The transformation from hardware to software is arguably one of the most significant transitions underway in IT. “As server virtualization is driving the need for software-defined virtualization of the data center, the hybrid cloud and virtualized applications access are now driving the need for a Software-Defined WAN (SD-WAN),” says Kumar Ramachandran Founder and CEO, CloudGenix. The Santa Clara, CA based company virtualizes WANs to securely connect users and hybrid applications. “It is what we call networks without networking,” he adds. CloudGenix’ SD-WAN radically reduces the remote office networking infrastructure required to deliver a Hybrid WAN that can support cloud, Omni-channel initiatives, bandwidth intensive collaborations, and a wide range of user devices.

Offering High Quality Uninterrupted Application Delivery

“The WAN needs to provide secure and high performance connectivity from remote offices to data centers and clouds in a low cost manner,” remarks Ramachandran. “Today, CIOs spend up to 20 percent of the IT expenditure on their WAN, and typically 80 percent of that is for hardware refreshes, support and maintenance-just keeping the lights on. For most enterprises, that can run to tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars up to millions per year. Imagine if that money went to driving innovation for the business instead?” he adds. That is, WAN implementations should address efficient delivery of the applications from remote user locations through multi-channel delivery options like Internet, MPLS, 4G/LTE to public clouds, SaaS, and virtualized data centers. Additionally, WANs should also adjust to any disturbances in the delivery channels to maintain the high quality and uninterrupted throughput. “For example, a customer, while accessing Microsoft Office 365, or a video conference should not experience screen freezes,” says Ramachandran. As broadband doesn’t offer quality guarantees, which may lead to situations like the above, CloudGenix SD-WAN analyzes the network to determine whether the delivery channel is capable of carrying out video traffic reliably. If not, the system will utilize other available channels as needed to offer uninterrupted delivery of media applications. “So our SD-WAN is a ‘cloud concierge’ to leverage private and public WAN resources at remote locations to optimize application delivery,” he adds. “Most companies only utilize less than half of the WAN they pay for; an SD-WAN with the ability to do real-time application monitoring and WAN selection can increase that to 95 percent plus, while improving the price/performance of WANs by 10X+ ”.

Securing the Network Edge against Cyber Attacks

In 2014, many of the attacks on retailers, healthcare, manufacturing and banks moved from the network core to the network edge - i.e. at the remote office, or store, or hospital, or bank. “The recent attacks in retail that leaked millions of credit cards, has definitely taught us some lessons - we need a new model for securing the edge of the network,” says Ramachandran. Hence, it becomes essential to slice and dice the network in a containerized manner while constantly changing security keys. “Networks secured by legacy VPN technologies are like hotels having the same key for thousands of rooms - a key that’s only changed once or twice a year. There is a huge security risk if this key is breached,” he adds. But with centralized network control abilities of SD-WAN, it’s like giving each person his own key. So, every site and application has a unique key, which automatically changes in the order of minutes. “Even in the unlikely event of breach, the exposure is extremely small and contained,” emphasizes Ramachandran.