Businesses must be flexible to meet the demands of customers, streamline processes, and pivot to evolving business needs. Just as enterprise networks have evolved to handle and virtualize the wider distribution of data, applications, and users, the evolution of wide-area networks (WANs) takes the network edge to the next level.

WAN presents an exciting opportunity for transformative change, particularly in the cases of LTE and 5G wireless WAN (WWAN). Whether these networks are in permanent or temporary locations, they have the potential to significantly expand a business’s ability to respond quickly to operational and customer needs.

Elements Of An Effective Wireless WAN

Wireless WANs are an effective solution for a wide range of business needs, including pop-up locations, outdoor operations, IoT networks, and redundant high-availability devices. Here are four foundational benefits:

1. Agile And Resilient Connectivity: Wireless WAN deployments provide . In a study by research firm , WWAN was shown to enhance network availability and reduce annual downtime by 62% to 88% when used by organizations in . With the rise of dual carriers like LTE and 5G, cellular connectivity has become a reliable and flexible solution for industries relying on large file transfers, video streaming, and augmented reality for productivity and enhanced customer experiences.
2. Quick Deployment And Clear Visibility: What makes WWAN a primary choice for organizations is its seamless cloud-based management and swift, zero-touch deployment. Equipped with pre-inserted SIM cards, wireless WAN simplifies wireless router setup to eliminate downtime and minimize costs. This allows IT teams to focus on secure provisioning, monitoring, and control of devices from anywhere.
3. Policy-Based Network Traffic Shaping: WWANs support various optimization scenarios, as these act as a backup for your internet to ensure consistent connectivity. The best part is, WWANs utilize policy-based routing and dynamic path selection. This means it’s possible to combine wireless and wired connections, which makes your network more reliable, and saves you from dealing with numerous local ISPs.
4. Enterprise-Class Security: Through features like VPN, firewalls, and threat management, WWANs enhance network security in locations like retail stores and offices. This ensures data is protected from source to destination on the network.
   Additionally, WWANs improve visibility into network activities, protect sensitive data, and thwart potential cyberattacks on diverse traffic types, including point-of-sale terminals, video surveillance, HVAC systems, and IoT devices. This advantage is especially valuable when integrating new devices or applications at branch locations, as it doesn’t disrupt existing security zones and protocols.

Advanced wireless routers simplify the addition of secure and flexible network connections, improve branch security, and optimize network operations for organizations. Fortunately, solutions like of Ericsson Enterprise Wireless Solutions are available to help your organization achieve these objectives.

Ericsson’s Comprehensive Hybrid WAN Solution

As the networking requirements in various settings and locations continue to grow in complexity, organizations are challenged to fulfill these demands without burdening their IT teams or adding costly network components.

Ericsson offers the following hybrid WAN features:

1. Multiple WAN And LAN Options: The all-in-one hybrid WAN routers support 5G and LTE and offer compatibility with multiple modems, carriers, Wi-Fi, wired options, and Bluetooth.
2. Built-In Network Security Layers: Enterprise Wireless solutions for fixed sites offer a zone-based and application-aware firewall, content filtering, intrusion detection and prevention systems (IPS/IDS), and optional zero-trust networking services. These enable direct access to web, SaaS, and cloud traffic without additional appliances or management systems.
3. Improved Application Uptime And Performance: With SD-WAN features embedded in the solution, businesses automate path selection and efficiently optimize network traffic. This provides enterprises with reliable application performance even with varying signal strength or latency.
4. Centralized Control: IT teams can streamline network management, troubleshooting, and security across multiple locations with . This frees up time for other business priorities and reduces overall costs.

In today’s , Ericsson offers a straightforward solution for accessing and deploying connectivity from any location, without the usual complexities.

Final Thoughts

To meet the growing demands of modern, connectivity-dependent environments, organizations must maximize the value of wireless WAN by opting for a customized all-in-one subscription like Ericsson .

At WEI, our experts specialize in offering valuable advice and assessments for your current network infrastructure. By embracing networking solutions that align with your business requirements, organizations open possibilities for growth and innovation. Contact us today to get started.

Next steps: Next Steps: Watch our video to learn even more on why wireless WAN is the next step to replacing legacy WAN solutions for your fixed retail location. 

The post How This Four-Point Hybrid Solution Transforms Wireless WAN appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

According to , remote workforces offer an abundance of positives, including increased productivity, stronger performances from team members, greater employee retention rates, and lower costs. Unfortunately, this revolutionary transition hasn’t been so cut-and-dry for all industries. To name just a few, enterprises within the retail, manufacturing, and professional services industries have faced significant obstacles in their digital transformation journey.

In this blog, we expand on the common pain points for these mentioned industries and identify how HPE Aruba Networking EdgeConnect Microbranch serves as a viable solution.

Retail

With the immeasurable convenience offered by online shopping, many retailers are taking a look at how they can bring in new customers and retain their existing customer base.

For many retailers, this has meant incorporating top-of-the-line technology designed to improve their customers’ experiences in their store. Some of those devices include electronic shelf labels, interactive mirrors, facial recognition systems, and mobile apps. Unfortunately, implementing these new technologies creates a new complication: bandwidth and connectivity. If these struggles weren’t enough, retailers also don’t have onsite IT professionals to address any issues as they come up.

Here are a few of the features HPE Aruba Networking provides that address those common issues:

• Improved Network Performance: SD-WAN optimizes network traffic by directing it along the most efficient path. For retailers, this means that their new devices will not overload their dispersed systems.
• Simplified Management: With centralized management, IT teams can easily monitor and manage network traffic from a single interface, making it easier to troubleshoot issues and ensure business continuity. Having a dedicated IT team onsite doesn’t have to be a consideration if centralized management can address the problem.

Manufacturing

One of the common struggles for larger companies is providing network connectivity to remote manufacturing sites. Because manufacturing companies operate at a global scale, stable network connections are limited and expensive.

Here are a few key capabilities HPE Aruba Networking provides manufacturers:

• High-performance branch gateways with Zero Touch Provisioning (ZTP) for seamless deployment.
• Licenses with unrestricted bandwidth for every SD-WAN gateway, leading to smooth network operations.
• Policy-based routing for over 3,200 applications, enabling efficient traffic management.
• Virtual gateways and hub routing options available for AWS and Azure, guaranteeing a flexible and scalable infrastructure.

Professional Services

This industry includes architects, accountants, engineers, and lawyers. Geographical distribution is a common characteristic of professional services organizations. Despite this, many still use legacy MPLS lines to connect their local offices to the main data center. These connections are not only costly but also have limited bandwidth. Consequently, file transfers such as engineering CAD files or legal documents take an unnecessarily long time and aren’t always efficient. Additionally, professional service organizations are often dealing with sensitive, confidential information, making security a primary concern.

Here are a few solutions HPE Aruba Networking EdgeConnect Microbranch offers:

• Enhanced Security: SD-WAN provides end-to-end encryption of data, which protects against cyber threats and ensures secure communication between remote workers and company resources. This also includes policy enforcement firewalls, DPI (Deep Packet Inspection), web filtering, and IDS/IPS (Intrusion Detection System/Intrusion Prevention System).
• Reduced Costs: SD-WAN eliminates the need for expensive hardware appliances and reduces ongoing maintenance costs associated with traditional WANs and MPLS lines.

Is EdgeConnect Microbranch Right For Your Enterprise?

EdgeConnect Microbranch is a versatile solution that enables organizations to support a variety of use cases. These include distributed contact center operations, telehealth programs, IT and developer support, as well as mobile locations such as retail pop-up shops, mobile clinics, kiosks, conferences, and more.

Despite their differences in nature, the use cases share common requirements for connectivity, reliability, performance, and security. Thankfully, EdgeConnect Microbranch provides these essential features in a streamlined single-AP form factor. With this innovative solution at their disposal, organizations can easily meet the demands of diverse use cases without compromising network quality.

Final Thoughts

If you’re searching for a secure, stable tool to help your enterprise transition to a remote/hybrid workforce or opening doors to additional locations, EdgeConnect provides the most flexibility for growing businesses. Contact WEI today to learn how you can secure your dispersed workplace without compromising on network speed.

Next Steps: If your enterprise would like to learn more about SD-WAN and how to meet the developing demands of digital transformation, download our latest tech brief. identifies the three main components of HPE Aruba Networking’s powerful EdgeConnect Enterprise platform:

• Physical or Virtual SD-WAN Appliance
• Orchestrator
• Boost

The tech brief also expands on:

• The advanced SD-WAN solutions of today
• Why basic SD-WAN is no longer enough
• Why MPLS hub-and-spoke topology is obsolete

The post How EdgeConnect Helps All Industries With A Widespread Workforce appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

We’ve written plenty on how the professional world has changed since COVID-19. All industries experienced one significant change or another, and it can be argued that the IT sector was affected more than any other due to the many industries it supports. The IT landscape has witnessed vast shifts in workplace environments, devices, technology needs, and application hosting. This massive amount of change in a short period of time has made it challenging for IT personnel and organizations to stay up to date on evolving technology needs and issues.

Enter . This solution is surging in popularity as it offers a flexible way for enterprises to keep pace with innovation, meet business needs, optimize network performance, and improve user experience. In our latest blog article, I identify and discuss the key attributes driving NaaS adoption and how it can help your enterprise succeed.

Top Reasons To Adopt NaaS Now

The as-a-Service model has gained steam in recent years as more and more IT leaders have grown more comfortable with subscription-based managed services. My WEI colleague, Greg LaBrie, on this consumption model trend.

Does anyone remember the days of signing out a company laptop for those weekend projects? Some of us sure do. Remember, enterprises traditionally invested significant resources to IT specialists who designed, built, and operated their networking infrastructure. Employees regularly connected to networks in-house with devices owned by their enterprise. Hardware had to be procured, pre-staged, cabled, installed, and configured. Unfortunately, this model required vast amounts of financial resources to set up and maintain. Not only that, but it also made it difficult to stay up to date with the dynamic needs of technology and the business environment.

Enterprise networks have clearly evolved. Gartner estimates that in 2022 alone, worldwide annual network spending will increase 6.7% to $79.04 billion. Company budgets, however, are not limitless. There is a growing need for businesses to invest their money thoughtfully and strategically. The adoption of NaaS is one way to meet both the technological and financial needs of companies today. The following are the to adopt NaaS now.

1. Changes In Workplace Environments And Devices. Even before the pandemic, laptops and mobile devices allowed users to access enterprise applications outside the office on non-enterprise networks. When workplaces were forced to adapt to work-from-home policies due to COVID, more flexible, agile models were needed.
2. Evolving Technology. As a result of the shift in workplace and device usage, the way we connect to on-premises networks has evolved. The introduction of cellular, WAN, and SD-WAN solutions and constant innovation in technologies like 5G and Wi-Fi 6E have made it challenging to adequately keep pace. Equipment becomes outdated more quickly, and new technology requires trained personnel.
3. Application Hosting. The development and adoption of SaaS removed the need to connect users with physical in-house devices to centralized applications within a data center. Web-based applications now enable access anytime and anywhere and ensure connectivity for the edge is a top priority.
4. Hybrid Work Model. The pandemic instituted a remote work model that only a small percentage of knowledge workers had consistently experienced. And while the opportunities for people to work exclusively from home are , the hybrid model remains abundant. COVID changed the ways IT staff must plan and procure their networks. As remote work and access have continued, network priorities have shifted. Organizations are now looking to preserve cash, and large capital investments for strategic planning have largely been put on hold.

The Benefits Of NaaS

enables organizations to keep pace with innovation, meet rapidly changing business needs, and optimize network performance and user experience through a cloud-like subscription model. Further benefits of NaaS include:

• Financing Flexibility: NaaS offers a critical alternative to upfront capital expenditures (capex) with a usage-based model (opex). This allows organizations to address their business needs in a way that makes sense for them.
• Enhanced Security: The fast deployment of new features and functions enhances security and lowers operational risk. Enterprises can launch their services and capabilities faster, while keeping their organizations safe from security vulnerabilities caused by out-of-date requirements or configurations.
• Proactive Management: Risks are mitigated with proactive advisory and management capabilities. These capabilities include AIOps driven insights or highly skilled networking experts to ensure deployment of the latest product features, functions, or configurations.
• Scalable Centralized Management: NaaS cloud management capabilities enable organizations to scale networks easily. Added managed services can be implemented to oversee all network operations.
• Sustainability: NaaS helps alleviate security and cost-related fears associated with old hardware resources. The repurposing and proper disposal of equipment is important, but costly. Sustainable reuse and retirement are key attributes of a NaaS offering. This allows organizations to meet sustainability goals more easily.

NaaS With HPE Greenlake

HPE Aruba Networking’s NaaS, through HPE Greenlake, has reinvented network infrastructures by creating a simplified plug-and-play experience. It removes the heavy burden of long-term planning and budgeting by delivering necessary hardware, software, and services in a single, seamless monthly subscription package. Key benefits include:

• NaaS can be implemented on whatever scale enterprises feel comfortable with, and they can scale up when needed.
• On-premises and hybrid networks are managed through a self-service portal.
• Provides real-time data and security analytics, enabling a proactive approach where issues are identified and dealt with before they become disruptive.
• Aligning your budgets with network usage gives management insights to make strategic decisions.
• New businesses and startups can avoid costly capital expenditures and avoid the cost of supporting legacy infrastructure.

NaaS delivers network deployment, management, security, and performance while remaining agile, flexible and cost-effective. Contact WEI today to learn more about how HPE Aruba Networking NaaS with HPE Greenlake can take your network performance to the next level.

Next Steps: See why enterprises are catching on to the latest “as-a-Service” trend in our fresh whitepaper titled,

The post How The Evolving Technology Landscape Has Led To The Adoption Of NaaS appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

The landscape of today’s modern offices look nothing like they used to. Gone are the days of employees working from a single location on a single computer, accessing a single operating system – now they frequently switch between devices, is king, and applications are just as likely to be Windows-based as not.

Providing this anytime, anywhere, any device access can cause serious security and management challenges for IT teams. That’s where VDI as part of a comprehensive digital workspace strategy comes in.

What does a digital workspace look like?

Today’s employees regularly log in and out of legacy, desktop, mobile, SaaS, and web applications from a variety of devices, and expect to be able to do it without complications.

A modern model is needed that defines the following:

• How users leverage applications, information, and resources across devices
• How IT organizations deliver, manage, and secure these applications and services
• How businesses can capitalize on these new capabilities and styles of work to drive better business results

Just as the desktop computer was the dominant, defining model of end-user computing during the client-server era, so too will the digital workspace define the model for moving forward from today.

A digital workspace has the following requirements:

• End users want access to the applications they need, when they need them, and on the devices they choose to use.
• Lines of business are interested in delivering apps on whatever devices employees use in order to enhance productivity and improve customer engagement and collaboration.
• IT teams need to centralize policy management, maintain control, and service the organization across device types.

How does a digital workspace change IT priorities?

The digital workspace shifts the focus of IT away from managing things like phones, laptops and tablets, and towards delivering application and content experiences to employees. This outcomes-based approach to IT services decouples data and applications from the device and supporting platforms, so that any application can be accessed from any device. Untethering applications from devices delivers the ultimate experience in portability and gives users flexibility in how they access the applications and services they need.

By focusing on outcomes, the digital workspace also promotes efficient IT operations in three ways.

1. Simplifying access management

Today’s leading IT organizations are user-centric. IT must equip end users with quick and easy access to business-critical published apps, SaaS apps, and mobile apps, and create a flexible and efficient workflow by allowing simple access with barrier-free authentication across devices. This user-centric approach empowers users to choose the ways they work best, and facilitates delivery of a highly specific set of end-user services.

2. Delivering true application portability

Today’s users expect to access Windows applications alongside non-Windows-based applications, and demand the freedom to work anywhere, and on the devices and apps they choose.

To get the maximum benefit of a digital workspace, applications should be built for all popular operating systems, or otherwise abstracted from the endpoint to make them truly portable. For most organizations, this means many of the applications in their inventory.

3. Enabling unified endpoint management (UEM)

Migrating from device-based asset management to the digital workspace presents the perfect opportunity to rethink end-user-computing processes. Manual provisioning processes can be transferred to virtualized desktops and apps, with tremendous improvements in efficiency and compliance. With UEM, IT teams can also deploy and manage desktops, laptops, and devices, including OS deployment, configuration, user preferences, and software, from a central location.

The role of VDI in the digital workspace

Virtualization is a key component to providing a fast, flexible, user-friendly digital workspace environment while properly managing risk. When desktops or apps are virtualized, they run in secure data centers on-premises or in the cloud. In both scenarios, only the rendering of the user interface is transmitted beyond the firewall.

There are two primary methods for abstracting apps from their endpoints:

• Virtualizing the app itself with Microsoft Server Remote Desktop Session Host (RDSH)
• Virtualizing an entire desktop environment with VDI

To rise to the challenge of today’s sophisticated workforce, IT teams are now embracing desktop, application, and network virtualization as part of an integrated approach to security. Virtualizing network functions – such as switching, routing, firewall rules, load balancing, and VPN – provides security for east-west traffic inside the data center and enables IT to quickly respond to data breaches, minimizing their risk and impact.

(HCI) solutions offer a modular approach to building a VDI environment, which simplifies the planning, design, and rollout of virtual desktops and applications. These solutions should include compute, storage, network, hypervisor, and management resources all in a single appliance which is tuned and pre-tested for specific workloads.

VMware delivers on the promise of a digital workspace

is a digital workspace platform that simply and securely delivers and manages any app on any device by integrating access control, application management, and multi-platform endpoint management. It is available either as a cloud service or for on-premises deployment.

Workspace ONE automates traditional onboarding and laptop and mobile device configuration, and provides real-time application lifecycle management that bridges the gap between legacy enterprise client-server apps and the mobile cloud era.

With Workspace ONE, organizations can:

• Benefit from seamless integration across all end-user applications and services
• Provision a new corporate laptop out of the box, anywhere in the world, from the cloud within minutes
• Set and enforce access and data policies across all apps, devices, and locations in one place

Talk with WEI about building your digital workspace with VMware

In the age of mobile and cloud, the need to access any app from any device at any time is shaping how businesses drive digital transformation. VMware supports employee engagement by delivering a digital workspace solution that is both simple to use and secure. Contact WEI today to talk about beginning your transformation today.

The post VMware Workspace ONE: Delivering On The Promise Of A Digital Workspace appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.