Companies looking to adopt SD-WAN solutions will need to deal with some concerns. See more details below and learn about 4 top challenges with SD-WAN!
The SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Network) has come to transform organizations’ resources, using the corporate WAN and multicloud connectivity.
One of its main purposes is to promote high-speed performance WAN applications in branches.
The implementation of the SD-WAN has increased in big scales, as organizations look to invest in solutions, connections and quicker, more scalable, flexible and cost-effective alternatives.
Such an expressive growth is also the result of the need to reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO), without it negatively influencing the user experience.
Nonetheless, despite its features, the SD-WAN solutions also bring their own challenges to the businesses.
Therefore, corporations need to pay attention to their security and consider whatever means necessary to protect the network and for maintaining visibility in a distributed environment.
Below, see some of the main SD-WAN challenges:
4 main challenges with SD-WAN solutions
1. SaaS applications
Now, the SD-WAN replaces MPLS connections (Multi-Protocol Label Switching), offering all the necessary support for critical business applications.
When using SaaS applications (Software as a Service), businesses need to ensure all connections and software based on the web are getting verified and their traffic inspected.
It is also necessary to pay attention to security resources that relate to connectivity, since it can change at any moment.
Therefore, security also needs to be able to dynamically adapt and follow network changes in SaaS applications.
To enable this protection, businesses need to investing in integrated solutions, that follow protection mechanisms at corporate level, including anti-malware, NGFW (Next Generation Firewall), web filtering and others.
2. Multicloud Environment
To access essential applications and resources, as well as to move work flows in a multicloud environment, can also be challenges in order to maintain SD-WAN security.
That challenge exists because not all cloud environments work in the same way.
Therefore, to promote a cohesive application between a branch and the cloud environment or SaaS, connections must understand functions, security protocols and policies between the different platforms, in real time.
Besides, more modern environments are also prone to software security failures, once more highlighting the need for integrated security solutions in order to complement SD-WAN resources.
3. Data encryption
Corporate data encryption is showing to be increasingly necessary, most of all when businesses use their connections in several Data Centers, services, SaaS applications, the public network and more.
The purpose of encryption is to ensure privacy and to protect data, preventing information leakage from possible cyberattacks or security failures.
Therefore, SD-WAN solutions also need to support efficient SSL and VPN strategies to ensure organizations are, in fact, protected.
Additionally, facing a high volume of encrypted traffic, organizations also require an more recent firewall concept, the NGFW, of high performance, specially designed to inspect data traffic.
The good news is that many integrated SD-WAN solutions follow encrypted data packages, reducing the possibilities of external attacks.
4. Integrated security services
Traditional security strategies, tools and resources are no longer capable of keeping up with the challenges brought by modernization and the Digital Transformation.
For that reason, investing in integrated security services has now become an unavoidable need for businesses.
A recent study by Gartner points out that at least 72% of interviewed organizations cite security as one of the main concerns when implementing SD-WAN.
Facing that challenge, corporations need to choose security solutions aligned to broader protection strategies.
How to deal with SD-WAN security challenges?
The best way to deal with the challenges mentioned in this article is prioritizing SD-WAN security and investing in advanced solutions, according to business needs.
Besides, it is also essential to implement an integrated monitoring and compliance strategy, in order to ensure all connections are capable of covering the fundamental requirements.
Through these security solutions, is possible to deal with the challenges, establishing a network infrastructure allied to a consistent security architecture.
In conclusion, we can understand that choosing and adequate SD-WAN solution makes a huge difference when promoting security and introducing flexible services in branches, without bringing security concerns to businesses.
