INTRODUCING SD-WAN REMOTE – DEVICELESS SD-WAN THAT’S REPLACING VPNS ACROSS THE PLANET 

VPN Technology has been around for years now, (in fact the first ever VPNs were introduced back in 1996) since then, they have allowed enterprises with remote workforces, such as on-the-road salespeople, to enable those remote workers to access corporate assets on the corporate network from remote locations.

Until recently the status quo had not changed in this regard. Then a global pandemic shook the world for 18 months and the aftermath is that working life will likely never be the same again. So, we must examine, does the technology we use to enable our workforce need to change too? I think the answer is yes, read on and I will outline why I believe this to be the case and how our new offering, SDWAN REMOTE will enable your remote workers to securely and reliably access your network and to optimise productivity – from anywhere!!

The New Normal: Remote and Hybrid Working – How shifts in work patterns are changing the IT landscape.

Before the global pandemic, it was generally the case that people would spend the vast majority of their time at a single place of work. The obvious exception to this being workers whose job entailed being on the road, but this was the exception rather than the rule.  

When the pandemic hit, millions of people had to transition to remote working almost overnight. This presented a huge challenge for enterprise IT teams who had to put together a working solution that would enable people to work remotely and be productive, at scale.  

While the solutions used were almost universally thrown together out of necessity. The world did not end, and people were able to continue to do their jobs while remaining at home. While the solutions implemented were seldom perfect, the concept was proven and people began to enjoy the benefits of a better work life balance and no commute, as the world opened back up in the wake of the pandemic. Now, while people can return to offices, they don’t want to, with around just 1 in 10 people now saying they would consider a job where they are required to be in an office full time. With the majority preferring a mix. Hybrid working, it would seem, is here for the long run.  

Moreover, the days where all corporate assets live at a corporate data centre are gone, SaaS applications and cloud infrastructure mean that, traffic from a corporate user’s laptop could be destined for multiple locations, this never used to be the case and is another factor to consider when deciding up your remote working strategy.  

 

Why does the new normal matter for IT strategy – Is my remote worker technology choice important? 

Simply, your remote workforce depend upon reliable access to corporate tools, be they located in the corporate datacentre or cloud based, in order to be productive. Minutes of downtime on a VPN solution can equate to hours or days of people-hours lost, the cost of this can be huge to the enterprise, especially if this is a regular occurrence.  

Moreover, workers who are unable to do their jobs because of technology failures will become de-motivated and morale will suffer. This is due to a poor user experience, an incredibly important and powerful concept. One which the modern enterprise cannot afford to ignore or underestimate. The current employment landscape is very much a “worker’s market” vacancies are the highest they’ve been since before 2003. So, for enterprises serious about retaining talent, they must realise that dissatisfied workers will simply move on. Again, this is an insidious soft cost to the enterprise that can grow and become a significant drain on company resources.  

Scalability is another key factor that cannot be ignored. The solution cannot cause a significant burden of management simply to maintain. Stretched as they are, IT teams, who are now typically run very lean, simply will not be able to cope. A better way must be found.  

Is the VPN still fit for purpose – Is there something better than a VPN when working from home? 

For the reasons outlined in the previous section, it is my belief that the legacy VPN is no longer up to the task it is required to perform. Much like MPLS, it simply was not designed with the task it currently has in mind and as such is unable to keep up.  

But here’s the rub, there was no better alternative, so enterprises were forced to make do with legacy tech. I am happy to report that this is no longer the case, read on.   

VPN versus SD-WAN Fact file:

  • 90% home workers waste an average of 30 minutes daily due to poor networks
  • Of those 9 out of 10 people, 12% report losing an hour or more
  • 84% of home workers have suffered from an unreliable internet connection
  • 86% suffer from slow internet speeds
  • 8% of workers would consider an office-based role
  • 48% of workers want to permanently work from home
  • 44% of workers want a hybrid remote role 
  • VPNs cannot limit a user’s access, it is all or nothing.
  • VPNs have no centralised remote management, unlike SD-WAN
  • More VPN connections means more time spent managing the VPN solution  

What is SDWAN REMOTE and why is it better than legacy VPN tech?  

Well, I am glad you asked! I’ve put together a list below of why, I believe, SDWAN REMOTE should be your product of choice when deciding upon your remote-worker strategy.  

  • SDWAN REMOTE can leverage multiple connectivity types simultaneously (e.g., WIFI and 4G LTE) and fail over in the case of an outage on one of its active links.  
  • Direct internet breakout from the vendor’s global backbone, optimising cloud and SaaS user experience and negating the need for hair pinning through the corporate datacentre for Internet access.  
  • Unlike every other SD-WAN in existence, it is deviceless, the form factor is a downloadable client which sits directly on the worker’s laptop.  
  • Forward error correction to mitigate issues with packet loss, jitter, and delay across available connectivity methods.  
  • Secure, robust connectivity back to the corporate environment.  
  • Fully managed for you, by us, SDWAN Solutions.  
  • No VPN concentrator to manage or purchase.  
  • All of this for you, from £15 per user per month. This is an all-inclusive cost with no additional equipment or licenses required. 

The Round Up: Is there a better alternative to a traditional corporate VPN for remote workers? 

New technologies come to the market all the time, requirements change and as such those new technologies are there to service these requirements by design. Conversely, the technology we currently or used to use may now be obsolete or no longer fit for purpose (see “Betamax” or “minidisc player”). In order to give your users the best quality of experience, and ensure they are equipped to be as productive as they want to be you must evaluate new technologies when they come along.  

I believe SDWAN REMOTE is step-change technology – much like Netflix changed the way we consume tv and film, SDWAN REMOTE will fundamentally shift the way we approach the technical challenges posed by the new normal of hybrid and remote working. 

Head over to the SDWAN Solutions SDWAN REMOTE page to learn more about this exciting new product, or contact me on info@sdwansolutions.co.uk to find out more. 

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