WAN trends 2023
As technology advances, Wide Area Networks (WANs) have become increasingly crucial for businesses to connect their branch offices and distributed workforces. As such, several new trends have recently changed how IT designs, implements, and manages its WAN infrastructure. These trends include the rise of hybrid or software-defined WANs (SD-WANs), the increasing use of cloud-based services and SaaS (Software as a Service), and the adoption of advanced security techniques like SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) and Zero Trust. All of these have a common underlying objective: to improve user experience.
According to Gartner®, by 2025, 50% of new SD-WAN purchases will be part of a single-vendor SASE offering, up from 10% in 2022. By 2025, 80% of enterprises will have adopted a strategy to unify web, cloud
services and private application access using a SASE/SSE architecture, up from 20% in 2021.1
By staying
on top of trends like these, Infrastructure and Operations (I&O) leaders can assure their WANs are scalable,
secure, and optimized for their specific needs.
TREND #1 WAN Backbone Transforms With the Internet
The WAN can no longer be just a pipe that connects your offices and data centers. Digital transformation requirements have evolved the WAN from a centrally managed system into a distributed ecosystem largely reliant on the Internet and in many ways, the change has left ITOps teams with less control over their digital supply chain than they had previously.
The use of public cloud networks over the Internet has also grown among enterprises, and tech experts anticipate it continuing to do so moving forward. For example, Gartner expects enterprise spending on cloud connect services to grow by a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 23.8% between 2021 to 2026, as enterprise operations become more dependent on end-to-end user, machine, and/or branch-to-application performance of cloud-based workloads in
distributed environments.
The need to supply performant access to cloud services and applications with more limited budgets has pushed companies and organizations away from backhauling traffic over private MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching) toward branch DIA (Direct Internet Access) and SD-WAN, which places a greater emphasis on Internet connectivity.
TREND #2 Applications Become More Distributed
In the past, developers created applications with monolithic architectures, where all functions were housed on one server or cluster. Developers nowadays have shifted to designing API-centric apps with highly distributed modular architectures, often owned and operated by third parties. And as new business models emerge and applications need to be built faster than ever, microservices and serverless environments are gaining traction.
The rapid evolution of applications has created opportunities for businesses to develop new and improved apps with faster performance. But faster function performance does not necessarily mean an app will run better and can create bottlenecks. For one thing, the network significantly affects the performance of an application.
And fundamental changes in the architecture, along with the dynamic nature of the Internet, have altered how applications interact with the network and vice versa. Therefore, testing all aspects of an application, including its interaction with the network, is crucial for smooth functionality and reliability.
When bottlenecks occur, IT organizations struggle without a single source of truth. Inconsistent testing environments or the inability to test all APIs or aspects of the service delivery chain make detecting and fixing faults difficult. Apps might work in one setting, such as a test lab, but break in another (i.e., production).
TREND #3 Seamless Experiences for Distributed Workforce
For years, providing a superlative digital experience for a limited number of remote workers was not a top priority for many IT teams. They were typically mobile (i.e., conference goers or traveling executives) and were provisioned a laptop computer and a VPN (Virtual Private Network) connection so they could access applications from the corporate network.
IT had limited visibility into employees’ home environment, such as their Wi-Fi conditions or last-mile ISP (Internet Service Provider) performance.
Everything changed with the pandemic, as it created momentum behind hybrid work, which places greater importance on user expectations and digital equity. No longer were remote workers receiving segmented support. Enterprises and organizations transformed virtually overnight into a model of unified support for all users, regardless of where they are
working. By 2026, the majority of CIOs will prioritize secure work from anywhere (remote, branch, or campus), elevating it from a secondary security concern to a primary business priority.4
From the office to the home to anywhere in between, IT needs to provide employees with the same level of support, security, and access to resources. By breaking down the traditional boundaries between on-site and remote work, enterprises and organizations created more flexible and inclusive work environments. And for the foreseeable future, employees will continue to demand seamless user experiences and security across all their devices from any location.
**source thousand eyes book.