With every new year, there come new challenges, new triumphs, and new opportunities. Making this year your department’s best yet means fusing core values (and lessons learned) from 2021, like prioritizing adaptability and agility, and building up powerhouse strength.
Last year, our industry collectively mulled over the new needs that arose with our new normal. We had to learn to stretch our dollars thin, but not our staff. CIOs needed new capabilities to stay at pace with the rapid rate of change in technology, and we needed them to work from the office and from home with equal prowess. Cybersecurity climbed to the top of our priority list, and some companies learned the hard way just how important it really was.
This year, you can count on SD-WAN and SASE to meet those needs and more, and we’ll give you a few reasons why.
- Cost savings
The hub and spoke model used to dominate the playing field, but now, it’s time to hang the jersey up and retire that number. Simply put: MPLS is old, and it’s aging more like fresh fruit than fine wine.
When you’re on the cloud, you can reduce your bandwidth cost while streamlining access to the data and services you’re using. With SD-WAN, traffic no longer needs to be backhauled and redistributed from a central processing center. Multi-point connectivity offers local access to users, cutting down on the amount of bandwidth and time needed to get you from A to B.
Consider bringing in the rookie– you’ll see the difference in your first bill.
- Efficiency
Let’s circle back to the root of the savings: data efficiency. By converting to SD-WAN and SASE, you can leverage any existing broadband connection or provider and still get the best results. With modernity and the sophistication of devices born out of the digital era as factors to consider, relying on fixed bandwidth is not only impractical, its success is also improbable.
Today’s digital traffic is unpredictable. Think of it like vehicle traffic. If at the same time every day the highway is clear, you may plan your commute to meet the daily peaks and valleys you come to expect. But, one accident, one snowstorm, one downed wire, and suddenly, you’re backed up for miles. Nobody enjoys a gridlocked drive home. The cloud can handle the volatility of daily traffic in a way that MPLS just can’t outperform.
SD-WAN has the capability to handle the latency requirements of two major players in the COVID-driven residual effect on technology: voice and video. Given that for the last two years, we relied so heavily on these two features to keep us running, it would be wise to invest in technology infrastructure that can accommodate both, especially as Omicron looms over our futures. When it comes down to it, MPLS just doesn’t have the capability of cloud, especially not for those still operating from home or on hybrid work models.
While your old infrastructure may have once been a star player, the new era is upon us. It’s time to freshen up your roster and take on 2022 with confidence.
3. Security
Cybersecurity has been a hot topic for a long time, but in recent history, with threats mounting, extortion on the rise, and unfathomable numbers paid out in ransom, its importance has been recognized and its urgency has been made known. While there are plenty of important choices for security measures you’re already making, like managed services, insurance, and potential hires, consider implementing a solution with natural immunity: the cloud.
It’s easy to manage roles and permissions with the central security of SD-WAN, and two major factors in threat mitigation– next-gen firewalls and microsegmentation of traffic– come with the territory.
With work-from-home ubiquity, the boundaries of the security perimeter have expanded, and so should your security capabilities. SASE merges network connectivity with security and combines both through one centralized, cloud-based deliverable. Gartner has a great walkthrough of the ins and outs of SASE, and we agree with them about two major points: that SASE meets the new demands for cybersecurity, and that we also hate saying “sassy” out loud.
Is the cloud calling to you? Maybe you want to cash in on broadband savings, work with a more efficient model, or position yourself against cybercrimes before they happen, and more likely, you want all three of those outcomes for 2022. Premier Team can help.
We specialize in cloud migration, offering end-to-end services that help you streamline the process and reduce the time it takes to get your new solutions running. The process may seem daunting at first, but with a trusted advisor by your side, you can embrace the cloud with ease.
Ready to make the switch? Curious about your options? Let’s make the connection. Contact Premier Team to learn more about SD-WAN and SASE, and let’s get out with the old and in with the new.
