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To stay ahead in the current hyper competitive business world, enterprises are under immense pressure to reach a new level of operational efficiency while being cost effective AND at the same time adopt and internalize a new customer centric business model. To adapt to this rapidly evolving business landscape, organizations are embracing digital transformation solutions.

To keep pace with the changing business needs and structures, enterprise networks must also be completely transformed. With the rise of globalization, growing demand for virtual workplace, BOYD culture, and Data Center virtualization, organizations NEED faster, 100% secure and highly reliable networks to run their business operations. A 360° WAN transformation ensures that Enterprise WAN systems are ready to take on the challenges coming their way.

As part of the ongoing WAN transformation series (link to blog landing page), we have discussed the basics of WAN transformation and the need for the transformation process (please link appropriately). But what exactly constitutes the WAN Transformation Process?

WAN transformation, first and foremost, integrates multiple service providers and disparate networks into a unified, centralized system and applies various cloud solutions to deliver enhanced network performance and enterprise-grade security along with significant cost benefits.

Key ingredients of the transformation process

WAN Consolidation

Network analysis, design and implementation form a key part of the WAN Transformation process. The technology partner conducts a complete and thorough analysis of the current network to identify areas of improvement.

All network connectivity gaps are filled by the partner’s MPLS network to ensure secure, reliable and scalable site-to-site connectivity to connect the remote branch offices of enterprises to the head office.  Managed Internet access services provide affordable, reliable and secure bandwidth to connect enterprise data, applications, customers, and employees.

A secondary backup network is also put in place to provide a fail safe in case the primary network connectivity is disrupted.

WAN Outsourcing

Based on the network analysis, appropriate outsourcing of WAN components and services is undertaken – some of the components are VPN over Broad Band, modems, and other CPE. The complete management of the entire network, including other 3^rd party BSO links and security is also outsourced to the technology partner.

Professional Services

The technology partner also provides a range of services to optimize the client’s network. Some of these services are network audit, network design including, designing the WAN, LAN, disaster recovery and Data Center, designing network security and complete network management.

Value Added Services

Depending on the requirements of the client and the existing state of the network, WAN transformation can also include several add-on services. The most important of these are customized network security solutions comprising managed DDoS, unified threat management with 24×7 proactive monitoring through NOC services and managed WiFi services.

The strength of the WAN transformation process lies in the fact that it recognizes that no two organizations have the same network requirements. Different business operations and challenges demand a personalized approach to WAN transformation; hence a carefully designed mix of network services aligned to the enterprise’s goals is the essence of successful WAN transformation.

As the most successful Enterprise WAN service provider in the country, we understand what businesses need from their WAN. We offer services that range from Data Center, network, cloud, application, and technology integration. Our decades of experience in building and managing complex network environments along with our network integration services make us the perfect partners for your WAN transformation journey.

Smart Cities and IOT are largely articulated buzzword in Digital transformation space. Digital transformation is good to have significant change towards betterment of human life style and “way of living”. Digital Transformation is broadly classified into exponential technology growth, Miniaturization, Virtualization and Linking Bio Technology with Information technology. The goal of digital transformation is towards the betterment of human life, one of the finest outcome of digital transformation is Smart City.  IoT devices are the building blocks for the smart city. Smart Cities are becoming a reality, more than 80 cities across the globe are projected to be smart by 2025.  Information Security plays a vital role in Smart City space towards safeguarding the higher levels of confidentiality, Integrity and Availability of the available services and automation process flow in the critical infrastructure, physical security, Transport, Telecommunication System, Government applications, Surveillance system and Inter connected alert mechanism.

IoT devices will obviously make your life easy, from your work place using your smart phone you can open your home door which is 40 Kms away from your geo coordinate. Even you can switch off your home AC, patrol your external sight of your home, get an alert if there is any smoke inside your home (Nest Labs). Even you can water your plant, weed your farm, plant your seed in your Farm house (Farmbot). Precise details about your heart beat zone, calories burn, your fitness information will be flashed in your smart phone screen with a help of a IoT band in your wrist. But there is a negative side too.

Albert Einstein had commented “Technology growth is like the axe in the hands of pathological criminal” Inorganic, uncontrolled technological growth without rationale will always paves way to the path of destruction. IOT and Smart city remains as Blue Ocean in terms of Business opportunity. The market remains untapped, New entrants, Start-ups are making floods of appliances and devices which are connected without a thought basis of Interconnections behind. Kaspersky Organization baptized IoT as “Internet of Crappy things”

IoT devices are evolving without inbuilt security architecture, If the manufacturer designs the security architecture in a chip form and embeds in the IOT the Price becomes unaffordable, due to the market needs and business drivers, IoT devices are incarnated without the security chips, remains affordable and highly Vulnerable. In addition, the IoT devices are not properly tested in security aspects.  A fitness band with lax security architecture in design will expose your personal, location and health related data to the internet world. An IoT Insulin pump and IoT pace maker security breach not only going to affect the confidentiality, but also affect the livability. Cherokee Jeep with a ECU OBD IoT devices had been hacked in United Kingdom and the cybercriminal taken the control of the Jeep and tried to crash the car. A Pace maker IoT device had been hacked and the hacker gained the access of IoT-pace maker and killed the victim. Those incidents triggers lexicographers to coin a new term Cyber-Killing.

Hence the IoT devices call for additional human security perspective along with information security perspective and proves the triadic CIA approach is not suffice.  Fourth factor of livability should be added to form CAIL quartet (Confidentiality, Availability, Integrity, Livability), Since Digital transformation is playing role to linking Bio technology and Information Technology. Stern information Security control must be mandated for the IoT devices, else it will cannibalize the human life.

IoT devices are the building block of the smart cities. driver less train (IoT train), Driver less Tram (IoT tram, Driver less Cars (IoT Cars), Fire Alert system, Fire Suppression system, Water Supply system, All mode of transportation, Government Integrated Applications, Street Lighting System, Transport Control, Crime detection system. Everything will be integral part of Smart cities. The weakness in the IoT devices sums up and endanger the human life, If it is not architected well in Human security and Information Security aspects.

The IoT technologies exposes new risk and attack vectors like IoT Security-Side-channel Attacks, this type of attacks focus less on the information rather it focuses more on how the information is presented. “The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it” Albert Einstein. Considering the challenges in this arena the IoT devices vendors, IoT Hardware manufactures, IoT Application developers must include Security   (Authentication, Authorization and Encryption technologies ) in their designing phase, and Security Testing framework for IOT devices must be introduced. Furthermore, IoT Security compliant assaying should be mandated for all IoT devices.

Let’s aspire to have the secure Smart cities built with well-Engineered IoT devices towards the objective of betterment in human way of living.

Cloud technology has completely shaken and redesigned the IT world and forever changed the way businesses are run. It’s no wonder then, that increasing cloud adoption is impacting Wide Area Networks as well.

Since the introduction of WAN, constant research has been carried out to find ways to improve it. Over the last decade, Internet content, applications, and users have grown exponentially and now with the advent of cloud computing, networks are made to handle ever-increasing amounts of traffic.

In this scenario, existing WAN optimization or WAN acceleration solutions are no longer enough to stay competitive; a completely new and innovative approach is required to harness cloud technology to reap the twin benefits of increased productivity and profitability. This is where service providers, like Sify, have integrated network and cloud services to create a new transformational approach to redesigning the existing WAN landscape – WAN Transformation.

WAN Transformation defined

WAN transformation can be defined as ‘the process of enabling organizations to transit from its widely disparate and hybrid networks to an integrated cloud-enabled networking platform, where new approaches powered by the cloud technology drives substantial business benefits.’

What is driving WAN Transformation?

Organizations are facing several challenges and difficulties with their current network landscape–operational complexity along with the pressure created by increased traffic has made the need for change, imperative.

The biggest problems that businesses face – dealing with multiple network providers for separate voice and data networks, keeping up with latest technological upgrades, minimizing the risk of technological obsolescence, plugging security gaps, keeping the network safe against the latest security threats and keeping control of infrastructure and operational costs– can be easily overcome by transforming into a fully managed cloud-enabled WAN system.

By transforming their Wide Area Networks, a business can access the next generation of WAN services – Anywhere to anywhere connectivity with a network that is application aware and supports all cloud-based applications – all backed by industry-leading SLAs!

Network and Connectivity will play a major role in turning today’s businesses into tomorrow’s global organizations. To make enterprises future ready, the next generation of WAN services is essential. WAN transformation leverages the power of the cloud to provide businesses with uninterrupted and high-performance connectivity with centralized management and control, creating a strong network to serve as a springboard for business growth.

 

As the most successful Enterprise WAN service provider in the country, we understand what businesses need from their WANs. We offer services that range from the Data Center, network, cloud, application, and technology integration. Our decades of experience in building and managing complex network environments along with our network integration services make us the perfect partners for your WAN transformation journey.

Today’s hyper-connected and hyper-competitive marketplace needs enterprises that can react quickly and efficiently to the changing market scenarios.  To respond with speed to these new market expectations, businesses need 24×7 access to reliable and high-performance connectivity. From connecting employees spread across geographies to responding and engaging with customers –a high performance and secure Enterprise WAN is an essential tool for business success.

The emergence of cloud technologies has created an urgent need for companies to reassess their current Wide Area Network (WAN) infrastructures and it has become clear that to power their future growth, they need to invest NOW in the next generation of Enterprise WAN. Instead of the usual add-on WAN optimization and acceleration solutions, enterprises must undertake to transform their WAN ecosystem from the bottom up – turning it into an integrated, cloud-enabled networking platform.

To understand the fundamentals of WAN transformation you can read our first blog part of our more detailed WAN transformation series.

Over the last few years, while servicing its various clients Sify has acquired a deep understanding of the networking problems, bottlenecks, and requirements of enterprises across all industries. This feedback and understanding prompted Sify to create WAN Transformation services.

What are these business needs driving WAN transformation?

Organizations are continuously dealing with several pressing problems and challenges with their network services; in the long term, some of these issues can severely limit business growth.

Operational complexity – resulting from the need to manage hundreds, or in some cases thousands, of sites and dealing with multiple service providers for non-converged voice and data networks.

Managing infrastructure costs – spiraling CAPEX and OPEX costs while ramping up or down. Businesses are looking for an overall reduction of costs by integrating disparate networks.

Technology Obsolescence – Need to keep pace with technology innovation while eliminating the risk of investing in old or dying technology.

Enhancing Network Security –urgent need for a holistic and unified security system to plug all security issues due to overlapping networks and multiple providers.

Administrative challenges –managing multiple vendors with separate contracts and SLAs takes up enormous amounts of time and effort.

Enterprise WAN systems are expected to deliver a vast number of services and support new technologies and trends. The scope of the network services must increase to deal with various factors such as – Data Center virtualization, growing demand for the virtual workplace, the rise of BOYD culture, stringent business compliance and the need for faster, secure and reliable communication platforms. To manage the resulting complicated networking scenarios and infrastructure challenges, CIOs need to carefully consider WAN Transformation.

As the most successful Enterprise WAN service provider in the country, we understand what businesses need from their WANs. We offer services that range from the Data Center, network, cloud, application, and technology integration. Our decades of experience in building and managing complex network environments along with our network integration services make us the perfect partners for your WAN transformation journey.

Every year, businesses are incurring significant losses – they are losing money, customers and their reputation – due to cyber attacks. By 2019, cyber crime is predicted to cost businesses $2 trillion worldwide. So it’s hardly surprising that, from boardrooms to server rooms, almost all IT related conversation revolve around Security.

Data and IT infrastructure security have always been a huge concern for all businesses and now with IT systems moving to cloud platforms it has taken center stage on all IT agendas.

Security solutions have always been a key part of DC design and architecture and Data Center owners have worked hard to ensure the highest level of security and have scrupulously followed industry best practices for security and met all compliance norms. But Data Centers are complex ecosystems and protecting it requires that security requirements of every component must be considered separately, but at the same time follow a central, holistic security policy.

Here are some of the critical components and their special security requirements.

Physical Security of DC

Physical security of the Data Center building and its components is crucial for keeping the data within it safe. The Data Center building must be designed to weather all types of physical challenges, from terrorist attacks and industrial accidents to natural disasters. Enhancing physical security includes a variety of measures such as DC design with thicker walls and fewer windows and doors, enhancing CCTV monitoring, fire protection and investing in specialized security team.

Restricting Access

DC security team needs to keep a close watch on the people who enter the Data Center. From cleaning crew and internal IT staff to visitors, access to critical areas must be restricted and all movement must be tracked to ensure that unauthorized people are kept out of sensitive server rooms.

Securing your Data

All Data Center security is ultimately aimed at keeping the hosted data safe and private. This includes comprehensive measures such as complete data backup and recovery, using data encryption while transferring files, enforcing the latest data privacy regulations and comprehensive monitoring of traffic.

Network security

The first layer of network security is securing the perimeter by installing firewalls to clean up traffic right at the point of entry. This can be followed up by using the Zero trust model and inspecting and monitoring the internal traffic within the network, to detect and mitigate any threat that might have bypassed the perimeter firewall.

Server security

With virtualization, server security has become more complex and challenging. It is imperative to follow industry standards to ensure complete server security with 24×7 monitoring, intrusion detection and intrusion prevention. Comprehensive security solutions need to protect all virtual and physical server environments and infrastructure as well as all web-based applications.

All businesses face a very real risk. Cyber attackers are now targeting anyone and everyone, regardless of size or industry. And these attacks are becoming more aggressive and sophisticated.

Being at the receiving end of these attacks, Data Center companies are, of course, well aware of the extent of the problem and are devising equally aggressive and innovative ways to safeguard their businesses. The continuing fight against cyber attacks has resulted in DC security services market worth $6.36 billion, a number that is set to grow exponentially in the coming decade.

With over 15 years of experience in building and operating Data Centers and a decade of managing network security, Sify understands the ever-evolving nature of IT security. Enterprises can rely on our comprehensive security solutions to safeguard and grow their business. Our remote monitoring and management of networks, servers, applications and managed security services help enterprises cut costs while improving their security posture.

At this very moment, industry experts and visionaries are designing the future of IT services and systems. The vision outlines a fully enmeshed and embedded role for technology in our daily lives – from non-invasive micro tech providing real-time medical care and smart home technology to microcomputers -a web of smart and predictive devices that will connect all the different parts of our lives.

But to make this vision a reality, we need IT systems that provide a strong and flexible foundation to jump-start these innovations. We need Data Centers that facilitate rather than obstruct innovation, Data Centers that are proactive and are able to anticipate workloads and respond quickly.

As data explodes and newer technologies come into play, the next generation of DCs is likely to incorporate one or all of the following features to support future business needs.

Software defined Infrastructure

Simply put, in a software-defined Data Center (SDDC) all the components of the Data Center – compute, storage, security and networking are virtualized and delivered as a service. All the infrastructure functions and operations are completely automated by software and this allows SDDCs to provide a high degree of flexibility, efficiency, and reliability to the entire infrastructure.

Hyper converged Infrastructure

Hyper-converged DC combines and integrates all the DC services and infrastructure components such as compute, storage and network in one single box. Along with reduced complexity and costs, hyper-converged DCs provide enhanced operational performance and better disaster recovery and backup facilities.

Robotics and Automation in DCs

While robots will not replace humans in Data Centers anytime soon, there is a move towards using automation to take over repetitive and monotonous work, freeing up DC engineers to focus on more important issues. Companies have started experiments using robots to measure temperature and humidity in its Data Centers and several robotics manufacturers have already developed small robotic devices geared towards Data Center work.

Green Data Centers

Billions of devices are producing data every second, which ultimately ends up, stored in Data Centers across the globe. Increase in DC size and numbers will result in a corresponding rise in energy consumption. Future DC architecture will strive to be Green, with energy efficiency and conservation strategy at its core.

As with all IT changes and evolution, DC design and architecture will be a reflection of the needs and challenges faced by businesses. The next generation Data Center is not a fixed product yet; industry experts are in the process of defining its various components. It is still a concept and an evolving work in progress and the next 5 years will be crucial in shaping the new fundamentals of the next generation Data Center.

With over 13 years of operational and technical expertise (or 500+ man years of experience) serving over 300 customers spread across various industry verticals, viz., BFSI, Telecom, Pharma, Retail, Manufacturing, Media, etc., Sify has an impressive portfolio of over 2,00,000 sq. ft. of white space spread across 6 concurrently maintainable Data Centers, 15 Tier II Data Centers, 6 State Data Centers and several more for private clients, all built to exacting specifications and best-in-class global standards.

The world of Internet is steadily merging with the world of physical things. Out of this convergence is born Internet of Things (IoT), a giant global network connecting all web-enabled things (including people) in the world. From your coffee pot to your car to the cosmonaut orbiting around the earth, our virtual world will connect billions of smart devices with each other, creating an ecosystem where these things will have the ability to sense, interact and communicate with each other and influence actions and create services with or without human intervention.

As of 2011, there are more Internet enabled devices in the world than actual human beings. And it is predicted, that by 2020 there will be close to 50 billion devices worldwide. The enormous amount of data generated by these devices will obviously need to be stored and processed in Data Centers and will impact DC operations and architecture.

Impact on Data Centers

1. Optimizing storageAs more data is generated there will be a corresponding growth in demand for storage space. Not only will this lead to more Data Centers being built but will also lead to innovative ways for optimizing storage capacity with better servers and newer compression technologies.
2. Inbound data flow and network requirementsAs of now, DC architecture is designed to support large amounts of data flowing out to enterprises. Increase in IoT traffic will reverse this trend and see huge amounts of data, comprising a vast number of smaller data packets generated by individual devices, coming into the DCs on a regular basis. This will require Data Center owners to increase their inbound data bandwidth.
3. Security and data privacyWith the number of connected devices increasing, the networks have become more vulnerable to cyber attacks. The security landscape must be designed to deal with this ever-growing range of cyber threats. Also as more and more of our personal data is digitized and stored, Data Centers will need to ensure the highest level of data privacy.
4. Data Center locationsCurrently, Data Centers drive cost efficiencies by building large, single location DCs. With the increase in IoT data it will not be viable to transfer all this data to a centralized location. DC owners will have to build localized Data Centers to handle and process the local data traffic.
5. Cost efficienciesIt is virtually impossible to store all the IoT data generated, DC providers will have to look for more efficient ways to sort this data in real time to identify valuable data that must be stored and processed further. This will consume costly network bandwidth and processing power and further decrease the cost efficiencies currently enjoyed by DC companies.

Research firm IDC estimates, that global spending on IoT devices and services will touch $1.7 trillion by 2020. So while Data Center owners understand the challenges that are coming their way, they look at the rise of IoT as an opportunity rather than a threat.

Sify has over 16 years of operational and technical expertise in ‘designing, building and operating’ Data Centers, and can provide 360° DC build services, from planning, designing and building Data Centers to training support staff.

Running a business demands fast and reliable connectivity and this typically takes the form of investing in network hardware and staff for round-the-clock network management.

With NaaS (Network as a Service) this is all in the past. All you require now is a computer and an Internet connection to connect to your service provider network portal. NaaS is a cloud model, which provides businesses with network services over the Internet on pay-per-use or subscription consumption models. Network, the backbone of any company’s IT structure, is now available ‘as a service’!

Benefits of NaaS

The biggest advantage of NaaS is the complete control and flexibility that businesses can gain. Network administrators can exert total control on the allocation and provisioning of the bandwidth and as the network now exists in a virtual world, there is endless flexibility for network capacity and scalability. This flexibility also extends to the location of the business and of course, pricing models.

Shifting network services to the cloud saves the cost of investing in and running network infrastructure. This is guaranteed to result in immense cost savings for business that are running applications with thousands of users.

For companies with seasonal or sudden burst in workload NaaS allows instant ramp up and down of network capacity with just a few clicks.

With Network as a Service, businesses can eliminate all the hassle of managing and maintaining the network. The infrastructure and its complexities are invisible to the client; it is all taken care of by the service provider.

So why isn’t NaaS more widely adopted?

As with all big shifts to the cloud, the problems that emerge are grouped around security, compliance and reliability. NaaS is no different.  While it is not a new concept, enterprises have been slow to embrace it mainly due to concerns around issues of availability guarantees, SLAs and concerns regarding security, data privacy and compliance.

 It is safe to say that cloud computing will be the future platform for all businesses. As the move towards cloud accelerates, enterprises will need to consider network virtualization more seriously. After all, the benefits of cloud – speed, agility, low costs and scalability – have proven to be irresistible in the past.

We are Sify and we transform businesses for a digital world like no other. We are committed to building networks that allow businesses to provide information to its employees – anytime, anywhere and on any device.

To understand the importance of connectivity, let us imagine a day without it. Internet and phone lines are down. Your employees cannot access their mail; your offices cannot make or receive any calls; everyone from the CEO to the middle manager is left twiddling their thumbs as all their cloud hosted data and files are unavailable AND most importantly all your customer-facing applications are offline, turning away innumerable present and potential customers!

That reliable and highly available connectivity (Internet and telephony) is the lifeblood of the business world is irrefutable. In the present hyper-competitive scenario, organizations are increasingly turning to the latest technologies to achieve the best connectivity solutions at the most affordable prices. SD – WAN (Software defined – Wide Area Network) is the newest innovation to optimize WAN technology for faster, flexible and cheaper business connectivity.

SD – WAN explained

Enterprises have been relying on WAN networks to connect their branch offices; to ensure uninterrupted connectivity to remote locations they had to invest heavily in WAN infrastructure and bear the resulting maintenance costs. SD – WAN changed the landscape completely, allowing enterprises to only pay for the functionalities they require with their entire CAPEX investment amounting to small routers.

SD (Software defined) WAN is derived from the Software Defined Networking (SDN) technology, it utilizes software and virtualization technologies to create a WAN network that delivers faster, simpler and cost effective connectivity to businesses. SD –WAN achieves this by decoupling network software controls from the underlying hardware.

According to Gartner, SD-WAN has 4 main characteristics – it must be able to support multiple connection types, it must be capable of dynamic path selection, must be easy to configure and manage and should be able to support VPNs, and third party services.

So how does SD-WAN benefit businesses?

Application-driven technology

Applications are becoming increasingly complex and varied. The needs of these next gen applications can only be met with the flexibility and speed provided by SD-WAN’s use of hybrid networks, which provides secure access and fast connectivity at remote locations.

Security

Enterprise WAN networks are now open to a growing number of users accessing it from multiple points and from multiple devices. In such a scenario, security has become a weak point for WAN networks. SD –WAN provides enhanced security, delivered centrally via an API to cover your entire WAN landscape with comprehensive security solutions such as encryption and app firewalling.

Quick to deploy and easy to manage

One of the main advantages of SD-WAN is its ease of use and simplicity; it can provide extremely dependable connectivity to remote locations, which can be deployed within a few minutes and can be easily managed.

Cost efficient

Traditional WAN networks relied on expensive hardware which were seen as a necessary cost of doing business. With cloud-enabled connectivity, SD –WAN delivers enterprise-grade services without any CAPEX investment. With a number of service providers offering varied and competing packaged service offerings, businesses can now pick the functionality they need and pay for what they use.

Centralized control

Network managers have complete control and overview of their entire SD WAN network and all its components. This allows them to monitor the network in its entirety, optimize network usage and ensure centralized implementation of operational and security policies.

Whether you need to connect your HQ to remote branches or connect Data Centers across your organization, SD-WAN has transformed the network landscape by providing premium, secure, and simple cloud-enabled WAN connectivity.

With its obvious benefits, it is hardly surprising that SD WAN adoption is predicted to grow dramatically.By the end 2019, 30% of enterprises are expected to deploy SD-WAN technology,up from less than 1% today.

With the industry revenue expected to touch $6 billion by 2020, service providers are trying to attract new customers by offering a variety of SD-WAN based innovative services, which range from NaaS (Network as a Service) to specialized WAN appliances to cloud based WAN solutions. And as their legacy WAN technology comes up for technology upgrades, businesses will certainly consider these options.

Sify’s converged ICT ecosystem – comprising infrastructure and service offerings for cloud, telecom and Data Centers, allows it to offer enterprises end-to-end network services. Our SLA backed services will transform your business connectivity with enhanced network availability, reliability, performance and security.

WAN – Wide Area Network, the three magic words that connect our world. Simply put, WAN is the network that connects local areas spread across the world.

The word network might conjure visions of tangled cables and blinking routers, but we have come a long way from the days when a 9.6 Kbps line was considered fast! Since its inception in the 1970s, WAN has been responsible for connecting people and facilitating business.

We trace the WAN journey through all its technological leaps from the 1970s to the present day and take a quick peek into the future of Enterprise WAN.

WAN evolution – 1970s to the present day

The late 1970s saw, what could be called, the start of WAN with X.25 Networks – a popular option with the maximum speed of 9.6 Kbps, which was used by many companies at that time.

The 1980s saw considerable innovations in WAN technology and through the decade network speeds of leased point-to-point lines kept improving. 1987 saw Cisco introducing routers to replace remote bridges.

At the beginning of 1990s, frame relay service was introduced and revolutionized the enterprise WAN industry by drastically reducing costs and increasing operational efficiency. In less than a decade, even the most reluctant organizations were using the technology.

The next big leap came with MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching) – a successor to Frame Relay. Since its launch in early 2000s, it has been widely adopted by the majority of enterprises. It provides an IP based service to deliver voice, data and video on one network. Over time,WAN optimization technology has been added to MPLS networks to squeeze out more bandwidth and lower costs.

Enterprise WAN in the coming decade

Plagued by performance and reliability issues, WAN technology could not get the desired flexibility and cost effectiveness that other Internet based services achieved.

Cloud computing platforms changed this. SD- WAN (Software Defined-WAN) is the technology which will be the foundation of the next generation of enterprise WAN. It is software controlled, virtualized Network delivered through the cloud; with all the cloud related benefits of scalability, cost effectiveness and fast deployment.

Now that cloud service providers are offering cloud aligned network solutions, organizations can finally get access to the next generation of WAN to keep pace with cloud-based application.

Organizations need to move from using widely disparate and hybrid networks to integrated cloud-enabled networking platforms that can provide seamless manageability, high performance and high degrees of resilience and security. Watch this insightful video on WAN transformation