Industry Report: The Future of SD-WAN and SASE

SD-WAN or SASE for the “new normal”? Remote worker effects considered

The COVID-19 pandemic in the UK has highlighted the need for agility in response to supporting large numbers of remote workers. But how have networking and security departments responded to this enormous challenge? Have their existing deployments of SD-WAN supported them, or is SASE the only way forward?

This report, conducted in May 2020, shows IT leaders have markedly different views and there is confusion regarding the benefits of SD-WAN and SASE. Whilst those with SD-WAN have already seen it deliver management and security benefits, many organisations have changed their view on the technology.

2020 UK Report: Research results and overview analysis

Research results and report analysis – a must read if you are considering your WAN or remote worker strategies.

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Do you see / SD WAN and SASE as complementary or an alternative solution?

SD-WAN is seen to improve application performance by those IT leaders planning or deploying it, but nearly half with no plans felt that WAN optimisation gives the performance they seek.

No one case fits all, and even with the shift in focus from branch towards flexible workplaces and Cloud, WAN and application optimisation are far from dead.

Read 4 tips for managing the move to a new Cloud-native WAN >

The “new normal” / Flexible, secure and productive home working

With the massive increase in staff working from home, IT teams have had to deal with an expanding attack surface perimeter, increased numbers of edge devices and a multitude of new user environments. Managing remote user performance, with little or no visibility into end user metrics is highly challenging.

SD WAN and SASE are key in helping address these challenges, especially security issues. Real performance benefits can be seen using SD WAN, but for file sharing platforms struggling to perform over high latency links, application specific WAN optimisation is more likely to help. SD WAN and SASE offer great value in migrating applications to the cloud, by extending the edges of the network right to the doorstep of the cloud provider and improving visibility on performance and end user experience.

Addressing these challenges requires careful consideration of the technologies available to ensure the right solution is selected for today’s “new normal” and to ensure regulatory compliance for remote workers going forward.

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SD WAN, SASE and Application Optimisation for the “new normal”

Increased complexity in managing and securing home worker environments

Have any of the following projects become a higher priority due to the effects of COVID-19

The right fit / SD WAN, SASE or Application Optimisation

With so much confusion in the market around SD WAN and SASE, which do you choose? And, when is WAN Op and application acceleration a better option?

SD WAN is an inherent part of a SASE model, and many organisations should consider elements of both. The ability to provide secure access to all users, regardless of location or the services they access, and a robust, reliable and performant experience is key in the pandemic affected organisation, and important going forward.

WAN and application optimisation should not be forgotten, particularly if application performance over long distances is a factor.

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How do SD-WAN, SASE, WAN optimisation & Application acceleration work together?

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Skills / set to Accelerate

Here at Accelerate Technologies our aim is to fully understand your priorities and existing infrastructure, so you can choose and architect the right solution for your organisation, whether that is SD-WAN, SASE, WAN optimisation, application acceleration or a blend of these tools. With over 15 years in-depth experience working with WAN performance and security technologies, we can help with:

Integration and management of your infrastructure and Cloud links
Remote worker security in the move to a flexible workplace
Improving application performance and user experience

The team at Accelerate were heavily involved in launching WAN optimisation into Europe and have carried out major implementations into global enterprises.

We partner with Riverbed, Aternity, Cato Networks, Versa Networks and Fortinet to deliver customers the WAN solutions that best meet their needs.

What the survey reveals…