The Mobile Workforce had always needed better connectivity when organisations relied on expensive technologies like corporate VPNs to upscale their connectivity solutions. But the lockdown has changed the perspective of network solutions as remote working became the order of the day. The mobile workforce created a massive challenge for IT departments. Moreover, employee productivity also suffered due to poor network connectivity. Software Defined WAN solutions (SD-WAN) are an alternative to VPN. SD-WAN edge device is installed at the remote or branch office for secure access for mobile users at an affordable cost. Now employees can connect to the primary office from home, hotel, vacation, airport or other remote places.

SD-WAN offers secure and affordable network access from anywhere. It is a software-based networking technology supported by managed services at public or private Internet Protocol networks. It provides bandwidth supply and improves latency. SD-WAN focus on secure end-to-end connectivity. SD-WAN helps connect to remote sites using the internet. It helps in reducing operational expenses and enhances the use of resources by deploying applications in more than one data centre. With SD-WAN, any organisation can deploy various services across platforms for consistent performance across different levels.

Wireless SD-WAN is easy to manage and secure, enabling remote network connectivity solutions for employees to access corporate files and applications from anywhere using available connections. It enhances the performance of latency-sensitive applications.

Why does the mobile workforce require wireless SD-WAN?
Remote workers waste around 30 minutes daily due to a lack of network connectivity. This could be due to an unreliable internet connection, slow internet speed or maintenance issues. How to get steady internet connectivity? The answer lies in using wireless SD-WAN solutions from SMOAD. It provides multiple connectivity like broadband, LTE (4G), and 5G and will fail over during a connection outage.

Benefits of wireless SD-WAN

1. It uses automatic failover and link conditioning technologies to enrich the user experience for applications and services. It improves the cloud user experience by directing traffic to the internet without having to route through corporate infrastructure.
2. With wireless SD-WAN, you can move beyond VPN. It combines simplicity with security, felicitating a hybrid workforce.
3. SD-WAN is suitable for business-critical application traffic at challenging locations. It provides highly reliable networking solutions for voice, video and data communications.
4. Wireless SD-WAN comes with a simple user setup and ready-to-download apps.
5. It comes with multiple connectivity like broadband and LTE.

How is wireless SD-WAN better than traditional VPN?

1. There is no limitation to user access in VPN, while SD-WAN can customise user access depending on the business requirement.
2. In VPN, there is no centralised remote management. SD-WAN offers centralised management, controlling branches and a mobile workforce.
3. Additional VPN connections come at a cost. SD-WAN allows you to have any links at less or zero cost.
4. VPN software uses a single connection; SD-WAN software can be shared across multiple connections.
5. VPN has only a single-point failure
6. VPN is an ageing technology designed over two decades back when the traffic was light, and networking requirements were premature. It cannot catch up with the organisation’s latest load and remote needs.

The mobile workforce is growing daily, and organisations cannot depend on a corporate VPN that can cater to less than 20% of the workforce. Today, with a growing mobile workforce, organisations should be ready to cater to even 100% of their staff who work remotely or from home. With VPNs getting labour-intensive, businesses are moving towards SD-WAN for cheaper, more secure and better connectivity.

SMOAD SD-WAN delivers centralised control over networks for an efficient and reliable reach. SMOAD cuts lags and intrusive IPs from external networks, giving you zero worries of call drops or failure of mission-critical applications.

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