Software-Defined
WAN
A Primer
Digital Disruption
Is Constant
Innovation Rules
No one industry is immune. 40% of incumbents are at risk of being displaced in the next 5 years.1
852%
Revenue Growth
2005-2014
200 Cities
45 Countries
Taxi > E-hailing (Uber, Lyft)
40 Million
Subscribers
CD > Download, Streaming
$30B
in Transactions in 2014
Transactional > Actionable Insights
31%
of Digital Ad Revenue Worldwide
Print > Digital78% of Executives State That Achieving Digital Transformation Is Critical to Staying Competitive.2
To transform, businesses use IT to DISRUPT.
To disrupt, IT relies on the network as the platform to INNOVATE.
To innovate, the network needs a next-generation architecture to DIGITIZE.
Sources:
- Digital Vortex: How Digital Disruption Is Redefining Industries. Global Center for Digital Business Transformation, 2015.
- Capgemini Consulting & MIT Sloan Management Review, 2013.
Digital Transformation Challenges
Current State of the Network
Dispersed
Geography
Organizations continue to spread out from large, centralized locations to multiple smaller, distributed locations.1
Applications
Proliferation
56% of organizations currently deploy some application delivery optimization tools to deal with bandwidth growth and streaming videos.1
Continued Device
Explosion
By 2019, there will be 24 billion networked devices and connections, up from 14 billion in 2014.2
More Bandwidth
Required
Business IP traffic will grow at 20% CAGR from 2014 to 2019.2
Mobility
80% of customer-facing employees are served at the branch.3
90% of Enterprise Revenue Is Attained at Branches.3
Branches Are the Focal Point. The WAN Is the Branch’s Foundation.
Yet 60% of WAN Budgets Are Flat or Down for Most IT Departments.1
Sources:
- WAN Key Trends, Nemertes Research 2015. DN4391.
- State of the WAN Report, 2015. Webtorials.
- US Census Bureau of the U.S. Department of Commerce, 2015.
Adopting SD-WAN
One approach to solving such complexity is SD-WAN. However,
SD-WAN is just another phase in the evolution of the WAN.
routing
control
WAN
Big Thing
routing
path
control
YESTERDAY
WAN
TODAY
Big Thing?
FUTURE
WAN Evolution
SD-WAN addresses some facets of today’s IT challenges: simplicity, openness, and agility.
Why Adopt SD-WAN?
IT Capabilities
- Increase flexibility1
- Simplify IT operations1
- Achieve rapid, elastic deployments1
Business Outcomes
- Cost reduction
- Business agility
- Faster time to market
What’s Holding Back SD-WAN Adoption?
Immature products/solutions1
Unproven implementation1
Lack of ROI
Lack of mainstream deployments
Lack of partner support and solutions
Weak security
SD-WAN Is One Approach to Solving Today's WAN Challenges
Simple
Automated tools to simplify IT operations
Open
Extensible and interoperable interfaces for customization
Agile
Policy-based system automation
However, SD-WAN is not an architecture.To digitally transform, enterprises need a
next-generation architecture.
Cisco Intelligent WAN (IWAN) = That Next-Generation Architecture
Technology Transitions That Fuel Digitalization
A vortex of changes that aims to:
- Simplify business operations, security policies, and processes
- Orchestrate and accelerate the simplified business through technology automation
- Gain insightful analytics that lead to best and faster decisions
Mobility
Internet of
Things
Cloud/Video
Applications
Software-Defined
Infrastructure
Intelligent WAN
- Simple
- Agile
- Open
- Secure
- Proven
- Supported
Digitize with speed and peace of mind. Intelligent WAN enables IT to achieve proven business outcomes.
IWAN Has the Key Technology Pillars to Enable Digital Transformation.
Openness &
Automation
Policy-based system management: WAN, access, data center
IWAN app with APIC-EM, Cisco Prime™ Infrastructure, Cisco Meraki®, Glue Networks, LiveAction
Network
Innovations
Broadest scalable HW and SW portfolio and flexible deployment models
Routers, switches, security, unified communications and collaboration for branch, campus, and data center
Integrated Threat
Defense
End-to-end security: At the perimeter, endpoint devices, and in the cloud
Web, cloud, zone-based firewall, intrusion prevention and detection systems
Application
Experience
Intelligent path control with application visibility and optimization
Application Visibility and Control, NBAR2, PfRv3, WAAS, Akamai (SaaS)
Proven
Implementation
Market leadership, broad partner ecosystem and services with 24x7 global support
SP (IWAN as a service), enterprises, small and midsize businesses
Source:
- State of the WAN Report, 2015. Webtorials.
Enabling Business Outcomes: Workforce Experience
Business Capabilities
- Anytime, anywhere workforce with pervasive, secure connectivity
- Bring-your-own X (device or application)
- Context- and role-based experience
IT Capabilities
- Simplify universal and secure access
- Gain visibility into devices and applications
- Optimize performance for cloud applications
Enabling Business Outcomes: Customer Experience
Business Capabilities
- Enhance customer service and loyalty
- Provide an omni-channel experience: Interactive physical and virtual customer experience
- Gain analytics that help optimize business processes
IT Capabilities
- Provide a rich, connected mobile experience to customers
- Connect customer-facing employees anytime and anywhere
- Simplify the dynamic nature of mobility and Internet of Things (IoT)
Enabling Business Outcomes: Security and Compliance
Business Capabilities
- Local and global compliance
- Data privacy protection
- Business continuity
IT Capabilities
- Use network security capabilities with no added complexity
- Combine advanced malware protection and traditional security
- Learn from real-world security breaches
Enabling Business Outcomes: IT Transformation
Business Capabilities
- Accelerated time to market
- Real-time, localized business change management
IT Capabilities
- Provision at the speed of the digital business
- Minimize manual and box-centric operations via automation
- Limit and control the scope of policy changes
When evaluating a network architecture to fuel your digital transformation, use the following requirements checklist to guide your SD-WAN assessment.
Requirements Checklist for Vendor Evaluation
Ask your vendors:
-
Do you have any evidence demonstrating the ROI of your solution?
-
Can you migrate seamlessly to an SD-WAN infrastructure?
-
How will your solution integrate with non-SD-WAN infrastructure?
-
What capabilities do you have to support a hands-on pilot or testing in my existing legacy or hybrid WAN environment?
-
Do you have validated and certified security offerings (FIPS 140-2, CC, or Suite-B)?
-
What new skill sets and hardware or software resources are needed to deploy and support your solution?
-
WAN is a long-term investment. What is the scope and scale of your support model? And the maturity of your solution and your company’s longevity?
-
How open is your solution?
-
How broad is your partner ecosystem?
Requirements for Technology Assessment
Architecture
- What is the minimum and maximum number of branches supported by the vendor’s solution?
- How is the interoperability between SD-WAN and non-SD-WAN environments?
- What is the solution’s platform, for example, physical or virtual, appliance or software?
- Which native Layer 3 to Layer 7 network services are offered or integrated with?
Management
- To what extent does the solution support northbound API for third-party management or control applications?
Deployment
- Which platforms can the branch component be delivered on, for example, physical or virtual, appliance or software?
- Does the solution support legacy WAN interfaces, such as T1, E1, DS3, and other transport types, such as LTE?
Security
- How is direct Internet access (DIA) supported, and which security services does the solution offer or integrate with?
For more information, visit
www.cisco.com/go/sdwan.