments to their limits. Remote work, cloud adoption, and IoT devices strain traditional wide-area networks (WANs). Legacy infrastructure, reliant on expensive systems like multiprotocol label switching (MPLS), saddles organizations with growing costs, increasing complexity, and performance bottlenecks.

Software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) offers businesses a modern, flexible way to manage their networks and address these costly challenges. It gives the agility to scale and adapt as needed. It’s no wonder the SD-WAN market, valued at $7.2 billion in 2023, is projected to undergo a 27% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2024 to 2032.

SD-WAN’s value extends beyond cost savings. It empowers IT teams to manage networks with greater control, agility, and security while improving performance across the board.

What is SD-WAN and how does it work?

SD-WAN revolutionizes the way organizations manage and optimize their network connectivity.

Traditional WANs, which often rely on MPLS circuits, can be costly and complex to manage. SD-WAN addresses these challenges by leveraging software to control the connectivity, management, and services between data centers and remote branches or cloud instances.

SD-WAN separates the networking hardware from the control mechanism, creating a virtualized network overlay. This allows for more flexible, efficient, and reliable use of network resources. SD-WAN uses software to intelligently direct traffic over the most efficient route in real time, based on the current network conditions and the specific needs of the application.

Key benefits of SD-WAN

With SD-WAN, businesses can enjoy:

• Cost efficiency: Reduces the dependency on expensive MPLS circuits by allowing the use of more affordable internet-based connectivity.
• Enhanced performance: Dynamically routes traffic across the best available path, ensuring optimal performance for critical applications.
• Simplified management: Simplifies network management and monitoring with centralized control through a single pane of glass.
• Scalability: Easily scales your network as your organization grows without the traditional complexities.
• Improved security: Integrates security features to provide robust protection against cyber threats.

Challenges businesses face when switching to SD-WAN

While SD-WAN offers significant advantages, businesses may face the following challenges during implementation:

• Implementation complexity. Organizations with multiple locations and legacy systems must ensure smooth transitions. Configuring SD-WAN to work with existing network policies and tools requires expertise, especially when managing various connection types across locations.
• Connection management. SD-WAN’s strength in managing multiple connection types can introduce complexity. IT teams must monitor and optimize performance across diverse network links.
• Security considerations. The shift from private circuits, such as MPLS, to internet-based connectivity necessitates robust security measures. IT departments must implement appropriate encryption, segmentation, and security controls to protect data across all network paths.

Overcoming these hurdles with a trusted partner

SHI understands the complexities businesses face when adopting SD-WAN. Our team of certified experts ensures every aspect of your SD-WAN solution aligns with your business needs.

From initial design to full deployment, SHI provides seamless, end-to-end implementation. Whether you’re rolling out SD-WAN across multiple sites or upgrading existing infrastructure, we minimize disruption to your operations.

Optimal SD-WAN performance requires modern hardware. SHI’s hardware refresh services ensure your infrastructure supports your SD-WAN implementation. We integrate legacy systems where necessary and future-proof your network for continued growth.

We also prioritize your security needs. SHI integrates security service edge (SSE) solutions with SD-WAN, combining networking and security into a secure access service edge (SASE) unified platform. This approach protects your data, streamlines security policy management, and optimizes performance across all connections — whether cloud-based, on-premises, or remote.

Business demands can change in the blink of an eye. Don’t let outdated connectivity hold you back.

Ready to elevate your network with SD-WAN? Contact SHI to schedule a free workshop and discover how we can turn it into a strategic asset.