The enterprise Wide Area Network (WAN) is more critical than ever.
But as mission-critical applications migrate to the cloud, traditional WAN architectures are struggling with performance, security, and complexity.
Is your network keeping pace?
Optimizing your WAN is key to supporting digital transformation and ensuring a seamless user experience.
Here are five essential strategies to improve WAN performance and security in today’s cloud-centric landscape.
But as mission-critical applications migrate to the cloud, traditional WAN architectures are struggling with performance, security, and complexity.
Is your network keeping pace?
Optimizing your WAN is key to supporting digital transformation and ensuring a seamless user experience.
Here are five essential strategies to improve WAN performance and security in today’s cloud-centric landscape.
1. Identify and Prioritize Critical Traffic
Not all network traffic is created equal.
The first step to improving WAN efficiency is to identify which workloads—like ERP systems (SAP, Oracle) and Unified Communications (UCaaS like Zoom or Teams) — are sensitive to latency and demand higher security.
Why it matters: The explosion of cloud-based apps has dramatically increased traffic on the corporate WAN.
Prioritization ensures business-critical applications get the resources they need.
Actionable Tip: Use traffic analytics tools to map application performance.
Seek Service Level Agreements (SLAs) that guarantee performance and security for your most vital data flows.
The first step to improving WAN efficiency is to identify which workloads—like ERP systems (SAP, Oracle) and Unified Communications (UCaaS like Zoom or Teams) — are sensitive to latency and demand higher security.
Why it matters: The explosion of cloud-based apps has dramatically increased traffic on the corporate WAN.
Prioritization ensures business-critical applications get the resources they need.
Actionable Tip: Use traffic analytics tools to map application performance.
Seek Service Level Agreements (SLAs) that guarantee performance and security for your most vital data flows.
2. Bypass the Public Internet for Sensitive Data
Relying on the public internet to connect to cloud applications is a recipe for unpredictability.
It’s a “best-effort” service that lacks the consistency needed for mission-critical operations.
Why it matters: The internet introduces security risks and performance variability that can compromise sensitive data and hamper productivity.
Actionable Tip: Implement private, dedicated connections directly to your cloud (AWS, Azure, GCP) or SaaS providers. This adds a crucial layer of security and provides reliable, high-performance pathways for your data.
3. Reduce Network Hops to Minimize Latency
Every “hop” (when a data packet moves between networks) on the public internet adds potential latency and points of failure. The more hops, the slower your applications feel for the end-user.
Why it matters: Reducing hops is one of the most effective ways to decrease network latency and dramatically improve application responsiveness and user satisfaction.
Actionable Tip: Choose networking solutions that offer you control over the network path from your users to their cloud destinations, ensuring the most direct route possible.
Why it matters: Reducing hops is one of the most effective ways to decrease network latency and dramatically improve application responsiveness and user satisfaction.
Actionable Tip: Choose networking solutions that offer you control over the network path from your users to their cloud destinations, ensuring the most direct route possible.
4. Embrace a Multi-Cloud Strategy with the Right Architecture
Multi-cloud is the new norm. According to Gartner, over 80% of organizations use multiple cloud providers to leverage different strengths and avoid vendor lock-in.
Why it matters: Connecting to multiple clouds over a traditional WAN is complex and can lead to inconsistent cross-cloud performance.
Actionable Tip: Adopt an interconnection platform designed for multi-cloud environments. This provides greater visibility, control, and scalability, simplifying management and ensuring reliable performance between different clouds.
Why it matters: Connecting to multiple clouds over a traditional WAN is complex and can lead to inconsistent cross-cloud performance.
Actionable Tip: Adopt an interconnection platform designed for multi-cloud environments. This provides greater visibility, control, and scalability, simplifying management and ensuring reliable performance between different clouds.
5. Demand Commercial and Operational Flexibility
Long-term, rigid contracts can stifle innovation and agility. Modern businesses need a WAN that can adapt as quickly as their cloud strategy evolves.
Why it matters: The ability to scale bandwidth up or down, or provision new services on-demand, is crucial for responding to market changes and supporting growth.
Actionable Tip: Look for networking solutions that offer flexible, consumption-based pricing and the ability to shape services through a self-service portal, freeing you from lengthy procurement cycles.
Why it matters: The ability to scale bandwidth up or down, or provision new services on-demand, is crucial for responding to market changes and supporting growth.
Actionable Tip: Look for networking solutions that offer flexible, consumption-based pricing and the ability to shape services through a self-service portal, freeing you from lengthy procurement cycles.
Ready to Simplify Your WAN Transformation?
Legacy WANs weren’t built for the cloud. Many forward-thinking businesses are now leveraging eSIX Software-Defined Metro
to simplify and optimize their network for multi-cloud workloads, gaining the performance, security, and agility they need.
