Cloud delivered SD-WAN and 5 fixes for networking obstacles

March 11, 2021
Justin Rice
Enterprise Solutions Architect

Businesses from nearly every industry and vertical are embracing the capabilities of Software-Defined Wide Area Networks (SD-WAN), especially in an age when it’s vital to empower remote workforces. But what exactly is SD-WAN?

Cloud-delivered SD-WAN explained

Simply put, SD-WAN technology is the natural result of business applications being migrated to the cloud. Most businesses are familiar with software and services like Office365, but businesses around the globe are also adopting cloud computing services such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. Disaster recovery and backup services are also increasingly being managed via the cloud.

As applications migrate to the cloud, so too are network functions—and that’s where cloud-delivered SD-WAN shines. By moving network operations to the cloud, businesses are no longer required to manage their communications infrastructures at the local level while also gaining improved visibility and analytical insight. From there, mission-critical applications can be layered into the cloud-delivered network. SD-WAN ultimately drives business outcomes by giving customers a better experience when accessing these applications. 

Cloud-delivered SD-WAN software and cloud-based technologies:
  • Improve buisness agility with a software-defined solution that delivers faster deployment, on-demand bandwidth, and faster recovery.
  • Drive IT efficiency with automation and cloud management that takes the burden off in-house staff.
  • Reduce overall cost and stabilize IT budget management by eliminating data center upgrades and redesign costs.

Five remedies for remote or hybrid networking pain points

In the complicated global business environment, the versatility of hybrid and remote networking solutions enabled by cloud-delivered SD-WAN can grant a competitive edge—but only if they are implemented effectively. Enterprises often run into roadblocks when adopting a remote/hybrid networking strategy. Here are a few ways to minimize those obstacles:

1. Migrating your remote workforce onto the same network

Enterprises of all types and sizes have struggled over the past year to establish functional remote workforce networks. Given the chaotic conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s no wonder why so many remote workforce initiatives have suffered from limited performance. By partnering with a proven service provider like CBTS, a variety of remote work and internet-based connectivity solutions can be put into place using software-based virtualization—meaning your enterprise can benefit from greatly improved connection quality, reliability, and security.

2. Protecting your network with enhanced security across remote offices

With large numbers of employees working from home, many enterprises are finding their network security unsuitable for securing networks across a high volume of remote connections. An SD-WAN cloud security solution can easily be service chained with a cloud security solution to consistently deliver protection from external threats, including phishers, scammers, bots, and viruses—even as users access the network remotely. This reduces strain on your organization’s data center while providing peace of mind for remote employees.

3. Identifying opportunities for cost reductions while empowering remote workers

Especially at a time when operational expenditures are being inflated and complicated by the ongoing public health crisis, it’s critical to take advantage of cost savings wherever possible. Cloud-delivered SD-WAN accomplishes this by abstracting your organization’s network hardware and application transport characteristics to simplify management and enhance performance. This allows companies to replace expensive private WAN connections such as multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) by building higher-performance WANs that use lower-cost Internet access.

SD-WAN can improve your enterprise’s bottom line by:

  • Eliminating capital expenditures (CapEx), the traditional capital investment in IT infrastructure.
  • Leaving behind the complexity and high costs associated with building, sourcing, and supporting high-performance and leading-edge technology.
  • Allowing your organization to pay less for an agile, high-performance network.

4. Migrating applications to the cloud

With cloud-based applications becoming key components of modern business operations, network administrators are constantly on the lookout for new methods to ensure access and increase bandwidth availability. This is leading many organizations toward the cloud. A cloud solution that fits the unique needs of your enterprise can be a game-changer, but migrating critical applications to the cloud can also be difficult without a qualified partner.

5. Creating a more consistent and satisfying customer service

By embracing centralized, cloud-delivered SD-WAN functionality, enterprises can reduce the burden of managing disparate networking equipment across several locations, thereby creating more predictable performance and increasing quality of service. This has the desired end effect of allowing organization leadership to focus less on network management and more on long-term strategic initiatives and customer satisfaction.


Companies require network access immediately for remote workers. Learn how CBTS can help your team create an optimal home branch environment in our free e-book.


How cloud-delivered SD-WAN improves operational efficiencies

The intelligent controls of SD-WAN are capable of managing public and private network connectivity within secure and reliable wide-area networks. Cloud-delivered SD-WAN is also able to automatically deploy and maintain these WANs using VPN and other technologies. This allows multiple sites to remain connected and supported via redundant 4G failover links.

SD-WAN’s efficiency-boosting features include:

  • Superior connection remediation with packet-duplication over single Internet links.
  • Connectivity-agnostic architecture capable of integrating public, private, and hybrid (public/private) networks and applications with automatic site-to-site VPN.
  • A centralized, policy-based management portal with Graphical User Interface (GUI)
  • Application enhancement and a high-quality user experience.
  • Dynamic link selection by aggregating multiple Internet connections and choosing the best path for traffic.

A suite of cloud networking solutions

To support organizations struggling to equip remote workers for success, CBTS has developed a suite of networking solutions designed to connect employees to reliable, secure bandwidth regardless of their location or the number of users or devices sharing the network. For decades, CBTS has been on a mission to optimize networks, making them more accessible and their users more productive.

Continue reading for more information on how cloud-delivered SD-WAN can modernize your network as well as your threat management strategy.

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