EDITOR ’ S COMMENT approach to unifying network and security architectures , instead focusing on addressing strategic business challenges for customers rather than simply reselling networking gear .
An entry to cloud
Businesses across every sector are considering some form of Digital
Transformation , but this is often accompanied by concerns around complexity and disruption . SD-WAN eradicates those concerns – with the Aruba EdgeConnect SD-WAN edge platform , for example , it ’ s now possible to extend the network into AWS , Azure , Google or Oracle with a few mouse clicks , meaning businesses don ’ t need to worry about embracing a hybrid or multi-cloud strategy . This level of simplicity makes SD-WAN an attractive proposition for businesses considering cloud migration and gives partners another opportunity to have a strategic business discussion with customers . to deliver almost instant agility and speed to help businesses sustain and improve operations , a large number were postponed or cancelled entirely . In those cases , companies now find themselves trailing behind their digitally savvy peers and losing competitive advantage . Partners should encourage conversations with customers to identify the need for increased efficiency , particularly for those still holding back on transformation projects .
Furthermore , as businesses continue their shift to the cloud , many are struggling with how to segment and secure clouddestined application traffic . SD-WAN
As partners continue supporting customers in their adoption and evolution of WAN and security transformation , they will have the ability to establish profitable SD- WAN business practices that will fuel their own growth .
Furthermore , as partners continue supporting customers in their adoption and evolution of WAN and security transformation , they will have the ability to establish profitable SD-WAN business practices that will fuel their own growth and profitability in a sustainable way . To ensure resellers succeed throughout their SD-Wan journey they should partner with a trusted provider that offers on-going training and certification .
SD-WAN-ready businesses
Of course , cloud transformation is a broad brush to target companies with but there are ways to narrow the focus . Businesses most ripe for SD-WAN will be those struggling to sustain high quality of experience for end-users or those with latency issues . Partners should listen for customers who are currently unable to deliver consistent application performance or who are complaining about application availability , which has an inevitable impact on productivity and trade . These are all signals that SD-WAN would provide a viable solution .
It ’ s also a good time for partners to re-engage with businesses that put major projects on hold due to COVID . Though many initiatives were accelerated during the pandemic , enabling SD-WAN presents an opportunity to discuss both WAN and security transformation and how to help businesses to deliver edge to cloud network security . Addressing this issue also has significant business ramifications .
The good thing about SD-WAN is that it ’ s sector agnostic , so resellers have a vast target market and addressable market to serve . SD-WAN is driven by business needs and will benefit any geographically distributed business , which casts the net wide in a post-pandemic world . As organisations continue their journey down the road of Digital Transformation , the need for agility and speed at the Edge will only accelerate . With SD-WAN ripe for picking , partners should be able to maximise market opportunity and ensure their customers can achieve business goals in a digital-first world . •
INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS Issue 45 17