Over the past few years, SD-WAN adoption has grown massively – according to Gartner, 25% of companies will adopt an SD-WAN solution in the next two years. However, despite its popularity, many companies still aren’t optimising their solutions. If companies want to get the most out of their networks, they should tailor their solutions to meet specific business needs. For many, including organisations that rely heavily on customer service, this means optimising networks for voice. Read on to learn more about the benefits of SD-WAN for voice and how to get started:
What Benefits Does SD-WAN Offer for Voice?
- Performance: SD-WAN provides consistent call quality by using a centralised remote server to determine the optimal path for packets, ensuring traffic is sent along the fastest route. Some SD-WAN solutions also include WAN link redundancy, which supports seamless failover during times of degradation and keeps calls active. Notably, SD-WAN is able to provide this reliability while still being cost-effective and scalable – something previous technologies with high QoS, such as MPLS and VPN, have not been able to accomplish.
- Security: SD-WAN includes multiple state-of-the-art security capabilities, such as device authentication and encryption technology. SD-WAN also allows IT teams to quickly detect attacks by providing real-time visibility into networks and, in cases where a breach does occur, can segment the network to minimise damage. This is an especially important feature for companies that are heavily reliant on cloud services.
- Centralised Management: One of the most cutting-edge features, SD-WAN provides increased network control, allowing technical teams to proactively manage traffic and get real-time visibility into network performance. This can include access to critical call metrics, such as call quality monitoring, MoS scores, and automated notifications.
- Scalability: SD-WAN also comes without bandwidth penalties, allowing companies to easily upgrade their services by adding new links without having to make changes to their infrastructure or network. Not to mention, unlike technologies such as VPN, routing traffic across multiple offices doesn’t run the risk of high latency or congestion. This significantly improves flexibility, especially for global companies that need to route traffic to international offices. Additionally, SD-WAN easily integrates into existing network infrastructure - including MPLS and hybrid WANs – making it an easy solution to deploy worldwide no matter the existing infrastructure.
Which Businesses Should Use a Specialised Voice Solution?
SD-WAN is no longer just about data. Undeniably, many companies stand to benefit from obtaining a voice-centric solution, especially those that are highly reliant on customer service, help desk support, and sales. This can also be important for organisations with high levels of traffic as, in cases of constrained bandwidth, voice is more vulnerable to performance problems than most other applications. By obtaining a separate voice solution, companies can avoid the jitter, latency, and other network problems that can disrupt critical communications. This also gives customers access to support teams specialised in voice, which is important so that networks can be troubleshooted quickly and easily. Luckily, this is not a hypothetical: getting a specialised voice service is simple given SD-WAN’s easy integration capabilities, which allow companies to run voice and data solutions side by side.
Are You Ready for SD-WAN?
SD-WAN can provide critical benefits for voice communications, including greater network control, security, and scalability. Plus, with the emergence of specialised voice solutions, it’s easier than ever to get started with SD-WAN – all customers need is the right provider. If you’re ready to take advantage of SD-WAN for voice, make sure to check out Pure IP’s secure and effortless ONE solution, which includes cutting-edge encryption technology, intelligent analytics and reporting tools, and 24/7 dedicated support.
