The orchestra of the network is sung by the instruments of agility, anytime access and security.

The digital, cloud-first organisation demands more of its network infrastructure than ever before. No organisation can afford to get lost in webs of complexity and network rigidity at a time when markets and customers are at their most demanding. As Deloitte points out, companies need networks and infrastructure that can handle challenging environments while reducing risk, improving security and delivering cost-effective efficiency. Sound like a tall order? Maybe once upon an old infrastructure time – today, however, SD-WAN and the new landscape of networking delivers protection, access and security across multiple locations and requirements.

The network of the future is less a marketing term and more an interconnected web of technology and capability that allows for the organisation to fully leverage the potential of cloud, digital and services. As PwC suggests, hyperconnected networks and digital technologies are two of the eight essential technologies that will deliver intelligent connections across people, devices and systems. As data volumes increase and the demands for robust and agile connectivity grow, networks are the building blocks of collaboration, growth and scale. Not just on the business level, but globally.

However, to fully realise this potential, it’s important for organisations to use technologies that shape themselves around the business and its requirements. This is where software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) and software-defined networking (SDN) have once again shown their colours. Declared dead or obsolete almost as often as the mainframe, SDN and SD-WAN are invaluable components of an agile and scalable network. The technology rapidly and cost-effectively replaces the traditional wide-area network that’s limited in scale and flexibility, and can be customised to suit the unique challenges faced by business and industry.

The ubiquity of SDN alongside the technologies of 5G, Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, automation, and wireless solutions is reinventing connectivity for the business. The network now has the tools it needs to transform at the pace of the business – not the other way around, which is something that a recent Cisco report found to impact around 37% of enterprise architects. WAN complexity was their biggest challenge, and many were dealing with multiple locations across different countries that only served to make things even tougher. SD-WAN simplifies it all with automation, accessibility and touchpoint customisation across multiple sites, and within tight business compliance parameters.

With a robust and reliable network infrastructure in place, the business is poised to outsmart the future. It’s capable of taking advantage of opportunities at speed, and innovating on demand. Organisations can build networks that allow them to connect all devices, apps and systems seamlessly, and, most importantly, redefine customer experiences. After all, a cloud-first business is one that isn’t defined by any one technology or service or solution. It’s a web of interconnected capabilities that are always on, leveraging the internet and connectivity to achieve innovations, drive engagements and deploy new solutions. An orchestra of efficiency that pulls on the threads of security, accessibility, cloud, digital and infrastructure ingenuity.

Connectivity is not reinvented by looking at the technology solutions that lie on the horizon. It’s in the intelligent blend of existing systems and platforms with proven solutions such as SD-WAN that allow for the business to explore the potential of emergent technologies while building a solid foundation that’s capable of withstanding uncertainty, and driving agility. As organisations move into a new year, fresh faced with a new set of challenges and opportunities, it’s the right time to remove the complexities traditionally impacting on network efficiency and to invest into agile networks and intelligent foundations that are designed to reshape the future.