Good to Know: What is a WAN and How Can WAN Virtualization Help?

what is a WAN

Today’s business leaders have more decisions to make than their predecessors ever did – especially when it comes to technology. In the current corporate environment, it seems technological systems are relied upon for nearly every company process. However, it can sometimes be difficult to understand all the different components and platforms being used as well as how emerging approaches can benefit an organization.

Well, luckily, we’re here to help. Today, we’re talking about the WAN, and how WAN virtualization is quickly becoming an essential to enterprises everywhere.

So, what the heck is a WAN?
For those unfamiliar with the technology, WAN refers to a Wide Area Network that connects geographically dispersed computer networks. TechTarget noted WANs are separate from LANs, or local area networks which are considerably smaller, often serving a single building or campus.

WANs can be privately owned – by a specific company, for example – or rented, but are typically made up of several public networks that users share.

Inc. pointed out that while WANs have been around for quite some time, their utilization has shifted recently. “WANs have existed for decades, but new technologies, services, and applications have developed over the years to dramatically increase their efficacy for business,” the source stated.

One such emerging technology is WAN virtualization.

What’s WAN virtualization and how does it help?
Now that we’re all on the same page about the WAN itself, let’s take a look at WAN virtualization. WAN virtualization uses hardware devices and software to connect two or more locations using multiple communication links into one seamless, secure network.  This technology allows organizations to combine their existing private networks with public broadband and Internet links to create a hybrid WAN at a lower cost and with higher performance.

The WAN virtualization software monitors traffic along all links and routes data across the best performing paths. In the event that a communication link experiences deterioration of quality or an outage, WAN virtualization is already routing traffic over the better functioning links, so users do not see any service disruption. In this way, WAN virtualization ensures an organization’s network is never down.

Especially within a business setting, this approach is incredibly helpful. WAN virtualization is a critical measure to ensure that all platforms have the network bandwidth and data traffic prioritization needed to not only work correctly, but function as optimally as possible. This becomes increasingly important as enterprises add more technologically advanced systems with real-time data needs to their infrastructures.

Without proper network bandwidth, VoIP, videoconferencing and cloud-hosted application performance – among countless other systems – are at risk for poor performance and outages. But with WAN virtualization in place, this issue is all but eliminated and company administrators can be confident that their systems will always work as they should.

These days, lost time equals reduced productivity and a reduction in profits for a business. Prevent this by implementing WAN virtualization and keep the company on its toes and ready for anything.

For more information about WAN solutions for Never Down business networks, call 800-669-6242 or fill out the contact form below.

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