New enterprise locations can’t wait 90+ days for connectivity and can’t afford outages when fiber fails. Downtime costs revenue, customer trust, and operational momentum. WEI Connect delivers secure, enterprise-ready internet anywhere, without trenching, permitting, or long delays.

As organizations expand into rural areas, mobile environments, and pop-up locations, the limitations of traditional ISPs become more apparent. Satellite connectivity has changed what’s possible. But connectivity alone isn’t enough.

At the enterprise level, integration, security, and operational control matter. That’s where WEI Connect stands apart.

Real-World Enterprise Use Cases

Rural and Remote Sites

Many enterprises operate offices, clinics, or facilities in areas where fiber internet isn’t available and cellular service is unreliable. These remote locations still require secure access to enterprise applications and IT oversight.

WEI Connect provides high-speed satellite connectivity that can be deployed in hours, not months. More importantly, it integrates with existing SD-WAN, firewall, and enterprise security architectures. That ensures remote sites follow the same governance, security, and performance standards as centralized locations.

WEI Connect Value Add:

• Site surveys and professional installation
• Integration with enterprise networking and security platforms
• Centralized monitoring and ongoing support

Retail Stores and Pop-Ups

Retail launches often get delayed due to long ISP lead times. Even temporary or seasonal locations still need full POS functionality, cloud access, and collaboration tools from day one.

WEI Connect delivers primary or backup internet in days—no trenching, no permits. It supports modern retail workloads right out of the box and adapts to the lifespan of each site.

WEI Connect Value Add:

• Preconfigured, tested deployment kits
• Local installation services
• Usage plans tailored to each site’s duration and bandwidth needs

Healthcare and Mobile Clinics

Reliable, secure connectivity is non-negotiable in healthcare. Yet many rural clinics and mobile care units operate in areas where traditional connectivity doesn’t exist.

WEI Connect delivers resilient broadband that supports patient-critical workloads. Designed for rapid deployment, it integrates seamlessly into healthcare security and networking frameworks.

WEI Connect Value Add:

• Integration into enterprise network and security standards
• Continuous monitoring and proactive NOC-based support
• Spare hardware with expedited replacement options

Emergency and Mobile Operations

During disasters or widespread outages, terrestrial networks are often the first systems to fail. These are moments when connectivity becomes mission-critical.

WEI Connect delivers infrastructure-independent internet—no towers, trenching, or ISP dependency. When traditional options are offline, WEI Connect keeps operations online.

WEI Connect Value Add:

• Portable and vehicle-mounted kit options
• Pre-staged spare hardware for rapid swap-outs
• 24/7 monitoring and immediate response support

When Is WEI Connect The Right Fit?

In the conversations WEI is having with enterprise IT teams, the same scenarios tend to come up again and again. WEI Connect is most often introduced when organizations face one or more of the following:

• New sites waiting months for fiber or coax
• Backup connections that must carry real production traffic
• Remote or temporary operations with no viable wired options
• Enterprises standardizing SD-WAN or SASE architecture
• IT teams needing visibility and governance across non-traditional sites

Where WEI Connect Fits in a Modern SD-WAN or SASE Strategy

Modern WAN architectures depend on true transport diversity to maintain uptime, performance, and security. Backup links that can’t participate in policy-based routing or enterprise security controls ultimately weaken resilience rather than strengthen it. WEI Connect addresses this gap by integrating satellite connectivity directly into SD-WAN and SASE architectures, allowing it to function as a governed WAN path instead of a last-resort connection.

By validating and integrating with leading platforms such as Cisco, HPE Aruba Networking, Fortinet, Palo Alto Networks, and Cato Networks, WEI ensures consistent security enforcement, traffic steering, and visibility across the entire WAN, regardless of where connectivity is delivered.

Real-Time Visibility and Control Across Every Deployment:

Every WEI Connect deployment includes access to a custom telemetry dashboard built specifically for enterprise IT teams. Unlike generic portals from OEMs or telecom providers, WEI’s dashboard consolidates performance, usage, and health data across all active sites into a single, intuitive interface.

IT leaders gain actionable visibility into signal quality, throughput, latency, outages, and even physical alignment. This is critical for maintaining SLAs and ensuring governed operations at remote or mobile sites.

Dashboard Insights Include:

• Data usage (live and historical)
• Link performance: latency, jitter, throughput
• Signal quality and antenna alignment
• Obstruction detection and power status
• Ping response and drop rate alerts
• Software status (e.g., reboot pending)
• Site-level threshold breach alerts

Get real-time visibility into performance metrics, usage trends, and system health across every connected site. Whether you’re managing five locations or five hundred, the dashboard puts actionable insight at your fingertips. Click images below to enlarge.

Why Do Enterprises Choose WEI Connect?

WEI Connect is more than connectivity. It’s an engineering-led enterprise service designed for real-world operations:

• Rapid deployment kits tested in WEI’s Integration Lab
• Professional installation and national rollout support
• 24/7 monitoring and managed services
• Spare hardware with fast replacement
• Proven SD-WAN and SASE integration

Most importantly, it’s delivered by a partner that understands enterprise networking, security, and operational accountability.

My Final Thoughts

Satellite connectivity makes internet possible in places traditional ISPs can’t reach. WEI Connect makes it enterprise-ready. For many organizations, that realization is where the conversation begins. Send me a message or contact our team to learn more.

Next Steps: Visit wei.com/wei-connect to learn more about our enterprise connectivity solutions designed for secure, low-latency satellite networking.

The post Solving the Enterprise Connectivity Gap: How WEI Connect Delivers Internet Anywhere appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

As organizations modernize their networks and expand into harder-to-reach locations, fast, reliable internet becomes a necessity. Traditional ISPs are often slow to deploy, inflexible, and unavailable in many regions. That’s where Starlink changes the game.

But as powerful as Starlink is, using it in the enterprise requires more than just hardware. It needs to be supported, monitored, installed, and integrated. And that’s where WEI comes in.

As an authorized Starlink reseller and full-service IT partner, WEI transforms Starlink into an enterprise-ready platform. Services that include site installation, project rollout, network integration, 24/7 support, API monitoring, and flexible data plans.

Below, I’ve outlined five real-world use cases where Starlink, combined with WEI’s capabilities, delivers measurable business value. Let’s dive in.

1. Backup Internet That’s Actually Usable

The problem: Traditional backup options like DSL, LTE, or second fiber lines often fall short. They’re either too slow, too unreliable, or dependent on the same infrastructure as your primary connection — meaning a single disruption can take both down.

The Starlink + WEI solution: Starlink provides a completely separate physical path via satellite, independent of local utility poles, fiber paths, and last-mile infrastructure. It offers the speed, stability, and latency required to carry full operational traffic…not just bare-minimum failover.

When integrated with SD-WAN or SASE, Starlink acts as a fully active or standby path, offering diverse routing options that survive construction cuts, ISP outages, and weather events. WEI can further bundle Starlink with cellular connectivity for ultimate WAN resilience.

Best for: Retail stores, branch offices, healthcare clinics, rural locations. This is ideal for any site where downtime is not an option.

2. Primary Internet for Low-Usage Sites and Pop-Ups

The problem: Fiber and coax often take 60–180+ days to install, especially at lower-priority locations like temporary sites, pop-ups, or small offices. Cellular hotspots are unreliable or capped, and DSL is frequently too slow.

The Starlink + WEI solution: Starlink offers a fast-deploying, broadband-class connection that works well for sites using 1–25GB of data per day. It supports cloud apps, VoIP, video conferencing, POS, and more. No wait, no trenching, and no infrastructure limitations.

WEI provides preconfigured kits, installation services, and custom usage-based data plans, so you can deploy primary internet to branches, trailers, and rotating clinics in days, not months.

Best for: Retail branches, medical clinics, temporary healthcare units, construction trailers, pop-up stores, and seasonal locations.

3. Emergency and Mobile Deployments

The problem: In disaster response, emergency operations, and mobile work environments, time is critical. But wired service isn’t feasible, and cellular can’t always be trusted, especially during high-impact events.

The Starlink + WEI solution: Starlink provides on-demand internet from anywhere. Just plug it in, aim at the open sky, and you’re online. It’s immune to local outages, downed towers, or infrastructure failures.

WEI supports this with vehicle-mounted kits, sled and mast options, and spare units staged for rapid deployment. Teams can roll out with fully configured Starlink systems that integrate into existing networks or mobile setups. It is ready to go when it matters most!

Best for: Emergency services, mobile medical units, disaster recovery teams, mobile command centers, and field logistics teams.

4. Connectivity in Rural or Hard-to-Reach Locations

The problem: Many rural and remote sites have no wired ISP options at all and cellular service may be poor or unavailable. Whether you’re setting up a job trailer, rural branch, farm, or off-grid facility, internet is still essential.

The Starlink + WEI solution: Starlink enables broadband connectivity in any location with clear sky access. No trenching, permitting, or delay.

WEI provides site surveys, mounting solutions, and full installation services, including plenum-rated cabling, rooftop installs, and wall-mounted or mobile options. We also support structured cabling, wireless, compute, and physical security to ensure the entire site comes online.

Best for: Farms, construction sites, remote campuses, warehouses, oil & gas facilities, and off-grid field operations.

5. SD-WAN and SASE-Ready Transport

The problem: As enterprises move from MPLS and static VPNs to cloud-based WAN architectures, every location needs a secure, reliable, and policy-driven internet connection — not just for primary access, but as part of a dynamic, flexible fabric.

The Starlink + WEI solution: Starlink can be used as a primary, secondary, or tertiary WAN link within an SD-WAN or SASE framework. It offers true physical path diversity, enabling dynamic failover, traffic steering, and cloud breakout routing. This also true for locations without fiber or coax.

WEI integrates Starlink with platforms like HPE Aruba Networking, Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet, Cisco, and Cato Networks, ensuring security across your network.

Best for: Enterprises deploying SD-WAN across branches, mobile workforces, or rural locations.

Why WEI? Turning Starlink into a Scalable Business Platform

Starlink solves the connectivity problem. WEI makes it scalable, secure, and operational with the infrastructure and services you’d expect from a true enterprise partner. Even more, WEI offers usage-based data tiers. These tiers are ideal for low-usage branches, backup-only sites, or mobile deployments. Avoid overpaying for static blocks or underutilized bandwidth.

Real-Time Monitoring, Telemetry & Cost Visibility

WEI integrates directly with the Starlink API and will launch a centralized dashboard (late 2025), offering:

• Usage tracking and data overages
• Cost and billing by site or region
• Ethernet link speed, throughput, latency, signal quality
• Alignment, obstruction alerts, thermal conditions
• Power disconnects and pending software reboots
• Custom report delivery and helpdesk ticketing integration

Professional Installation Services

WEI installs Starlink in all types of environments:

• Rooftop, wall, and vehicle mounting
• Sleds, masts, and temporary field gear
• Cable runs (including plenum), lift-based installs, and complex routing
• Site surveys for pre-deployment planning
• Final integration with your network infrastructure

WEI National Rollout and Integration Services

• Support for new builds, remodels, and nationwide rollouts
• Installation of VOIP, data, wireless, POS, compute, security, and AV
• Structured cabling, digital signage, and field technology integration
• Project management, scheduling, and reporting tools
• Quality assurance and site readiness validation

WEI Enterprise Support and SLAs

• Spare hardware stored in WEI’s Salem, NH distribution center
• 4-hour response and Next Business Day repair/replacement
• Remote diagnostics, firmware update coordination, and alignment scans
• Ticket integration with your helpdesk system
• Access to 4,000+ certified field technicians across the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico

Conclusion

Starlink is changing what’s possible for business connectivity, enabling reliable internet in places traditional ISPs can’t reach. But when you’re rolling it out at scale, managing dozens (or hundreds) of locations, and integrating it into your WAN strategy, you need more than hardware.

You need a partner like WEI.

From planning and installation to support, telemetry, and integration, WEI turns Starlink into a true enterprise solution.

Ready to bring reliable, scalable internet to every corner of your business? Let’s talk when convenient for you.

The post Starlink for Enterprise: 5 Real-World Use Cases and Why WEI Makes It Work appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

Remote work, initially a temporary response to global circumstances, has become a permanent fixture for many enterprises and the clients we serve. This shift magnified the need for fast, secure access to critical applications from any location, pushing businesses to rethink traditional security strategies.

With the growing adoption of cloud services and hybrid work models, the attack surface has inevitably expanded, rendering traditional security measures insufficient. To address these evolving threats, businesses must leverage modern security solutions that provide secure, resilient access to applications across diverse locations, devices, and networks.

While SD-WAN, zero trust, and SASE are already well-known for their ability to enhance network performance and security, their importance has become even more pronounced in today’s rapidly changing threat landscape. In this article, we revisit how these network security solutions and technologies can help businesses improve their security and network performance.

Listen: The Next Big Thing In Networking

The Role Of SD-WAN In Modern Networking

At the core of many modern network strategies is SD-WAN, which simplifies the management of wide-area networks by decoupling network hardware from the control mechanisms. This allows businesses to build a more agile WAN infrastructure at a lower cost. SD-WAN also optimizes traffic using a mix of legacy multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) and broadband internet, improving performance, especially for remote workers.

According to the 2023 research by Ponemon Institute, 44% percent of organizations have deployed or will deploy SD-WAN and cloud-delivered security in the next 12 months. From a security standpoint, SD-WAN uses encryption and VPNs to secure data as it travels between branch offices, data centers, and the cloud. This makes it particularly beneficial for enterprises with a distributed workforce.

The Rise Of Zero Trust

Traditional network models trust devices within the perimeter by default. In contrast, zero trust assumes that no entity can be trusted by default, regardless of location. Every user and device must be authenticated, authorized, and continuously validated before accessing critical resources.

Zero trust is both a security philosophy and an architectural approach to network security. Enterprises are increasingly adopting this strategy, with 15% of high-performing organizations indicating to adopt and implement Zero Trust within the next year. Zero trust is especially crucial in businesses that rely on multiple clouds and SaaS platforms. By implementing zero trust, enterprises can better protect against threats like unauthorized access and data breaches while with various regulatory requirements.

A Unified Approach To Networking And Security

As hybrid work models grow in popularity, SASE becomes a preferred solution by converging WAN capabilities and cloud-delivered security services. This comprehensive approach to networking and security addresses the growing complexity of modern IT environments by simplifying network management and secure, seamless connectivity for a distributed workforce.

According to Ponemon Institute, 49% of enterprises have already deployed or plan to deploy SASE. However, its adoption is expected to rise as companies recognize the trending benefits of unifying networking and security. The good thing about SASE is that it delivers both SD-WAN and security services as a cloud-based solution directly to the source of the connection, whether a remote employee, a branch office, or an IoT device.

Unified SASE: The Future Of Network Security

As the demand for integrated network security solutions grows, many businesses are looking to consolidate their SASE components into a single platform. By doing so, enterprises can simplify their branch infrastructure, reduce costs, and provide a better user experience.

One of the significant advancements in the evolution of SASE is the introduction of unified SASE. This approach is especially attractive because it combines security and networking into a single, cohesive solution, thus enabling businesses to manage these critical functions through an integrated platform. According to Gartner’s 2022 Market Guide for Single-Vendor SASE, 65% of enterprises will consolidate individual SASE components into one or two explicitly partnered vendors over the next two years. This trend highlights the growing demand for streamlined, efficient solutions in today’s complex IT environments.

A unified SASE solution offers several key benefits:

• Simplified branch and network management: Organizations can eliminate the need for multiple hardware appliances by integrating SD-WAN and security into a single platform. This integration enhances operational efficiency and simplifies management.
• Enhanced security: The solution extends zero trust controls to all users and devices, regardless of their location, whether they are at a branch office, working from home, or traveling. This comprehensive approach ensures consistent security across all access points.
• Cost savings: Combining security and networking functions into one platform allows organizations to streamline their infrastructure. This consolidation leads to reduced operational costs and more efficient use of resources.
• Superior user experience: Users can enjoy a seamless experience by optimizing application performance and ensuring secure, reliable access from any location.

A prime example of unified SASE is HPE Aruba Networking’s approach. Combining their award-winning Security Service Edge (SSE) with industry-leading SD-WAN into a cohesive solution, the unified platform simplifies the deployment process by offering a single vendor solution. This process ensures seamless management and eliminates the complexity associated with multiple vendors.

The solution is also built upon HPE Aruba Networking SD-WAN, which includes:

• EdgeConnect SD-WAN, which features a built-in next-gen firewall that lets users safely remove physical firewalls and routers in their branch offices. For small edge or branch sites, the new EC-10104 Model offers a cost-effective solution to manage and streamline operations efficiently.
• EdgeConnect SD-Branch
• EdgeConnect Microbranch

Moreover, HPE Aruba Networking’s edge-to-cloud SASE solution leverages zero trust network access (ZTNA) to provide least-privilege access to all people and devices. It also offers comprehensive protection against data security threats and malicious web traffic through:

• Secure web gateway (SWG)
• Cloud access security broker (CASB)
• Digital experience monitoring (DEM)

HPE Aruba Networking’s unified SASE solution stands out by offering flexible licensing options to fit a wide range of budgets and requirements. This ensures that businesses can tailor their solution to meet current needs while allowing the freedom to scale and adapt as those needs evolve over time.

Final Thoughts

As businesses continue to adopt hybrid work models and expand their cloud presence, securing remote and distributed environments through SD-WAN, zero trust, and SASE is essential. However, as enterprises look for more streamlined network security solutions, is emerging as a key player in simplifying IT infrastructure, reducing costs, and strengthening security, all while delivering an exceptional user experience.

WEI’s cloud security experts are ready to help secure your cloud environment. With personalized security assessments and custom-built SASE solutions featuring advanced technologies like HPE Aruba Networking, we provide the expertise you need to confidently drive digital transformation and protect your critical assets. Contact us today to get started.

Next Steps: Traditional data centers are struggling to keep pace with the rapid evolution of technology. As organizations shift towards distributed, edge-cloud-centric models, the need for a modern, agile, and secure data center has never been more critical.

WEI, in partnership with HPE Aruba Networking, is excited to present a comprehensive tech brief that explores how you can revolutionize your data center with cutting-edge automated solutions. This tech brief is your gateway to understanding how automated data center solutions can transform your business. Whether you’re looking to modernize your existing infrastructure or plan for future growth, this guide offers the insights you need to make informed decisions.

The post Transforming Enterprise Security: The Role Of Various Network Security Solutions appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

The modern workforce is no longer confined to the traditional office environment. The rise of remote work and cloud adoption has created a hybrid landscape where employees access data and applications from various locations and devices.

This flexibility also introduces new security challenges. Traditional network security tools, designed for centralized corporate networks, struggle to protect a distributed workforce. Ensuring comprehensive security and seamless connectivity, regardless of location, has become a top priority. A secure access service edge (SASE) architecture addresses these challenges by integrating advanced networking and security features into a unified platform. Let’s explore how SASE provides an effective, scalable solution for securing the hybrid workforce.

Finding The Right Tools

Traditional security solutions rely on a centralized network perimeter, which is effective when most users and applications are within the corporate network. However, in a hybrid environment, employees accessing resources from outside the perimeter face several issues:

• Limited Visibility: Traditional firewalls struggle to see beyond the network perimeter. Traffic from remote employee devices becomes blind spots, leaving organizations vulnerable to malware, phishing, and unauthorized data transfers.
• Inconsistent Security Policies: Enforcing consistent security policies across diverse user devices and locations is challenging with traditional tools. These tools are often siloed, complicating the creation of a unified security posture.
• Poor User Experience: Legacy VPNs can create a sluggish and cumbersome user experience for remote workers, hindering productivity and compromising network and data access.

SASE has emerged as a promising solution to address these common limitations. It takes a cloud-based approach, consolidating network security functions like Secure Web Gateway (SWG), Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB), and Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) into a single, unified service.

While SASE offers long term promise for hybrid workforces, some solutions lack security or seamless integration, leading to inconsistent protection and user experience. Organizations can leverage SASE effectively by carefully evaluating capabilities and potential integration issues. However, even strong SASE requires ongoing vigilance for a well-rounded security strategy.

Meeting The Needs Of The Hybrid Workforce

A unified SASE solution, built on a single-vendor approach, offers a more complete solution. It secures the hybrid workforce with the same underlying OS, AI-powered services, unified agent, management, and experience monitoring. Unified SASE secures all users, devices, and edges, including micro-branches, offering flexibility for organizations with disparate architectures and requirements.

Leveraging a high-performance, scalable cloud network, unified SASE incorporates best-in-class components like Security Service Edge (SSE), Universal ZTNA, a Unified Agent, Secure SD-WAN, and Digital Experience Monitoring. This holistic approach ensures comprehensive security for users everywhere. Fortinet’s exemplifies this approach.

What Makes FortiSASE Stand Out?

Traditionally, security features resided at the network edge. FortiSASE changes this by migrating the security stack to the cloud within geographically dispersed data centers known as “points of presence”  (PoPs). These PoPs offer global coverage and house scalable instances with integrated security services like firewalls, secure web gateways (SWGs), Cloud Access Security Brokers (CASBs), Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), and SD-WAN.

FortiSASE simplifies management by consolidating these security functions into a unified, cloud-based platform:

• Simplified Management: FortiSASE streamlines administration by providing a single vendor for both the SASE platform and the security agent.
• Unmatched Endpoint Security: FortiSASE leverages Fortinet’s expertise in endpoint security to deliver unmatched protection.
• Enhanced Scalability: The cloud-based architecture scales to accommodate growing user bases and network demands.
• Improved Performance: Strategically positioned PoPs ensure low latency and a fast user experience for users everywhere.
• Reduced Costs: FortiSASE eliminates the need for on-premises hardware and software, leading to significant cost savings.
• AI-Powered Security Services: , Fortinet’s threat intelligence unit, powers FortiSASE with advanced AI-powered security services. These services continuously analyze network traffic to identify and block sophisticated threats in real-time.

Solving Cybersecurity Challenges

The hybrid work model presents unique challenges, such as securing remote endpoints, managing diverse devices, and ensuring consistent policy enforcement across various locations. FortiSASE effectively addresses these challenges:

• Comprehensive Security: This solution integrates seamlessly with the Fortinet Security Fabric, leveraging FortiOS to deliver broad visibility, granular control, and proactive protection across the entire network environment.
• Consistent Protection: FortiSASE provides cloud-delivered security with built-in ZTNA, ensuring consistent protection for users working from anywhere.
• Simplified Management: The FortiClient agent provides a one-stop solution for ZTNA, traffic redirection to SASE, and endpoint protection, streamlining security management.
• Unified Visibility And Management: FortiSASE offers exceptional visibility across both on-premises and remote users. FortiManager provides a centralized policy engine and management system, ensuring consistent enforcement regardless of location. Additionally, FortiAnalyzer, working alongside FortiSASE, delivers centralized logging and response capabilities for network and security events, facilitating swift incident response.
• Unparalleled User Experience: FortiSASE intelligently steers applications over the most suitable connections, optimizing business productivity and ensuring a seamless user experience. Workers accessing corporate applications through SD-WAN SPA benefit from superior performance and reliability.

Organizations across various industries, such as healthcare, finance, and education, have successfully deployed FortiSASE to protect their hybrid workforces and ensure data security and regulatory compliance.

Final Thoughts

The rise of the hybrid work model creates new security challenges. Fortinet’s FortiSASE offers a unified SASE platform that directly addresses these challenges. By combining networking and security, FortiSASE provides a streamlined solution for businesses, empowering them to secure their hybrid workforce with reliable features, flexible deployment options, and a user-centric design. This approach fosters success in today’s shifting market.

Partnering with SASE experts like WEI unlocks FortiSASE’s full potential. WEI develops customized implementation strategies for seamless integration, enabling a secure, productive, and future-proof hybrid workforce. Contact us today to learn how FortiSASE can safeguard your hybrid workforce and propel your business toward a secure and efficient future.

Next steps: Managing and securing data, applications, and systems has become more arduous and time-consuming with the rise of cloud adoption and the expansion of the digital attack surface. To help remedy this, FortiAnalyzer offers a powerful log management, analytics, and reporting platform that features a single console to manage, orchestrate, and respond. Download our free tech brief below to read.

The post Boost Productivity In The Hybrid Workforce With Modern SASE Solutions appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

Cloud adoption is transforming businesses – however, it also introduces new security challenges. Traditional network security practices struggle to adapt to the cloud’s dynamic nature, exposing organizations. A key question must be asked: How can an enterprise effectively secure data and applications amid the widespread adoption of the cloud? A unified Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) offers a comprehensive solution. Let’s examine the obstacles organizations encounter when securing their cloud deployments, and how a unified SASE platform can effectively mitigate these challenges.

Challenges In Digital Transformation

The digital era is characterized by two major trends: a surge in Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and various enterprises’ widespread adoption of cloud services. Fundamentally, these trends demand a fundamental shift in how organizations approach security.

A recent study published in the Wall Street Journal revealed a 13% increase in the global average cost of data breaches since 2020. In 2022, it reached a hefty average of $4.35 million. This highlights the increasing sophistication of cyberattacks, which have doubled in recent years, constantly testing an organization’s defenses.

These factors contribute to the following challenges faced by organizations in the digital era:

• Traditional data center-centric security, built around centralized firewalls, is failing to keep pace as applications migrate to the cloud and users access data from anywhere. This is especially true for organizations with hybrid work models where data and applications are scattered across various locations.
• Legacy security methods suffer from many limitations including bottlenecks and limited scalability for geographically dispersed users. Additionally, inconsistent security policies across devices and networks increase complexity and leave vulnerabilities. Finally, traditional VPNs, designed for on-premises networks, limit cloud adoption by focusing on user access rather than securing cloud workloads.

To navigate this complexity, organizations need a comprehensive security solution. This solution should provide three key functionalities: secure and reliable user access, robust cloud application protection, and agile security management. Unified SASE stands out as an answer to these challenges, as it offers a cloud-based, integrated security framework that adapts to the changing needs of businesses.

How Unified SASE Simplifies Security

Unified SASE offers a more streamlined solution by combining SD-WAN with comprehensive network security functions like secure web gateways (SWG), cloud access security brokers (CASB), firewalls as a service (FWaaS), and zero trust network access (ZTNA). This integrated approach is designed to meet the evolving security needs of today’s digital businesses, especially those with hybrid workforces and cloud-based applications.

Think of it this way: Instead of a bulky security setup at each branch office, SASE provides a thin WAN edge with the full suite of security features delivered as a convenient cloud service. This approach unlocks a multitude of benefits to enhance your organization’s operations, such as:

1. Streamlined Security: SASE consolidates networking and security functions into a single, cloud-delivered solution. This simplifies management and eliminates the need for multiple-point products.
2. Unified Security Posture: IT teams can apply consistent security policies and centralized access controls across all networks, regardless of location. This reduces the attack surface, making it easier to detect and respond to threats.
3. Reduced Complexity: SASE streamlines network and security deployment and management. Save time and resources by eliminating the need for multiple hardware appliances.
4. Optimized User Experience: SASE ensures secure, high-performance, and low-latency connections for users accessing applications and resources. This eliminates the need for backhauling traffic through a central data center, improving overall user experience.
5. Scalability: SASE can easily adapt to changing business needs. It can support initiatives like hybrid work, cloud migration, and the adoption of IoT and OT devices.

Exploring Unified SASE Solutions

understands the challenges businesses face in today’s digital world. To address these concerns, they have partnered with leading cloud security providers to offer a comprehensive SASE solution. This solution seamlessly combines technology with their . By embracing a zero-trust approach, HPE Aruba Networking empowers organizations to secure users and applications everywhere. This unified and powerful solution allows businesses to confidently pursue digital transformation with a robust and secure access strategy.

HPE offers a unified approach to SASE built on three key components:

1. HPE Aruba Networking SSE: This solution provides both agent-based and agentless ZTNA, granting you deployment flexibility. Additionally, it offers unified policy management for streamlined control and a global network of points of presence (PoPs) for optimal performance.
2. EdgeConnect SD-WAN: It transcends traditional SD-WAN with multi-cloud support, guaranteeing secure access to any cloud application. By prioritizing user experience, it optimizes application performance for a seamless workday.
3. HPE Aruba Networking Central NetConductor and ClearPass: This combination offers a unified network access control (NAC) solution. Powered by AI, it delivers deep client insights and enforces granular access through dynamic segmentation. Continuous network monitoring identifies and mitigates threats, fortifying your security posture.

The Benefits Of HPE Aruba Networking SSE

This cloud-based platform provides robust and unified network security through zero-trust access. This minimizes potential attack points and shields your network from modern threats. Administrators benefit from enhanced control and visibility into your IT infrastructure, allowing them to prevent data leaks and unauthorized software usage.

Furthermore, intelligent global routing and centralized management ensure a smooth user experience when accessing applications and data. This translates to increased productivity and effortless scalability to keep pace with your growing business.

A Look At EdgeConnect Secure SD-WAN

The EdgeConnect SD-WAN platform is designed for cloud-first enterprises, providing a secure foundation for zero trust and SASE. It combines a first-class SD-WAN with a next-generation firewall, ensuring both advanced security and an unmatched quality of experience. Whether your applications reside in the cloud or on-premises, EdgeConnect delivers reliable connectivity and protection.

Its key features include:

• App Performance Enhancement: Utilizing SaaS and WAN optimization techniques, and path conditioning, to optimize application performance.
• Next-Generation Firewall: This offers end-to-end security, including deep packet inspection (DPI), intrusion detection/prevention systems (IDS/IPS), and role-based segmentation.
• Multi-Cloud Networking: EdgeConnect seamlessly integrates with multiple cloud providers (such as Azure and AWS) to support cloud-first organizations.
• Dynamic Routing: BGP and OSPF support ensure efficient traffic routing across the WAN.
• Visibility And Reporting: Gain insights into application and network performance.
• Automation And Zero-Touch Provisioning: Simplify deployment and management.
• Unified SASE: EdgeConnect operates within the framework of the SASE model. This means it intelligently directs traffic to the cloud, eliminating the need for unnecessary backhauling of data. By strategically processing information at the edge of the network, EdgeConnect offers a more efficient and secure approach to cloud connectivity.
• Branch Network Consolidation: Replace branch firewalls and routers, streamlining network and security functions.
• Quality Of Experience: Prioritize mission-critical applications, including high-quality voice and video over broadband.
• Secure IoT Segmentation: Implement zero-trust network segmentation for IoT devices, going beyond SASE-defined boundaries.
• Integration with Multiple SSE Vendors: Tight integration with various cloud-security vendors

EdgeConnect SD-WAN Platform combines robust security, performance optimization, and cloud integration to empower modern enterprises.

An Overview On HPE Aruba Networking Central NetConductor and ClearPass

HPE Aruba Networking offers sophisticated AI-powered client identification and profiling through Client Insights, a feature built directly into HPE Aruba Networking Central. This eliminates the need for additional physical collectors or VM-based agents typically required by competitor solutions.

Client Insights delivers highly accurate AI/ML profiling, reaching . This enhanced visibility empowers customers to experience immediate IT efficiency gains. Automated policy enforcement based on these insights further streamlines network management. Additionally, Client Insights’ always-on AI/ML behavioral monitoring provides superior protection against security breaches.

Client Insights within HPE Aruba Networking Central NetConductor and ClearPass offer a cost-effective and user-friendly solution for comprehensive network visibility, automated policy enforcement, and enhanced security through AI-powered client identification and profiling.

Additionally, HPE Aruba Networking Central offers the following components as well for organizations:

• Cloud Authentication

As HPE Aruba Networking’s built-in cloud-based NAC solution within HPE Aruba Networking Central, Cloud Auth assigns roles to users and devices for secure network access. This ensures only authorized users and devices can connect, with clearly defined access privileges. Cloud Auth integrates with common identity stores (like Google Workspace and Azure AD) for seamless user and device identification and authentication. It also simplifies management with time-saving workflows for policy configuration and user onboarding with Multi Pre-Shared Keys (MPSK).

• HPE Aruba Networking Central NetConductor

HPE Aruba Networking Central NetConductor automates tasks like configuration and policy enforcement across geographically dispersed networks, simplifying management of wired, wireless, and WAN infrastructure. This streamlines setup, optimizes performance, and enforces granular access controls – the foundation of secure network architectures.

Final Thoughts

The digital landscape has fostered exponential business growth through widespread cloud adoption. While moving to the cloud creates new security challenges, SASE offers a comprehensive solution to consolidating critical network and security functionalities into a single, cloud-based platform. This streamlined approach simplifies security management while ensuring reliable data protection across all locations within your organization.

WEI’s cloud security specialists can guide you through securing your cloud environment. We combine our expertise with personalized security assessments and custom-built SASE solutions, featuring advanced technologies like HPE Aruba Networking. This empowers your business to confidently navigate your digital transformation while protecting your critical assets. Contact us today to get started.

Next steps: The acceleration of migrating applications to the cloud in addition to leveraging cheaper and flexible internet alternatives such as 5G/LTE connections drove the need for SD-WAN technology. Greater visibility and better security tools are needed to ensure the zero-trust network environment that companies desire. Additionally, hybrid networks have evolved far beyond the basic composition of a public cloud and on-prem environment. Today’s SD-WAN solutions must accommodate multiple clouds in a dynamic fashion.

WEI’s free tech brief identifies the three main components of Aruba Network’s powerful EdgeConnect Enterprise platform:

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

to access your free copy of the tech brief, SD-WAN: 3 Components To Efficiently Connect Users To Applications.

The post Unified SASE: A Secure And Streamlined Path To Digital Transformation appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

In the modern healthcare ecosystem, data plays a critical role. From storing patient records and managing finances to facilitating research and developing treatment plans, this information forms the lifeblood of the industry. It goes beyond the common data pulls for medical histories and financial details, as it also encompasses vital research findings, drug trial results, and personalized treatment plans – all essential for individual well-being and scientific advancement. However, this treasure trove attracts attackers, threatening patient privacy and trust, hindering care, and compromising the entire healthcare system.

What can healthcare organizations do? We’ll delve into the modern challenges they face, and solutions they can take to build a more secure healthcare landscape.

Challenges In Healthcare

Healthcare institutions face an uphill battle: balancing cutting-edge technology with robust cybersecurity measures. In recent years, there have been on these organizations due to these common challenges:

1. The use of outdated VPNs. This fails to adequately protect user and patient information against ransomware, phishing, malware, and other cyber threats.
2. Relying on a patchwork of cybersecurity solutions and vendors, both on-premises and off-site. This leads to high operational costs, antiquated operations, lagging detection and response, and unnecessary complexity.
3. Maintaining a high level of cyber resiliency across different environments, such as on-site and work-from-anywhere setups. Simplifying the structure is crucial for compliance and reducing the overall attack surface. While clinical staff may be working on-site, many non-clinical staff are still working remotely, and often within departments executing critical data flows.

Fortifying the healthcare system’s digital defenses requires a multi-pronged approach involving the adoption of reliable software solutions and updates, paired with comprehensive staff education. By safeguarding patient privacy and enabling the uninterrupted delivery of high-quality care, cybersecurity is not merely an option – it’s an essential investment.

Key Impacts Of SASE

Traditional security approaches struggle to keep pace with the evolving healthcare landscape. Enter Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), a revolutionary solution promising a paradigm shift in safeguarding sensitive medical data. We’ve identified five key aspects of SASE and their impact on healthcare security. Let’s explore:

1. Unified Security Approach: SASE unifies network and security in the cloud to streamline and scale management and boost healthcare IT security. Sticking with old methods leaves organizations exposed, making SASE’s holistic and modern approach crucial for healthcare.
2. Zero Trust Principles: Healthcare institutions can minimize insider threats and boost security by adopting Zero Trust, a model rejecting inherent trust and emphasizing constant verification and monitoring. This is a topic we’ve covered plenty in recent time, and this practice is only growing more prevalent across all industries.
3. Cloud-Native Security: Cloud-native security scales dynamically, protecting healthcare data as volumes soar. This flexible approach safeguards sensitive information through the power of cloud technology.
4. Endpoint Security: In the face of devastating breaches, robust antivirus and frequent updates are vital to fortify devices against cyberattacks.
5. AI-Driven Threat Detection: AI-powered threat detection analyzes data in real-time as well as forecasts actions for future threats. This helps spot anomalies and respond to security threats as they emerge.

In the realm of , SASE addresses various challenges in the industry by providing secure access and high-performance connectivity to users in various locations. However, many SASE solutions fail to provide consistent cybersecurity or seamlessly integrate with existing network and security tools.

Considering Universal SASE In The Healthcare Sector?

Universal SASE provides consistent cybersecurity and optimal experiences, safeguarding all users, devices, and edges, including microbranches. Built on a single-vendor approach like Fortinet’s , it offers a comprehensive solution by integrating SD-WAN with cloud-delivered security services. This approach ensures optimal and secure connectivity for all.

FortiSASE employs a distinctive secure networking approach driven by a singular operating system known as FortiOS. Augmented by , this strategy enables Fortinet to seamlessly integrate security and networking with the following functionalities:

• Streamlined Management: Simplify both networking and cybersecurity policy administration through a consolidated agent, enhancing operational efficiency.
• Consistent And Flexible Security Everywhere: Fortinet solutions ensure consistent security for both on-site and remote users, minimizing security vulnerabilities and simplifying configuration tasks. Fortinet Secure SD-WAN enables organizations to secure and transform their on-premises WAN while extending security into the cloud with FortiSASE.
• Real-Time Threat Protection: and FortiGuard AI-Powered Security Services provide immediate defense against cyber threats.
• User-Friendly Licensing: Fortinet offers straightforward user-based licensing and user-friendly management and monitoring tools.
• Unified Endpoint Protection: Leveraging FortiClient, FortiSASE delivers all cybersecurity services, safeguarding endpoints and providing remote access, telemetry, and visibility within the Fortinet Security Fabric.
• Secure Private Access: FortiSASE offers secure private access capabilities that seamlessly integrate with SD-WAN networks, utilizing intelligent steering and dynamic routing to ensure optimal access to corporate applications.
• Secure Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) Access: Addressing the challenges of shadow IT and data exfiltration, FortiSASE provides secure SaaS access with a dual-mode CASB, offering both inline and API-based support. It delivers comprehensive visibility by identifying critical SaaS applications and identifying risky ones, thus mitigating shadow IT risks.
• Enhanced User Experience: Through SD-WAN, organizations can enhance application experience, connectivity, and operational efficiency, ultimately improving user satisfaction.

Final Thoughts

Healthcare organizations need secure and reliable network access, especially with distributed teams and cloud-based applications. FortiSASE offers a high-performance, scalable, and globally-spanning cloud network with a single-vendor SASE approach. This means broad coverage, easy scalability, and streamlined operations, freeing your healthcare teams to focus on what matters most: delivering exceptional patient care.

WEI’s team of experts is ready to support you and your organization in your cybersecurity and business goals. Contact us to get started.

Next steps: Managing and securing data, applications, and systems has become more arduous and time-consuming with the rise of cloud adoption and the expansion of the digital attack surface. To help remedy this, FortiAnalyzer offers a powerful log management, analytics, and reporting platform that features a single console to manage, orchestrate, and respond. Download our free tech brief below to read.

The post Redefining Healthcare Security With A Single-Vendor SASE Solution appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

As customer expectations and operational challenges change, retailers need to transform their business goals accordingly. Cloud-based technologies, like software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications, offer flexibility, scalability, and efficiency to facilitate this transformation. Yet, utilizing cloud services introduces network and security concerns, including performance issues, increased attack surface areas, and damaging data breaches. These days, it is no wonder IoT is sometimes referred to as Internet of Threats as there is a higher reliance on mobile and IoT devices, leading to higher bandwidth usage and increased data.

To address these challenges, retailers need a reliable and cost-efficient IT infrastructure to support their initiatives, protect their network assets, and deliver a seamless user experience. In this article, we explore how the retail industry can navigate changes in operations, security, and networking.

The Evolving Needs Of The Retail Industry

The retail industry is constantly shifting to meet the needs of stakeholders, including customers, associates, and IT teams. Retailers need to encompass all process-driven functions of business, from supply chain and inventory and store management to people management.

To offer customers a variety of options to find, connect, shop, and pay, retailers use technologies such as QR codes, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, e-commerce, mobile apps, social media, and mobile payments, among others.

Moreover, retail associates require various tools and information to provide excellent customer service. Retailers then use IoT and mobile technologies to provide them with these resources, enabling them to assist, connect, process, update, and communicate effectively with customers and headquarters.

are also enabled to support and expand retail operations. Technologies such as cloud, AI, IoT, and encryption are important to connect and manage their store network, implement new initiatives, secure data, and reduce expenses and downtime.

With those priorities in mind, modern retail IT operators are tasked to adapt and innovate to the changing needs of the industry. They can effectively respond to these by unifying and simplifying access points, automating and securing IT operations, and choosing their network.

• Unify And Simplify Access: Modern retail IT operators need to provide a single, secure, and easy-to-use access point for all the users, locations, and IoT devices connected to the retail network. This can help enhance customer loyalty and engagement, empower associates to focus on customers, and create smart spaces for better operations.
• Automate And Secure IT Operator Experiences: The use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are encouraged to automate and secure operations. This can ensure secure and reliable transactions, real-time pricing and inventory management, and data security and compliance with minimal costs.
• Choose The Network: Modern retail IT operators need to use network-as-a-service (NaaS) to choose and customize their network according to their business needs and preferences. This can offer customers and associates a variety of connectivity and device options, and provide retailers a variety of network options.

These actions can help businesses create a more seamless, personalized, and efficient user experience.

Retail Transformation From Edge To Cloud

Retail businesses are adopting solutions to simplify operations and stay ahead of the competition. offers a comprehensive suite of services that empower retailers to deliver exceptional customer experiences and streamline tasks by transforming their retail operations from edge to cloud.

Retail transformation with HPE Aruba Networking begins with:

1. Empowering Operations: With HPE and capabilities, retailers can provide secure and reliable connectivity to their customers, no matter where they are. This is especially important in today’s world, where customers expect to shop online and in-store seamlessly.
2. Ensuring Connectivity And IT Capabilities: HPE Aruba Networking provides reliable connectivity, predictable and secure network infrastructure, and centralized management for all stores. This helps retailers ensure that their IT capabilities are always up-to-date.
3. Intelligent Data Center And Powerful Insights: Retailers can gain information about their customers’ behavior and preferences. This can help them make better decisions on product marketing strategies and optimizing the supply chain.
4. : This allows retailers to segment their network traffic based on identity and associated access permissions. This provides greater flexibility via Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) and reduces the burden of manual configuration.
5. Extended Services: Retailers can also take advantage of Aruba Networks’ extended services, such as , to better understand their customers’ needs and preferences.

By leveraging HPE Aruba Networking’s key capabilities, retailers can boost their operations and meet the demands of the digital consumer.

Final Thoughts

Retail businesses now are required to adapt a holistic approach to address changing needs of customers, associates, and headquarters. HPE Aruba Networking provides a comprehensive suite of solutions that streamline operations and position retailers at the forefront of industry trends. These solutions are designed to help retailers pursue innovation and adaptability.

Our team of experts at WEI can provide insights into your retail business and support your operations by looking at HPE Aruba Networking’s array of solutions that fit your retail expansion and operation requirements. This service plays a pivotal role in empowering businesses to improve efficiency and deliver outstanding customer experiences, extending from the edge to the cloud.

Next Steps: Digitally transforming your company can become less challenging with HPE Aruba Networking’s flexible approach to networking. Learn more about how NaaS can take your network performance to the next level by downloading our white paper titled, “.”

The post How HPE Aruba Networking Solutions Drive Modernized Retail appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

The financial services sector is dealing with new challenges as they race to digitize for a better customer experience and high-performing branch operations. Unfortunately, cyber criminals are capitalizing on the increased complexity.

To address these concerns, financial institutions are turning to SD-WAN for a more efficient and secure network setup. This accelerates digital transformation and paves the way for the implementation of Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) architecture. In this article, we explore how combining a high-quality SD-WAN with a robust security strategy can address the current challenges in this sector.

Modern Challenges Of The Financial Industry

The financial industry encounters a multifaceted set of challenges that hinder digital transformation, thus affecting both operational efficiency and security. These challenges include:

1. Infrastructure And Technological Challenges

Most banks still rely on outdated multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) networks that connect their branches to the main office. As a result, many are experiencing network problems, especially during mergers, restructuring, and acquisitions. This puts the banking industry at a . Expanding to additional branch locations also introduces the following complications:

• Increased time and energy pressures when setting up MPLS circuits
• Insufficient network bandwidth for disaster response and recovery
• Budget constraints in the IT department that hinder network infrastructure modernization

These obstacles, along with slow and unreliable data center connections and infrastructure, hamstring the migration of crucial business applications to the cloud.

2. Cybersecurity Threats Amid Digital Adoption

Rapid technological advancements require financial institutions to and improve the overall customer experience through:

• Transitioning routine transactions to online platforms
• The integration of self-service options in branches

Additionally, with rising transaction volumes and migration to the cloud, the financial services industry has become a prime target for cybercrime, including theft of funds and personal information, DDoS attacks, and ransomware.

3. Regulatory Compliance

The financial services industry operates under designed to protect consumers from fraud and maintain transparency. Organizations must comply with these standards, even in the face of resource limitations and potential threats.

Five Benefits Of SD-WAN To Financial Organizations

To overcome these challenges, it is essential to execute a comprehensive enterprise initiative. Implementing an advanced SD-WAN platform such as HPE empowers the financial services sector to step fully into the next generation of cloud technology. We’ve summarized five proven benefits of SD-WAN below.

1. Simplified And Cost-Efficient Network Infrastructure

Legacy MPLS services limit the migration of cloud-hosted applications, and requires IT teams to backhaul traffic to main data centers for security. This results in added latency and operational difficulties for remote branches. The edge platform streamlines operations by:

• Actively utilizing cost-effective broadband internet and 4/5G LTE services
• Overcoming reliability issues through features like Forward Error Correction (FEC) and Packet Order Correction (POC)
• Implementing tunnel bonding and dynamic path control

HPE Aruba Networking EdgeConnect enables financial institutions to transition from complex architectures to cost-effective network infrastructure, with real-time performance monitoring.

2. Quick Expansion And Roll-Out

Traditional MPLS services are not equipped to handle the added bandwidth used to expand branches and upgrade ATMs. However, EdgeConnect delivers private line-like performance through:

• Enabling cost-effective and swift deployment within a couple of weeks
• Improving network efficiency with features like path conditioning and zero-touch provisioning

Even without previous IT knowledge, anyone from the IT team can easily set up the EdgeConnect SD-WAN appliance from any remote site.

3. Optimized Backup And Disaster Recovery

Disaster recovery plans commonly involve storing remote data backups at a considerable distance from the primary site, which can result in potential latency issues. To address this, organizations can opt for additional softwares like HPE to improve backup and disaster recovery performance. This enhancement is achieved through the acceleration of the TCP protocol and the incorporation of data deduplication and compression algorithms.

The platform proves effective even with substantial data sets, significantly reducing backup time, while simultaneously expediting recovery processes and optimizing bandwidth.

4. Secured Access And Customer Data

To guarantee compliance, financial institutions must secure customer data in cloud applications. This entails shifting from the conventional practice of backhauling cloud traffic to embracing a Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) architecture. , as a fundamental element of SASE, provides unified branch security, zero-trust segmentation, and automated orchestration with third-party cloud security providers. These functionalities work cohesively to streamline network infrastructure, enhance security measures, and optimize overall operational efficiency.

5. PCI DSS Compliance

Incidents of card transaction fraud losses for merchants and ATM cardholders continue to increase over the years. In response to this escalating threat, PCI DSS outlines to mitigate credit card fraud, which is now a mandatory for any organization handling cardholder data. The EdgeConnect SD-WAN platform supports compliance with nine of these requirements. This kind of compliance provide a secure environment with robust data protection for financial institutions in the cloud.

Final Thoughts

In the changing world of digital finance, the increasing threat of cybersecurity demands financial institutions to prioritize secure and reliable network connections. Unfortunately, various challenges and conflicting priorities often lead to neglecting network infrastructure, especially during cloud migration.

To tackle these challenges, financial institutions need to adopt a flexible SASE approach – using EdgeConnect SD-WAN as a foundation for cloud-hosted security solutions. By partnering with experts like WEI, this strategic approach enables organizations to smoothly undergo digital transformation, cut costs, and manage cybersecurity risks effectively. If you’re ready to explore these possibilities, reach out to our team to get started.

Next Steps: Just about every business we talk with has long-term remote workforce initiatives, and security has become a larger focal point of each conversation because devices are no longer protected by the traditional enterprise perimeter. Don’t leave security to chance with your remote workforce. See how HPE Aruba Networking is solving the challenge with their Remote Access Points, and find out just how easy their RAPs are to implement and manage in our tech brief below.

The post Five Proven Use Cases For SD-WAN In The Financial Services Industry appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

To stay updated in the evolving IT environment, organizations are consistently navigating multi-cloud transitions and embracing hybrid work models. The increasing dispersion of users and applications across platforms heightens the difficulty of ensuring a functioning, resilient, and consistent user experience.

For this reason, IT teams must rethink their networking strategy as the conventional application model shifts from data-center-centric to internet-enabled cloud-centric. In this article, we’ll tackle the challenges brought on by current trends and discuss how IT teams can navigate them.

Solving Hybrid Workspace Challenges

Hybrid work models pose significant challenges for IT teams striving to ensure a secure and smooth user experience. According to a recent survey, find it harder to secure remote workers, and 51% face difficulties connecting off-site workers to company resources. As users and applications move off-premises, the risk of intentional attacks or data exposure increases.

Cloud-based security solutions offer a centralized control point; however, effective security requires staying up to date with the latest guidelines, best practices, and solutions. Adopting a secure access service edge (SASE) strategy is the answer most IT professionals are turning to.

Built on zero-trust principles, SASE provides a reliable and seamless connection to applications in any environment. Benefits include:

• Unifying networking and security functions into a cloud-native solution.
• Decentralizing security policies and enforcement to accommodate the distributed nature of end users and applications.
• Eliminating the need to consistently route data back to a centralized data center.

These benefits solidify SASE’s position as a top priority for organizations seeking integrated, cloud-based SD-WAN management.

Investing In SASE

In the era of remote work and hybrid cloud usage, a SASE strategy is essential for secure user and app connectivity across any network. Unlike traditional security approaches, it combines networking and security into a cloud-native solution. By deploying security policies closer to users and applications, it embraces a zero-trust model and eliminates the need for constant data backhauling to a central center.

This lightens network loads and improves the overall user experience, ensuring reliable access from edge to edge. As a dynamic architecture, SASE streamlines IT functions to provide secure connection to applications from any location or device.

Navigating Your SASE Journey

Regardless of deployment and consumption methods, a robust SASE strategy is vital for aligning with long-term organizational objectives and operational needs. The goal is to seamlessly blend essential elements from SD-WAN and cloud security. Here are five reasons we’ve identified to invest in and smoothly navigate your SASE journey:

1. Elevates Your WAN With Cloud-Scale Architecture: This is achieved through the delivery of secure connections, facilitated by integrated multi-cloud access, simplified management processes, and the provision of actionable insights.
2. Streamlines Cloud Security: Begin your security strategy at the DNS layer where you can establish a strong foundation. Alternatively, enhance your existing setup by incorporating additional functionality through an open security platform and seamless integrations. By consolidating security processes and multiple functions into a user-friendly, cloud-native service, you create a holistic solution with built-in security rather than merely tacking it on.
3. Simplifies Secure Network Access With Zero Trust: For a comprehensive Zero Trust approach, it is essential to implement identity controls consistently across both branch and remote workers. This involves enabling policy-based controls for every access attempt, regardless of the hosting location.
4. Platform Simplicity: As SASE should be seen as an architectural framework, consider choosing a single vendor to provide both networking and security components. Opting for a platform approach simplifies the architecture and improves performance and cost-effectiveness. We advise selecting a partner such as WEI with extensive expertise to assist your team in addressing challenges across various environments.
5. Customizable SASE Architecture: Embracing your SASE transition means recognizing each organization’s cloud journey. At this point, it is significant to choose a provider that meets your current requirements while anticipating and accommodating your evolving needs both in the present and the future.

As an alternative to traditional security stacks, SASE improves the user experience by offering secure access across the entire network, including the data center, remote offices, roaming users, and beyond.

Final Thoughts

Many companies are embracing SASE, with . How they invest in the tool depends on their current setup, what they’re focusing on operationally, and their overall business objectives.

For a smoother transition, IT teams should take a strategic planning approach, gradually shifting towards a full SASE architecture. Our reliable partner, , has a versatile SASE solution that provides the agility needed for consistent user experiences. With different deployment and consumption options, you can pick what works best for you and let our team of experts assist you in your SASE journey.

Next Steps: You can learn more about how Cisco can transform your network into an intention-based unified fabric that not only furthers the scalability, agility, and performance of your network, but your business objectives as well. Take a closer look at this stunning tool in our white paper, .

The post Strengthen Security And Networking: Five Reasons To Invest In SASE For Hybrid Work appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

In today’s evolving digital landscape, businesses are finding a reliable ally in Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) to safeguard their networks and endpoints. Imagine it as a musical conductor, skillfully bringing together different players in a complex orchestra of networking and security.

Just like a maestro ensures a harmonious symphony, SASE guarantees secure and seamless access to applications – regardless of your location or the device you are using. In this article, we explore how SASE can benefit your business and enhance the security of your data and network in a hybrid environment.

Factors For A Successful SASE Implementation

SASE revolutionizes security by seamlessly integrating networking and security functions into a unified, cloud-native solution. This innovative approach enhances user experience and efficiency with a secure access framework that spans across the data center, remote offices, and roaming users.

In contrast to traditional methods, SASE adapts to the dynamic and hyper-distributed nature of today’s hybrid environments. To make SASE work well for your business, it’s important to think about these aspects:

• Simplify And Streamline: Managing security and networking in a fragmented landscape is challenging. A unified approach is essential for simplifying complex networks and security. It’s important for organizations to combine various network ecosystems and security solutions for better visibility, policy control, and overall protection across all networks.
• Enable Hybrid Work Success: In the age of hybrid work and multi-device usage, networking teams need to ensure reliable connectivity to any cloud. This helps address network performance problems caused by increasing internet traffic and changing traffic patterns.
• Optimize Operational Costs: Reducing costs is a big concern when it comes to secure connectivity in complex IT setups. SASE tackles this issue by using SD-WAN and smart traffic modeling for enhanced security and cost-efficiency across public, private, and hybrid clouds. Moreover, there are several options available, such as:
  • Service-based solutions (SaaS) which ensure quick setup with minimal disruption.
  • Hybrid or co-managed models which offer customization and visibility.
• Collaborating Between Networking And Security Teams: SASE encourages collaboration between networking and security teams. This collaboration cuts costs, streamlines operations, and makes security a top priority.

Investing In A Comprehensive SASE Solution

Having identified the elements of successful SASE implementation, the next step is determining the specific provider for the service.

Investing in a SASE solution is crucial for ensuring optimal and secure connections in today’s dynamic digital landscape. stands out as a top choice due to its innovative features and commitment to address evolving cyber risks. Here’s why Cisco’s SASE is worth considering:

• Optimal Cloud Connectivity: Cisco SASE ensures secure connections for users and devices to all cloud environments. It effectively identifies and resolves challenges present in traditional setups. Additionally, it provides a uniform security approach irrespective of user locations.
• Versatile Deployment Models: Recognized by for SD-WAN and WAN Edge Infrastructure, Cisco SASE offers various deployment models tailored to diverse organizational requirements. This set-up guarantees a smooth and user-friendly experience across various use cases.
• Zero Trust Security Model: This solution implements a zero trust security model to fill security gaps, drastically boosting the effectiveness of addressing evolving cyber risks.
• Simplified Threat Detection And Integration: Cisco has seamlessly incorporated SASE functionalities into Meraki, Cisco ISR routers, and third-party routers. The integration extends to , a cloud-based security orchestration tool designed to unify security infrastructures into cohesive ecosystems. Featuring approximately 350 pre-configured APIs for seamless integration with third-party systems, SecureX is bundled with every Cisco security product and requires no extra licensing. Users gain access to telemetry data and threat information within 15 minutes which reduces reliance on additional Professional Services. This results in significant time and cost savings.
• Hybrid Work Environment Capability: Cisco SASE streamlines management challenges by efficiently enabling visibility of multiple remote users, devices, and data.
• Adaptability And Scalability: Cisco’s SASE solutions are built on open standards and boast robust API support. This framework empowers organizations to fulfill their current secure connectivity requirements while maintaining flexibility.

Cisco’s SASE solution represents more than a current solution; it embodies a strategic transformation. By offering a comprehensive approach, it empowers businesses to proactively prepare for evolving security and networking needs.

Final Thoughts

Cisco stands at the forefront of SASE technology. In partnership with a broad network of collaborators, our service empowers you to customize deployment models, offering robust networking solutions, advanced security features, and enhanced internet observability capabilities.

To learn more about Cisco’s advanced SASE solutions, contact WEI today.

Next steps: Discover more about how your business can implement a meaningful SASE strategy by downloading our tech brief, The First 5 Things You Should Know About SASE.

The post Step Into The Future Of Secure: Hybrid Networking With Cisco SASE appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

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.

The managed SD-WAN global market was estimated at $7 billion in 2022. It is expected to grow to $19 billion in 2027 for a 22% annual growth rate. While not every organization can benefit from an SD-WAN solution, all organizations do use wireless. The managed Wi-Fi global market that was almost $5 billion in 2022 is expected to grow 21% a year to $12.5 billion in 2027. Managed security tells a similar story as managed VPN and network monitoring is projected to grow to $88.5 billion in 2027.

Wi-Fi is everywhere, security is required, and more companies are utilizing SD-WAN due to the growing complexity of business networks and the adaptation of multi-cloud computing and hybrid work models. In the past, digital transformation was a strategy to gain a competitive advantage over industry competitors. It is now imperative because organizations are feeling pressure from multiple fronts every day. That calls for greater agility, flexibility, and scale.

The Demand for Premier IT Services

In today’s fast-paced digital age, users expect instantaneous results and an unparalleled digital experience. This consumer-level expectation has seamlessly transitioned into the B2B realm. However, many companies lack the expertise and personnel to offer top tier digital services, leading them to seek external partners capable of meeting these expectations.

Digitally transformed organizations must retain robust enterprise network services that are characterized by stellar performance and unwavering availability. They require tools that provide their clients with the agility and flexibility that is essential for achieving business goals. Whether it is hastening the launch of new branches or adapting infrastructure to evolving business needs, mergers, or regulatory shifts, every enterprise must be ready for the next challenge. Regardless of what business you are in, the objective is delivering reliable, secure, and high-quality services for a price that makes sense.

Embracing the Cloud Paradigm

Just as many of the world’s largest enterprises have transitioned their applications, infrastructure, and digital resources to the cloud, smaller organizations of all industries must follow suit for the following reasons:

• Unparalleled scalability offered by the cloud
• Greater cost efficiency by shifting from a CapEx to an OpEx model
• Simplified management with a centralized dashboard
• Regular rollouts of innovative services and tools
• Access to robust security measures to safeguard clients’ data
• Large selection of customizable services and solutions for customer requirements.

Juniper Mist Intelligence

Juniper Mist harnesses artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data analytics to elevate user experiences and streamline operations across wireless, wired, and SD-WAN domains. With AI-driven capabilities, Mist automates routine tasks and offers deep insights into network operations to ensure consistent quality in both wired and wireless networks. Beyond that, Mist’s ability to offer indoor location services and predict potential issues before they occur further sets it apart from other providers. This innovative blend of cloud intelligence is why users have reported operational labor savings of up to 90%.

Real Cost Savings

As you may have guessed, it is Juniper Networks that can help digitally transformed organizations achieve significant savings in OpEx and TCO in regards to customer infrastructure. Real, tangible cost savings were calculated for managed SD-WAN, Wi-Fi, and wired LAN services using a business case model developed by ACG Research. The model calculates revenue, CapEx, and OpEx for two scenarios:

1. Managed network services with Juniper Networks’ wired, wireless, and SD-WAN driven by Juniper Mist AI
2. Managed network services without Juniper Networks’ wired, wireless, and SD-WAN driven by Juniper Mist AI

The model assumed a portfolio of Juniper SSR routers for SD-WAN, access points for Wi-Fi, and EX switches for wired access. There is also a pricing model that marked up the base expense of the network infrastructure by 70%. A Business Analytics Engine (BAE) was used to calculate gross margin and the cost of labor involved in delivering the designated services. Some of the final numbers included the following:

Businesses today require top-tier IT services. With Juniper Networks’ cloud solutions powered by Mist, digitally transformed organizations can meet these demands while also achieving a favorable return on investment and profit margin.

Next Steps: This white paper by WEI identifies how Juniper Networks’ location-based networking helps higher education institutes overcome complex technology challenges. Readers will better identify:

• Concerns of higher education IT professionals
• Why network infrastructure is a differentiator
• Challenge of improving remote experiences
• Value of a virtual network assistant

The post An AI-Driven SD-WAN Solution That Has The Numbers To Back Up Its Promise appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

In the competitive world of technology, one of the biggest challenges for IT leaders is adapting to evolving tactics and changes in network connectivity. This is similar to professional sports, as offensive and defensive schemes often change during a season due to trending playbook wrinkles. Team leaders that deploy dated scheming eventually fall behind in on-field play and their win-loss record will reflect this. In the world of IT, outdated network architectures and middleware lead to more serious burdens with hindered device management and security. As a result, many enterprises can’t fully enjoy the benefits of cloud technologies and digital transformation.

Just as there are sports teams behind the curve, there are companies falling behind in the era of multi-cloud networks and hybrid architectures. These enterprises still rely on legacy network topologies, technologies, and middleware that served them well for more than a decade. Consequently, they are unable to fully exploit the benefits of their acquired cloud technologies. For instance, many organizations still rely on legacy hub-and-spoke networks that cannot accommodate the dynamic workloads and diverse data flows that dominate the modern enterprise. 

Other IT leaders are still relying on scattered VPN tunnels that are highly inflexible and reduce application performance. Many are also burdened with middleboxes, in the form of routers, firewalls, VPN appliances, etc. These elements require individual configurations and maintenance, adding to the workload of overwhelmed IT teams.

A New Game

IT leaders are searching for a new way of doing things. This includes routing traffic and robust security that doesn’t disrupt business operations. In this era of multi-cloud networks and hybrid architectures, Juniper’s provides a game-changing solution. The integrated service presents an entirely software-based platform to seamlessly merge with your existing setup, eliminating the need for complex and expensive forklift upgrades.

The Need For A Session Smart Network

With Juniper’s solution, your network becomes responsive and efficient, enabling seamless communication and data flow in your organization. This empowers your business to embrace cloud technologies, modernize your network infrastructure, and adapt to evolving challenges effortlessly.

Juniper Session Smart SD-WAN brings a plethora of benefits that can revolutionize your business and propel you ahead toward digital transformation. Here are some of the trending benefits that stood out for us:

1. Reduced Operational Expenses: Juniper Session Smart SD-WAN streamlines operations by minimizing labor-intensive tasks like manual configurations. As a result, companies enjoy significant cost savings.
2. Enhanced Network Structure: The platform facilitates easy access to SaaS-based applications through its efficient and effective network structure. Enterprises can then enjoy smoother and faster access to cloud-based services, enhancing overall productivity and user experience.
3. Streamlined Network Design: Juniper Session Smart SD-WAN offers an optimized solution for utilizing SaaS-based applications, ensuring data flows seamlessly and elevating the overall network performance. This opens the door to smoother and faster access to cloud-based services, improving efficiency and productivity across your entire network infrastructure.
4. Effortless Onboarding: The implementation process is quick and cost-effective. With zero-touch provisioning and an onboard process that automatically configures itself, your organization can seamlessly adapt to a new network setup.
5. Simplified Management: Network management is effortless with Juniper’s comprehensive LAN/WAN/SD-WAN solution, and the best part is all of it can be found in a single cloud platform. Their streamlined Wi-Fi points, switches, and SD-WAN gateway devices optimize resource allocation and empower your organization to focus on more strategic initiatives.

Juniper Session Smart takes routing to a new level by intelligently aligning workloads with session policies and network status, resulting in a 50% improvement in bandwidth utilization. Session Smart SD-WAN’s tunnel-free architecture ensures service-centered performance, simplified operations, and .

AI-Powered Network Assurance

Juniper AI WAN Assurance, powered by , is an extensive solution that brings real-time analytics, proactive anomaly identification, and swift issue resolution to your network.

Through continuous telemetry data collection and event correlation, Juniper SD-WAN directs sessions with performance and security SLAs in mind. This approach enhances network efficiency for an optimal user experience, making your business operations more productive and responsive.

Data from multiple sources, including Juniper Mist Access Points, Switches, Session Smart Routers, and Firewalls, provides end-to-end insight into user experiences. These devices work with Mist AI to optimize user experiences from client-to-cloud, covering tasks such as:

• Automated event correlation
• Root cause identification
• operations
• Network assurance
• Proactive anomaly detection

Additionally, – Juniper’s AI-driven virtual network assistant – empowers your team with deep insights and fast remediation for network teams. With Juniper AI WAN Assurance and Marvis’ assistance, your network gains real-time analytics. That way, your team can maximize network performance and address challenges proactively.

Final Thoughts

If your network is suffering from sluggishness and unresponsiveness due to outdated legacy architecture, it’s time for a game-changing move. With Juniper’s innovative solutions at your fingertips, you can bid farewell to the limitations of legacy systems and unlock the true potential of modern networking. Embrace Juniper’s Session Smart SD-WAN to revamp your network performance and ensure seamless responsiveness.

Speak with one of our experts at WEI to learn more about the power of Juniper’s Session Smart Network and AI-driven network assurance. We can provide valuable advice to empower your business with a more efficient and cost-effective network structure. Don’t let your network hold you back. Take charge and propel your business to new heights with Juniper’s Session Smart SD-WAN.

Next Steps: This white paper by WEI identifies how Juniper Networks’ location-based networking helps higher education institutes overcome complex technology challenges. Readers will better identify:

• Concerns of higher education IT professionals
• Why network infrastructure is a differentiator
• Challenge of improving remote experiences
• Value of a virtual network assistant

The post Top 5 Reasons to Embrace Juniper Network’s AI-Driven SD-WAN appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

The era of digital transformation has completely changed the way we work, with remote work and cloud-based applications becoming the new normal. No longer are users and applications confined to physical data centers in office spaces. This traditional setup has given way to a new landscape of hybrid workforces, home offices, and geographically-dispersed headquarters. While these changes have improved digital flexibility, they have also brought new and obvious challenges to network security.

To address this challenge, a modern solution called Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) integrates networking and security in the cloud to provide comprehensive and flexible protection for both users and data. In this article, we explore the benefits of SASE and how it can set IT leaders up for future-ready business operations.

A Modern Approach To Secure Cloud-Based Networking

In today’s landscape, data and applications are spread out across data centers and the cloud, making it crucial to ensure user security. SASE is a perfect solution that has the potential to transform how organizations protect their network infrastructure. It provides seamless, secure access to applications and data from anywhere without compromising on security or performance.

SASE ensures businesses securely connects users – regardless of their location – to critical applications and data. This cloud-based networking approach provides granular visibility of user access patterns and detects anomalies before malicious actors gain access. Moreover, SASE architecture offers scalability, relieving IT teams from managing multiple legacy systems and navigating outdated hardware concerns.

Why Your Organization Needs SASE

Fundamentally, SASE converges SD-WAN, cloud-based security, analytics, and insights into a single, cloud-based solution, delivered as a service, to provide optimal, secure connectivity from every user and device to every cloud. Traditional solutions are typically limited to individual devices or networks. With SASE, businesses unify devices, locations, users, and endpoints within one single platform. This reduces complexity, strengthens scalability, and cuts down on costs associated with maintaining multiple solutions.

Here are some of the benefits SASE can offer your enterprise:

1. Enhanced visibility into user behavior patterns: Implementing SASE enhances visibility by monitoring and analyzing user behavior within your systems, applications, and data. These details inform decisions to optimize processes and tailor services to each user.
2. Robust protection against cyber threats: SASE’s advanced machine learning (ML) algorithms quickly monitor network traffic, data transmissions, and user activities in real time. It also detects potential incidents like malware infections, data breaches, or unauthorized access attempts and automatically takes corrective actions, such as isolating compromised devices or blocking suspicious activities. This approach ensures the security and integrity of your business operations.
3. Improved scalability and organizational efficiency: SASE consolidates authentication, authorization, and encryption functions into a unified platform, thereby simplifying deployment and management and increasing productivity. Additionally, SASE’s cloud-native architecture enables organizations to seamlessly scale, adapt to changing workloads, accommodate growing user traffic, and expand operations without sacrificing performance or security.
4. Protection from unauthenticated users: SASE enhances the overall data security posture of your business by combining multiple authentication methods (such as multi-factor authentication and biometrics) to verify user identities, thereby preventing unauthorized access, data breaches, and insider threats.
5. Mitigated external threats during a malicious event: With its ML capabilities, SASE enhances the overall protection of your business operations by employing secure access controls, network segmentation, micro-segmentation, and traffic inspection techniques. These features enable organizations to:
   1. • Detect and block suspicious activities.
      • Isolate all compromised devices.
      • Prevent lateral movement within the network.
      • Safeguard your business from external threats.

Cisco’s Approach to Secure Hybrid Workforce

, , effectively addresses challenges by enabling secure connections among employees. Secure Connect integrates networking, security, and trusted connectivity within a cloud-managed platform to enhance operations and visibility without the upfront investment. This enables organizations to swiftly deploy the service and reap the benefits of SASE.

Final Thoughts

Workforces are leaning more and more hybrid. Organizations must prioritize the security of their users and data as the modern workforce becomes increasingly dispersed. Embracing SASE allows everyone to future-proof their networks and create an ideal, agile hybrid workforce.

To learn more about how SASE and Cisco+ Secure Connect can benefit your organization, reach out to one of our SASE specialists today.

Next Steps: Discover more about how your business can implement a meaningful SASE strategy by downloading our tech brief, .

The post SASE: The Solution To Building A Secure And Future-Ready Hybrid Workforce appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

The fields of science and IT are constantly evolving. Just when we get comfortable, things change, forcing us to create new theories that drive new ways of doing things. For example, before the germ theory of disease was developed in the late 19^th century, doctors thought disease was spread by miasma or “bad air.” Sounds ludicrous, but this was a reality at one time.

There are IT practices and methodologies that appear just as outlandish today. For instance, remember the practice of backhauling all internet traffic to the corporate data center via expensive MPLS lines and VPNs? With the advent of cloud services, routing traffic to the corporate network seemed as absurd as the idea of a flat earth.

Direct Internet Access

To reduce latency, workload congestion, and cost, enterprises are now implementing Direct Internet Access (DIA). DIA allows branch offices to connect directly to the internet, rather than rely on round-about routing to a centralized data center. DIA provides users low-latency access to their cloud services in a highly efficient matter. It seems so sensible; it makes you wonder why we didn’t always provide direct internet access to users.

Zero-Trust Security

In the past, it was common practice to allow friends and family to greet travelers at the airport gate. However, the early 2000s brought a realization: only those with a boarding pass and proper ID could be trusted beyond the security checkpoint.

Similarly, in the IT landscape, we used to extend trust to anonymous users and devices on our networks. But in today’s world of increased threats, costly data breaches, and malware outbreaks, that trust can no longer be taken for granted. Now, we understand the necessity of constantly verifying the identity and purpose of users and network-connected devices. Trust is no longer an option; verification is a must.

What Is Secure Access Secure Edge?

DIA and Zero-trust network access are just two components of a new cybersecurity framework called SASE that integrates wide area networking capabilities with network security services, combining them into a single cloud-based service.

The term was coined by Gartner in 2019 and represents a shift in how organizations are approaching network security in a cloud-centric world with highly distributed workforces. SASE incorporates multiple as-a-service capabilities to service branch offices and remote workers, ensuring a secure optimized digital experience.

Additionally, SASE offers the following capabilities:

• Software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN)
• Firewall as a Service (FWaaS)
• Secure Web Gateway (SWG)
• Cloud access secure broker (CASB)
• Zero trust network access (ZTNA)
• Data loss prevention (DLP)

SASE is typically delivered as a comprehensive cloud service built on a global, cloud-native architecture that ensures scalability and performance. With its integrated SD-WAN capabilities, network security functions, and policy-based management, SASE ensures optimal performance, reliability, and secure workloads for users connecting to applications and services. SASE provides end-to-end traffic modeling for optimal routing regardless of a user’s location in a world driven by soaring internet workloads and new traffic patterns that create bottlenecks in legacy network topologies.

The Answer To A Complex World

SASE was derived from the need to reduce the complexity of hybrid systems. That includes hybrid network architectures, hybrid clouds, and hybrid work models. SASE offers IT teams a simpler approach to securing expanding attack surfaces and managing an endless array of network-connected devices. It helps eliminate the silos that security teams once operated within, silos that created security gaps that threat actors can exploit.

Here are a few of the ways SASE is helping enterprises navigate the increasingly complex digital landscape:

• AI Optimization: This innovative technology automates manual tasks and eliminates human configuration errors as well as accelerates troubleshooting and remediation efforts.
• Up-to-date Technology: This solution came from the realization that networks are now comprised of multi-gigabyte port options and 5G cellular links.
• Enhanced Cybersecurity: It is also a much-needed way to mitigate the cyber risks posed by expanding attack surfaces in a time of tightening compliance regulatory standards.

Ultimately, SASE is the answer to a growing number of emerging challenges.

Benefits Of SASE

Benefits such as reduced complexity are noble justifications for SASE adaption, but business decisions are driven by numbers. Companies that have integrated experienced the following:

• A 73% improvement in latency and traffic consistency for their users.
• 85% of enterprises cut their malware infections by half.
• 75% of organizations were able to give their IT teams the ability to focus on cost savings.

It is no wonder Gartner expects to adopt a SASE architecture by 2025 and why 98% of CISOs plan to spend money on SASE and prioritize 25-75% of their IT security budget on SASE in the future.

Final Thoughts

Whether you are navigating the challenges of a hybrid workplace, multi-cloud architectures, limited network visibility, internet latency, or an ever-expanding attack surface, Cisco can provide the right SASE solution to help you adapt to the new world that your business must operate and thrive in today. Talk to one of our WEI SASE specialists to learn how SASE can benefit your organization.

Next Steps: Discover more about how your business can implement a meaningful SASE strategy by downloading our tech brief, .

The post Why It Is Time To Transition To The Secure Access Service Edge appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

The retail industry has rapidly changed in recent years, embracing offline, online, and hybrid shopping as the new norm. Technology has thus become an essential factor in the success of retailers, which puts significant pressure on them to keep up with the latest tools and reconsider their approaches. To align their current infrastructure with the evolving landscape, retailers must focus on networking as a central aspect of their efforts. This entails an aggressive adoption of digital transformation through cloud computing and omnichannel retailing, modernization of inventory management, and implementation of advanced data loss prevention systems.

The Role Of SD-WAN In Retail Digital Transformation

To overcome challenges and capitalize on opportunities for growth and innovation, retailers acknowledge the need to adapt their networks in response to the dynamic environment. This includes addressing issues such as:

• In-store scaling challenges
• Limitations in real-time bandwidth availability
• Performance problems with in-store applications
• WAN issues associated with the adoption of cloud-native and cloud-first architectures
• Security breaches and PCI compliance guidelines
• Point-of-sale network failures

Resolving these issues is crucial for enhanced customer experience, and retailers increasingly rely on their networks to deliver more value. With the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning in recent years, it is no surprise that SD-WAN solutions are adopting these trends, highlighting the significant role AI will play in optimizing network performance and enhancing operational efficiency for retailers.

AI-driven SD-WAN: The Next Generation In Networking

As a result, a flexible and modern networking infrastructure like an AI-driven SD-WAN emerges as the ideal solution for the retail industry’s digital transformation. cites three key benefits of next-generation SD-WAN solutions and what makes them an attractive choice for retailers to effectively meet the rapidly changing demands of business operations:

Cost

The widespread adoption of SD-WAN has significantly impacted pricing, leading to increased competitiveness and affordability. Compared to traditional tunnel-based alternatives, next-generation SD-WAN offers a substantial price advantage. The combination of higher adoption rates, competitive pricing, and cost-effective solutions further enhances the value of SD-WAN for the retail sector.

By leveraging intelligent routing, dynamic bandwidth allocation, and advanced algorithms powered by machine learning, SD-WAN optimizes network traffic. This level of automation eliminates the need for costly manual configurations and reduces operational expenses associated with outdated approaches.

As acknowledged by , the cost savings delivered by AI-driven SD-WAN solutions make them an attractive investment for the retail industry, empowering stores to allocate their resources strategically and assign more funds to business growth and innovation.

Security

With the proliferation of data sources and the subsequent rise in network vulnerabilities, retailers find themselves in dire need of robust network and data protection measures. Recognizing this pressing demand, modern SD-WAN solutions have ingeniously integrated comprehensive security capabilities, marking a significant leap forward in future-proofing retail networks.

Artificial intelligence embedded in these solutions proactively identifies and neutralizes potential threats, which preempts cyberattacks before they manifest. With AI-driven SD-WAN, retailers know their valuable data and network connections are shielded behind an impenetrable fortress. This allows them to focus on what truly matters: delivering exceptional customer experiences through efficient business operations.

Scalability

It’s no surprise that 81% of retailers worldwide have acknowledged the effectiveness of SD-WAN in deploying and scaling quickly. Not only does this technology offer cost-effective solutions, it also ensures that performance, reliability, and availability are not compromised. Retailers can confidently navigate the ever-increasing demands of the digital retail landscape and propel their businesses forward into a prosperous future by embracing AI-driven SD-WAN.

Final Thoughts

For the retail industry to keep up with changes in customers’ shopping experiences, retailers should consider adopting next-gen SD-WAN and carefully assess how it fits their network requirements and goals. This assessment, which WEI can provide, identifies specific needs and challenges, such as enhancing application performance, boosting security, or optimizing network costs. Once the decision to embrace SD-WAN is made, retailers should prioritize selecting a solution that seamlessly integrates with their current infrastructure and applications.

As a longtime solutions provider for fixed retail locations, WEI is committed to empowering retail businesses with dynamic and innovative systems that evolve alongside their operations. If you’re unsure about adopting SD-WAN for your enterprise, it’s advisable to consult WEI for a thorough network assessment and personalized guidance. Our recommended solution offers a comprehensive suite of tools to help retailers seamlessly deploy , effectively navigating network integration and scalability.

Next steps: Managing the IT estate of any digitally transformed organization is challenging. And while there are companies that boast many mission-critical business processes, the institutions of higher education also face challenges. Our experts dive into the overriding challenges that higher education institutions must overcome and how Juniper Networks can assist.

The post How AI-Driven SD-WAN Can Boost Retailers’ Digital Transformation appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

With the rise of hybrid workplaces, software-defined wide-area networks (SD-WANs) are becoming increasingly popular due to their scalability, cost-efficiency, and improved user experiences. Organizations must be prepared by taking advantage of centralized SD-WAN platforms to remain resilient during times of crisis. In an earlier article, we covered the reasons why your enterprise needs a centralized SD-WAN platform. This article examines five key SD-WAN trends that organizations need to incorporate into their SD-WAN strategy to rebound from current challenges and thrive in the future.

1. Cloud Adoption And Modernization

In the face of digital transformation and a worldwide pandemic, businesses are increasingly reliant on cloud computing. This shift away from data centers has led organizations to require reliable wide area network connections for secure traffic routing directly to the cloud. This is where SD-WAN solutions come in.

SD-WAN technology is revolutionizing the way IT departments operate, enabling them to modernize their networks and keep pace with digital transformation. With SD-WAN connections, businesses can leverage more cost-effective internet or 5G/LTE options while still delivering a superior user experience compared to traditional WAN models that rely on backhauling.

SD-WAN is also altering the way businesses route their traffic, allowing for improved flexibility and optimization. Through intelligent steering of resources and SaaS techniques enabled by machine learning algorithms, organizations can take advantage of a network-as-a-service model to gain maximum benefit from SD-WAN solutions.

2. VPN Alternative

As more and more employees work remotely, traditional VPNs are falling out of favor in the corporate world. SD-WAN solutions have emerged as a viable alternative that provides an enhanced level of security for remote users trying to access enterprise networks. With these advancements, businesses can provide their staff with secure connections to vital resources no matter where they choose to work from.

However, VPNs aren’t completely a thing of the past. These days, enterprises are adopting a multifaceted approach to their networks, combining SDN, zero-trust security models, cutting-edge SD-WAN technology, and even classic VPNs. By harnessing these tools together, companies ensure secure connections for both employees working remotely and workers onsite.

3. Significant Cybersecurity Increase

In the past few years, cyberattacks have become a rapidly growing epidemic with devastating consequences. Last year alone saw an alarming spike in malicious online activity compared to the previous one – leaving businesses and individuals vulnerable to hackers exploiting insecure networks and inadequate security compliance measures.

In today’s digital landscape, the combination of SD-WAN and SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) capabilities has become increasingly important for organizations looking to protect their data from cyberattacks. Advanced SD-WAN solutions can natively integrate with cloud security services such as SWG (Secure Web Gateway), CASB (Cloud Access Security Broker), and ZTNA (Zero Trust Network Access). This enables businesses to create a secure fortress against malicious threats while simultaneously leveraging the advantages of cloud applications.

4. Hybrid Work Is Here To Stay

As the workplace continues to shift toward a hybrid environment, companies must adapt their security strategies accordingly. Centralized IT networks are becoming increasingly unsustainable, and organizations have come to recognize that they need distributed solutions for safeguarding remote connections in this new reality of hyper-distributed edges.

SD-WAN solutions, like HPE Aruba Networking’s SD-WAN platform, are enabling organizations to create a cybersecurity mesh strategy and secure every access point or device, regardless of its location. This distributed approach gives enterprises more control over cyber risks by protecting individual points instead of relying on an expansive perimeter with undefined boundaries. With SD-WAN capabilities in place, businesses can be sure that their data is safe no matter where it travels.

5. A Rise In IoT Devices

SD-WANs are essential for modern enterprise networking, connecting a growing number of devices ranging from surveillance cameras to POS terminals. These IoT solutions present unique security threats due to their simple architecture and lack of security agents. The manufacturing industry faces even greater challenges as IT and OT networks converge – something that had been avoided in the past. SD-WAN solutions offer an effective way to manage these risks while still providing reliable access across multiple locations with zero-trust architecture and dynamic segmentation. This ensures that all users, devices, and connections are secure from cyberattacks by preventing malicious code from infiltrating the enterprise network.

Conclusion

Enterprises wanting to stay ahead of the curve will have to look no further than HPE Aruba Networking’s SD-WAN solutions. With modern, secure edge-to-cloud architecture and flexible platforms tailored specifically for your use case, these innovative SD-WAN trends will help you create a foundation that’s ready to take on any challenge. Get in touch with WEI today to learn more about HPE Aruba Networking’s SD-WAN solutions and how they will empower your enterprise.

Next Steps: SD-WAN with EdgeConnect Enterprise creates more effective networking solutions that help accelerate the growth of any organization. This free tech brief identifies the three main components of HPE Aruba Networking’s powerful EdgeConnect Enterprise platform:

• Physical or Virtual SD-WAN Appliance
• HPE Aruba Networking Orchestrator
• HPE Aruba Networking Boost

The post The Top 5 SD-WAN Trends And How They Benefit Your Business 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.

As businesses move to digital transformation, Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) has emerged as a prevailing approach to securing vast networks and diverse endpoints. However, the right implementation of SASE will depend on an organization’s level of maturity and how they decide to construct their own unique architecture. To reduce complexity while enhancing speed and agility across multiple cloud systems, organizations must consider implementing a powerful SASE solution.

The Importance Of SASE

is a network architecture combined with a cloud-native solution that provides secure and seamless access to applications from any location, network, or device. It extends the concept of zero trust security by pushing policies closer to users and data sources, eliminating backhauling processes for maximum efficiency in user experience.

As an alternative to traditional security approaches, SASE offers end-to-end security across multiple locations, including remote offices, roaming users, and more, making it ideal for businesses relying on hybrid cloud solutions or increased numbers of remote workers.

SASE also helps IT teams meet the challenges of hybrid work security. As the world moves from a traditional data center-based application model to an internet-enabled cloud environment, IT teams face huge challenges in providing secure access for users and applications. To meet these demands, organizations have turned toward SASE, combining SD-WAN with advanced security solutions such as Security Service Edge (SSE) and Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA). This offers greater protection against exposure or malicious attacks while presenting a seamless user experience across all platforms.

Key Factors To A SASE Solution

A SASE solution is an ever-evolving journey tailored to each organization’s unique IT and business needs. To ensure users are connected securely across all devices, some key factors must be part of the overall experience.

Integration

Today’s businesses rely on multiple network ecosystems and security solutions to function successfully. SASE allows for the integration of these systems, providing visibility, control over policy decisions, and protection across all networks.

No matter the configuration, whether it is a custom-built, multi-vendor bundle or a fully managed service from a single source, SASE solutions provide an improved connection between these integral components:

• SD-WAN and cloud security – Combining SD-WAN and cloud security creates a powerful SASE solution that ensures secure connections between users, applications, and points of presence (PoPs). Through predictive analytics, IT teams automate traffic routing to maintain optimal performance in the event of any disruptions. This integration helps organizations remain protected regardless of where their data is located.
• NetOps and SecOps teams – Integrating NetOps and SecOps teams via a SASE solution ensures unified visibility into policy, events, VPNs, and security group tags. This integration allows for seamless data exchange between SD-WAN and cloud security platforms to provide comprehensive protection of users and applications regardless of their location.
• End users and applications – IT teams gain deeper insight into user experience and security, enabling them to anticipate potential issues before they arise. With full visibility of SASE components like SD-WAN and cloud security PoPs, predictive analytics allow organizations to take proactive measures for an optimal outcome ensuring fast remediation if a problem occurs.

Cisco’s 2022 Global Networking Trends states, “By 2025, at least 60% of enterprises will have explicit strategies and timelines for SASE adoption encompassing user, branch, and edge access, up from 10% in 2020.” By adopting an incremental strategy toward the completion of a full-fledged SASE architecture, organizations ensure that all elements are implemented in harmony while creating long-term benefits for businesses.

SASE Consumption Models

SASE solutions and services offer three distinct consumption models, each of which can break down traditional networking and security silos to improve operational alignment.

1. As-A-Service

The as-a-service SASE solution offers fast deployment, minimal disruption to your staff and operations, plus reduced risk with SLAs, all managed through one easy dashboard. This helps businesses get the full protection they need without any hassle.

2. Hybrid Or Co-Managed

Organizations that want the security benefits of cloud technology, but desire more customization and visibility than what as-a-service models normally provide, have the option to take a hybrid approach. This allows IT teams to maintain control while taking advantage of managed service providers who will share responsibility over network and security management. This reduces their workload in terms of lifecycle demands.

3. Highly Customized Or DIY

Organizations seeking complete control over their network and security can build, integrate, and manage SASE capabilities on their own. This is an ideal choice for organizations that have highly specialized needs or existing networks and staff capable of meeting the technical requirements posed by SASE solutions.

Cisco SASE Solutions

Cisco, with its wide range of partners, offers the most comprehensive and reliable SASE solution available. With Cisco, you can customize your solution from a variety of deployment models that range from powerful networking solutions to advanced security capabilities and internet observability features.

Additionally, Gartner has recognized Cisco as a leader in the and the . Cisco’s solutions are designed to meet diverse use cases across all sizes of organizations, so IT leaders can trust that their decision today will have positive long-term effects on user experience, hybrid work security, and agility.

Cisco is pushing the boundaries of SASE technology with relentless innovation, delivering flexible and user-friendly services that are always up to date. With continuous integrations and feature enhancements, customers will expect a seamless experience tailored to their needs. If you would like to learn more about Cisco’s SASE solutions, contact WEI today.

Next Steps: Discover more about how your business can implement a meaningful SASE strategy by downloading our tech brief, .

The post Enhance Hybrid Workplace Security: Invest In A SASE Solution appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

Enterprises working toward digital transformation initiatives have realized traditional Wide Area Networks (WAN) cannot keep pace with business needs and have since moved to an SD-WAN. When SD-WAN is deployed correctly, it allows the network to adapt to shifting IT requirements. This is a low-cost way to enhance the capacity and flexibility of enterprise networks.

With this switch, enterprises have experienced the agility and flexibility the solution provides to support their digital transformation efforts through on-premises data centers, the cloud, and SaaS services. As you will see – and may already know – is that HPE Aruba Networking’s SD-WAN is the preferred platform for digitally driven enterprises and using their orchestrator provides complete observability and control.

Why HPE Aruba Networking’s SD-WAN Is The Preferred Platform

The HPE SD-WAN platform helps organizations fully understand the benefits of digital transformation within the cloud. Here are some advantages that make the platform a preferred option.

1. Highest Quality Of Experience

Both end-users and IT teams will enjoy the highest quality of experience with HPE Aruba Networking’s SD-WAN platform. With consistency in application performance and the optional WAN optimization performance pack, HPE Aruba Networking EdgeConnect Enterprise enables IT teams to keep users satisfied and productive. Some examples include high-quality voice and video across services and cost-effective consumer broadband services. Even more, human errors are minimized with centralized orchestration, so IT teams can finally focus on business matters and eventually troubleshoot faster.

2. Continuous Adaptation

HPE Aruba Networking’s SD-WAN edge platform also utilizes automated real-time responses to eliminate the impact of blackouts and brownouts. Through continuous monitoring and analytics, HPE Aruba Networking EdgeConnect Enterprise detects any changes to the network and initiates immediate adjustments that may be necessary. A huge benefit of HPE Aruba Networking’s adaptive internet breakout is how users can stay connected to any application without manual intervention from IT.

3. Unified Platform

HPE Aruba Networking’s platform unifies SD-WAN, firewall, segmentation, routing, WAN optimization, and application visibility and control into one centrally managed platform. This is what makes EdgeConnect Enterprise stand out from the competition. Through service-chaining ecosystem partners, HPE Aruba Networking allows organizations to leverage existing investments including industry-leading security.

However, even with these powerful benefits, without a centralized application, enterprises can struggle to view and control their SD-WAN.

4. Performance

End users will see an increase in satisfaction and productivity rates. This means better consistency and predictable performance along with the availability of data center and cloud applications.

5. Visibility and Control

It’s your eye in the sky — complete observability into all data center and cloud applications.

6. Security

Centralized segmentation of users, applications, and WAN services into secure zones with automated application traffic steering across the LAN and WAN in compliance with predefined security policies, regulatory mandates, and business intent.

7. Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) 

Automated orchestration with leading cloud-delivered security services to deliver consistent security policy enforcement across the WAN to support a secure access service edge architecture.

8. Extensibility

HPE Aruba Networking Orchestrator is fully compatible with existing WAN infrastructure hardware and transport services. This allows customers to rapidly and non-disruptively augment or replace their MPLS networks with any form of broadband connectivity. 

9. Savings

Last, but certainly not least, is cost savings. In this day and age, IT budgets are limited, so enterprises must adjust. Dramatically lower connectivity, equipment, and network administration costs with SD-WAN. 

The Benefits Of Using HPE Aruba Networking Orchestrator

As enterprises move to a business-first, digitally-driven environment, the need for a centralized solution that provides complete observability and control of their SD-WAN is growing. HPE Aruba Networking recognized this need and developed HPE Aruba Networking Orchestrator as a solution. Here are primary benefits:

1. Real-time visibility and monitoring

Orchestrator dashboards provide real-time visibility into SD-WAN health and performance in a single screen, monitoring traffic throughput along with loss, latency, and jitter across overlays and underlays.

2. Automation and continuous control

Maintain the highest levels of application performance by automatically assigning application and security policies across hundreds and thousands of sites, including automated orchestration with cloud security services.

3. Centralized orchestration

Central orchestration of network functions including SD-WAN routing, firewall, segmentation, WAN optimization, application visibility and control, and automated orchestration with cloud security services.

SD-WAN not only helps enterprises keep up with digital transformation changes, but also improves overall network performance. This platform can ensure excellent performance across all cloud-connected networks, ultimately paving the way for companies to make the most of their available bandwidth.

Conclusion

SD-WAN has the potential to deliver the necessary modifications that enterprise networks need to keep up with digital-first initiatives. The HPE Aruba Networking Orchestrator solution takes SD-WAN to the next level with monitoring and continuous control from a centralized location. If your enterprise would like to learn more about HPE Aruba Networking’s SD-WAN platforms and Orchestrator to meet the developing demands of your enterprise, contact WEI today to get started.

Next Steps: SD-WAN is ideal for campus-based networks or distributed enterprises, or any enterprise with remote/branch offices. Explore the top three benefits of SD-WAN in our short video below.

The post Why Your Enterprise Needs A Centralized SD-WAN Platform appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.