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NetFortris has provided MPLS networks to enterprises for years so when we explored the addition of SD-WAN in 2016, things became clear. One, SD-WAN would bridge the private aspects of MPLS with the bandwidth and accessibility of the internet, two NetFortris’ managed network services would provide customers with a fully managed over the top solutions regardless of the access provider.
This capability was strategically important as we moved closer to the merger with Fonality in February. We knew our Fonality clients would immediately gain a new advantage with SD-WAN and the ability to provide management down to the access layer, which would not have been possible in the traditional UCaaS product environment. This provides customers a unified business communications solution end to end!
How does SD-WAN fit into a national enterprise footprint? NetFortris Total Control WAN allows businesses to uniformly right-side their network based on unique local availability and requirements, while improving the performance critical business applications, including UCaaS. Also, flattening their CPE footprint and network design in one manageable solution lowers their operational costs while improving efficiency. We keep the architectural makeup of our network top of mind for our customers, cloud gateways and other virtual networks functions (VNFs) are core to our network. Additionally, NetFortris will be extending our Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance when using SD-WAN. We’re extremely proud to provide customers with the security and availability that they need to grow.
Business WAN no longer needs to be a ‘this or that’ conversation.
SD-WAN sounds like a dream solution, but there are still important factors that NetFortris will help you consider when evaluating an SD-WAN solution. Here are 4 critical questions our engineers, with both networking and UCaaS experience, can assist with:
1. Architecture: Identify the main hardware/software components
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- How does the solution work? Is it open or proprietary?
- How does the solution scale? If it’s an X86 box, when will that reach capacity?
- Is the solution session based or packet based?
- Are you factoring in upgrade costs?
- Should you plan for the worst and choose a high availability box?
2. Throughput: Identify true throughput specs. This is paramount for large data needs …
- If there is a break in the network, how quickly can the SD-WAN react? Can it keep a session flowing as it automatically re-routes packets?
- Can we send low priority traffic directly to the internet improving the performance of our critical applications?
3. Security: SD-WAN is attractive, because it is far more secure due to the auto-ability to rotate keys. Make sure this is a feature your provider understands.
- What are the security features?
- How does the solution secure and manage specific applications?
4. Beyond the router: SD-WAN should provide inflight re-routing, so there is no interruption in the service.
With the speed of iOT and cloud technology adoption, businesses are demanding the same level of connectivity, without the expensive hardware of a closed system. We recognized the opportunity for our enterprise customers to improve their network performance and gain critical visibility into their environment. Our combined network, data and UCaaS expertise, allows us to address both. There are many half-truths in this developing market. NetFortris’ Total Control WAN removes the complexity of these decisions by providing an end to end solution. Bringing together all connectivity types into a robust, secure, private network topography.