In the past, Corporate WANs were very predictable. Users were working on their desks. They were storing the information at the data centers. WAN was connecting the network hubs to offices. This architecture was used by companies for more than a decade.

However, cloud technology is changing this architecture. Companies are changing their network design. According to Gartner, the cloud market is worth more than $267 billion in 2020. But, this rapid growth is challenging network architects.

You can’t use simple WANs for handling this expansion. There are services like MPLS that can provide a fixed connection from hubs to edge sites. However, they can’t predict the traffic pattern. You need to invest more money in dealing with route adjustments.

If you are switching to a cloud network, then you need to change your network design. In this article, we are going to share some tips with you. You can use these tips for creating an enterprise WAN. This network will provide scalability to your enterprise. Also, you can easily manage and deploy applications. Thus, it will help you in digital transformation.

Create Regional Aggregation Nodes

Most companies think that colocation sites only serve as interconnection hubs. However, there are many more advantages of colocation sites. They are the perfect location for aggregating your local traffic. You can aggregate your traffic in regional nodes. This will help you in saving a lot of money. Also, it will increase the performance of your network. This will also increase the flexibility of your network. There are many carrier-neutral colocation sites in the market. Thus, the price of these services is decreasing with time. You can find the perfect colocation site for your applications.

According to a report by Forrester Research, colocation facilities will help you in reducing the network traffic cost by 50%. These facilities will also offer better flexibility to your network.

Optimize the main network

You also need to connect your aggregation sites. There are many factors that you need to consider. Some of the important factors are growth, traffic flow, and bandwidth requirement. The most important factor is the demand for your applications.

For example, you can’t use video and voice with packet-switched networks. Thus, you can’t use them with the internet and MPLS. There are various different paths in this network. This can increase jitter. Thus, you need networks that can carry video conferencing and VoIP. They will help you in reducing the latency of your networks. You can work with providers like Apcela. There are many carrier-neutral models available in the market. Thus, you can find the perfect solution for your business.

Set up direct connections with your cloud provider

It is important to set up a direct connection with your cloud platform. Enterprises are moving more data to their cloud server. Thus, the best services are slowly becoming less suitable. This can reduce the data transfer speed. Hence, you should set up direct connections to your cloud provider. This will offer better speed to you. If you want to increase your enterprise security, then this is a very important step for you. There are many cloud platforms providing direct access. Cloud providers like AWS, Google and Microsoft are providing direct access. You can directly connect them with your neutral colocation centers.

You should also know where your information is stored in your cloud. Sometimes there can be a huge distance between your direct connect location and cloud servers. Thus, it is better to route traffic to a different network. This will help you in increasing your data transfer speed.

Use SD-WAN

SD-WAN or Software-Defined WAN is changing the telecom industry. It is helping companies in building a more flexible network. Also, you can use it for creating a simple architecture. This technology is already ready for cloud technology. Thus, you can use it with your cloud server. The GUI of SD-WAN will help you in maintaining your network. You can easily change your network parameters. Network admins don’t need to worry about typing complex commands. They can change the settings from the Graphical interface. This will help you in fine-tuning the network performance. You don’t need to worry about the command-line interface.

It is also providing automated provisioning to companies. There are various connection options available like the Internet and LTE. It is very easy to add new sites to your network. The Graphical Interface has decreased the complexity level. Thus, you can easily add new sites to your network. Route optimization will also help you in optimizing your cloud projects. The demand for SD-WAN is increasing in the market. It is helping companies in dealing with network changes.

Distribute Internet Gateways and Security

The corporate traffic is increasing with time. More people are using the internet for accessing services. Corporate WANs are helping companies in managing their Internet traffic. They are funneling internet traffic. This traffic will go through various secure firewalls. These firewalls are located in various data centers. However, this can degrade the internet performance of your users. Your uses can face a lot of problems due to this.

Some enterprises are deploying firewalls at their edge sites. This is helping them in improving Internet performance. However, you need to invest a lot of money in software, security management, and hardware. There is a better solution available in the market. You can deploy security gateways in your nodes. This will help you in lowering your operational costs. These internet gateways will help you in increasing your performance.

Conclusion

It is important to redesign your whole network. You can’t use traditional networks with cloud providers. Thus, it is important to design a cloud-ready WAN. These tips will help you in creating a cloud-ready WAN network. It will help you in decreasing your operational costs. If you need more tips regarding cloud-ready WAN, then you can contact Bleuwire.

Contact us today to learn about Bleuwire™ services and solutions in how we can help your business.