Revolutionizing Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) with Smart Branch

As businesses grow across various geographical locations, new sites need to be added to their corporate network. This poses a challenge when enterprises need to add multiple locations to the network and they have to rely on traditional hardware-based networking. For starters, traditional WANs are unable to respond with the speed at which businesses grow and have long change intervals along with non-resilient architecture. Moreover, as the network grows, so do the costs of the bandwidth upgrades of MPLS circuits and refresh of customer premise equipment. Additionally, they result in poor user experience owing to outdated traffic patterns. Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) eliminates these challenges all at once.

What is SD-WAN?

An SD-WAN is a specific way in which Software-Defined Networking (SDN) is applied to WANs. It virtualizes the network intelligence functions using software and by decoupling the hardware from the control mechanism. This means that organizations enjoy minimum dependency on hardware, reduced complexity of configuration and lower costs, increased flexibility and agility that meets the organization’s growth, speed and simpler administration.

The Smart Branch difference

Microland’s Smart Branch offers fully managed SD-WAN solutions and services that seamlessly connects users and applications regardless of hosting locations.

The Smart Branch SD-WAN solutions make use of all forms of telecom transport and is independent of any given carrier. This means that different branch locations have continuous connectivity without traffic restrictions while having operational simplicity, flexibility and scalability as per organization needs. With cutting edge Network Function Virtualization enabled, Smart Branch unifies several Security & Network features into a single WAN edge device thus enabling seamless public & private cloud connectivity in a secure manner. Smart Branch also offers full branch support starting from WAN edge, through the LAN to the individual desktop. Additionally, what differentiates Microland’s SD-WAN solution from solutions of other SD-WAN vendors is the holistic integration of security and routing policy with enterprise IT systems.

Smart Branch SD-WAN features

• Leverage any/all transport methods: Our solution balances cost, speed and performance using the right mix of transmission standards and techniques such as broadband, MPLS, DIA, satellite, LTE and microwave.
• Secure and compliant: Smart Branch uses software-defined security to provide security when and where needed while meeting the compliance requirements with assured controls.
• Dynamic, optimized path selection: Dynamic and optimized path selection ensures that the provisioned bandwidth is efficiently utilized while eliminating downtime and guaranteeing performance.
• Flexible and scalable: Utilization of cloud-based management ensures that policies and protocols can be updated in real-time, customized access can be enabled and new sites can be deployed or changed within days while reducing manual provisioning and infrastructure investment.
• Application visibility and control: Our approach to SD-WAN enables you to view and prioritize access to mission-critical applications, irrespective of where they are deployed in your organization’s network.
• Simplified operations: Automation allows simplifying of operations by centrally managing templatized configurations and seamlessly integrating into larger IT ecosystem.

Smart Branch Benefits

Our Smart Branch SD-WAN services offers several benefits over other solutions available in the market.

Following are a few:

• Lower costs : Smart Branch replaces expensive CPE by adopting x86 commodity hardware, augmented with use of local high-speed, low cost internet connections. Most importantly, it replaces high-cost specialized and fragmented security devices and infrastructure with software. This leads to overall configuration cost reduction by as much as 80%.
• Agility and efficiency : Our technology implementation allows fully orchestrated operations delivering new changes in seconds and deployment of new sites in day. Furthermore, it enables improved application access via use of policy as well as optimization of the provision bandwidth via active-active connections. Smart Branch improves operational agility upwards of 90%.
• Enhanced security : Our security policies and compliances allow us to deliver security down to the branch levels, closest to its application. Additionally, it offers the flexibility to add or service chain security layers only when needed.
• Simplified networking : Smart Branch collapses branch appliances into one single platform. It provides native integration of analytics and security by eliminating the need for third party integrations. Additionally, it allows access to global service providers, distributed security and advanced SD-WAN via one single provider.

Microland’s Smart Branch SD-WAN solutions allow enterprises to leverage the full suite of NextGen network services aided by the power of local area networks (LAN) and Digital Workplace services.