FEATURE
THE EVOLUTION OF WAN WHY ENTERPRISE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION DEMANDS SD-WAN
T
hough MPLS and local access still dominate the enterprise wide area network, SD-WAN adoption is going mainstream rapidly, driven by digital transformation initiatives and increasing cloud migration. MPLS was designed before the cloud era and is beset with issues such as long deployment times and high costs. SD-WAN, on the other hand, is ideally suited for cloud-based applications and emerging technologies. According to the latest report by Market Research Future, the global SD-WAN market is bound to touch $19,093.2 million by 2026 and is driven by the need for acceptable networking infrastructure that adheres to the latest security policies and seamless connectivity. And a recent IDC survey found that 42% of respondents have already deployed SD-WAN either in part or in full, with 95% expecting to deploy it within the coming two years. “WANs designed for a different era are not ready for the unprecedented influx of WAN traffic that cloud adoption brings today. Such traffic causes management 26
CXO INSIGHT ME
NOVEMBER 2021
complexity, application-performance unpredictability, and in many cases, data vulnerability,” says Osama Al-Zoubi, CTO, Cisco Middle East and Africa. He says new business models have driven the need for a new network model. SD-WAN architecture, which was already positively impacting business prior to the pandemic, is now more crucial than ever. This new approach to network connectivity has proven its ability to lower operational costs and improve resource usage for multisite deployments. Tarik Belhachemi, MEA Head of Connectivity and UC/CX Business Development, Orange Business Services, says the goal of SD-WAN services is to deliver robust, consistent performance and agility by routing data through the fastest, most reliable connection possible. It also simplifies the distribution of services to branch sites without sending in an IT team and bandwidth can be scaled according to requirements. “However, SD-WAN is a highly dynamic technology and needs continuous end-toend monitoring to provide the business
resilience, agility, flexibility and scalability it can deliver. Deployed effectively, SDWAN offers enterprises the capabilities to keep pace with customer’s growing digital demands. SD-WAN, however, isn’t a plugand-play solution. As with any emerging technology, consultancy and careful planning are paramount to reducing risk,” he adds.
Osama Al-Zoubi
