What is SD-WAN?
SD-WAN is the next generation Wide Area Network or WAN for short that is wide-reaching, secure, and manageable. SD stands for software defined. WAN is a network that connects phones, computers, and other tech across the world. Many companies rely on WAN to meet their daily business needs. SD-WAN is essentially an upgrade to WAN. It focuses on prioritization and optimization. Multisource-congestion is the primary driver in mid-market business network overhauls. SD-WAN fixes this solution by prioritizing the most important uses of the network. In addition to prioritization, it optimizes the usage and functionality of the network by providing a centralized management interface, availability over multiple cloud environments, and enhanced security.
For example, SD-WAN can prioritize the phone call as the highest value within the network. As a result, employees no longer have to worry about phone quality or other network congestion issues related to business voice service. But is it necessary for Unified Communications? Read more to find out.
The Growth of SD-WAN
SD-WAN has experienced numerous growth and popularity in the last decade. In fact, “nearly 25% of businesses will utilize SD-WAN in 2019, and the market is expected to grow to $1.3 billion by 2020 (Gartner).” SD-WAN will be on the market for many years because it improves the network infrastructure and connectivity for many businesses. For those who want to upgrade their network, it is important to discover if this technology is the best fit for your business.
The Best Fit for SD-WAN?
While SD-WAN prioritizes certain features over others when they crowd the network, a cloud-hosted business voice solution can achieve the same objective. This network is typically more beneficial for large enterprise companies with many offices across the country or world. For most small to medium-sized businesses, a cloud-hosted solution is going to be just as effective and more cost-efficient.
As organizations demand greater bandwidth, due to increases in cloud applications, and more remote-workforce accessible solutions, end-users are looking for a network solution that will propel them into the next generation of communications with information processing that supports the digital transformation from proprietary hardware networks. Local and wide area networks (LAN and WAN) can no longer serve businesses as they once did. The future demands implementing a cost-effective, simplified, optimized, and secure means of transmitting data and voice communications.
Do I need SD-WAN for Unified Communications?
The short answer is “no”. Unified Communications (UC) or UCaaS, works without this extensive infrastructure. Many providers, including Level365, offer QoS options that provide priority and optimization for UC service using the company’s current network structure. In other words, your business UC service can being prioritized and optimized across the network without it. For most companies, there is not a need to fully invest in SD-WAN to enjoy the benefits of UC.
About Level365:
Level365 offers a complete Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) solution with enterprise voice that is customizable and scalable for your business. Our service seamlessly integrates communication among desk phones, computers, and mobile devices to improve efficiency and collaboration. The UC platform extends beyond voice communications with Unified Messaging, Presence, Chat/SMS, Video Collaboration, Cloud Faxing, CRM Integrations, and more.
