A Frost Sullivan White Paper Optimizing Remote Worker Connectivity to Cloud Applications Using SD-WAN Gateways Roopa Honnachari Industry Director-Business Communication Services, ICT Powering clients to a future shaped by growth FROST￠ SULLIVAN
Roopa Honnachari Industry Director - Business Communication Services, ICT Optimizing Remote Worker Connectivity to Cloud Applications Using SD-WAN Gateways Powering clients to a future shaped by growth A Frost & Sullivan White Paper
Contents Introduction SD-WAN as an Enabler for Cloud Connectivity The Value of Extending SD-WAN to Remote Workers....5 VMware SD-WAN: Fast-tracking End-user Connectivity to the cloud Optimized Connectivity to the Cloud One-click Security Service Insertion Built-in Resiliency to Ensure Business Continuity 67777 Increased Visibility for Enterprise IT. The Last Word 8 CASE STUDY: Keeping Critical Patients Safe and Treated Using SD-WAN Endnotes 10 All rights reserved 2020 Frost Sullivan
Contents 02 Introduction........................................................................................ 3 SD-WAN as an Enabler for Cloud Connectivity ...................... 4 The Value of Extending SD-WAN to Remote Workers............ 5 VMware SD-WAN: Fast-tracking End-user Connectivity to the Cloud ............................................................... 6 Optimized Connectivity to the Cloud ......................................7 One-click Security Service Insertion ......................................7 Built-in Resiliency to Ensure Business Continuity...............7 Increased Visibility for Enterprise IT........................................7 The Last Word................................................................................... 8 CASE STUDY: Keeping Critical Patients Safe and Treated Using SD-WAN .................................................................. 9 Endnotes ............................................................................................ 10 All rights reserved © 2020 Frost & Sullivan
Optimizing Remote Worker Connectivity to Cloud Applications Using SD-WAN Gateways INTRODUCTION In the 2019 Frost Sullivan Global Cloud end-user survey, 80% of the survey respondents agreed to the statement, "a cloud strategy is essential to remaining competitive in our industry "In the past five years, cloud has become an integral part of business's digital transformation strategy, with adoption rates increasing for all types of clouds. In our survey, 57% of the respondents said they have deployed Cloud laaS, and 41% said they currently use SaaS applications. Increasing application availability or uptime and delivering applications faster to users are among the top five reasons businesses are embracing cloud. However, implementing and maintaining a secure, high-performing WAN that allows for efficient access to cloud-based applications can be costly and complex for enterprises, whether large or small. SD-WAN solutions automate the process of network selection and put traffic steering control in the hands of your organization s network administrators to do direct internet breakout to cloud-based applications While the ability to connect to cloud over public internet links (using any device and from anywhere) is a major factor driving the adoption of SD-WAN, public internet is still best effort and comes with several performance challenges such as latency, packet loss, and inherent security risks. SD-WAN vendor solutions available in the market address these challenges by deploying a virtual instance of their SD-WAN solution in the cloud point of presence(POP)nearest to the destination application This allows them to implement SD-WAN features throughout the network, from branch site to cloud, ensuring optimal performance and reliability. Vendors can also integrate their SD-WAN solution into the cloud partners infrastructure to provide a quick on-ramp to cloud data centers. For example, several vendors have integrated their SD-WAN solution with Azure Virtual WAN to optimize connectivity to Microsoft Azure cloud. While these options are beneficial and part of a complete SD WAN solution to bring users closer to cloud applications, they are not the whole solution. The VMware solution includes the capabilities listed above but expands upon them. VMware SD- WANTM by Velo Cloud offers the unique approach of a cloud-hosted SD-WAN service with cloud based gateways that complement branch deployments. VMware SD-WAN Gateways offer optimized paths for users accessing cloud laas and Saas applications because they are located at major POP locations around the world, eliminating the challenges of deploying and maintaining SD-WAN appliances in the cloud. The SD-WAN gateway approach has become even more significant in the current CoviD-19 situation as remote workers connect to cloud over residential broadband links. In this paper, we review the performance and operational benefits of the VMware SD-WAN Gateways in enabling optimized and reliable connectivity to the cloud 翻包 All rights reserved@ 2020 Frost Sullivan
Optimizing Remote Worker Connectivity to Cloud Applications Using SD-WAN Gateways 3 All rights reserved © 2020 Frost & Sullivan INTRODUCTION In the 2019 Frost & Sullivan Global Cloud end-user survey, 80% of the survey respondents agreed to the statement, “a cloud strategy is essential to remaining competitive in our industry.” In the past five years, cloud has become an integral part of business’s digital transformation strategy, with adoption rates increasing for all types of clouds. In our survey, 57% of the respondents said they have deployed Cloud IaaS, and 41% said they currently use SaaS applications. Increasing application availability or uptime and delivering applications faster to users are among the top five reasons businesses are embracing cloud. However, implementing and maintaining a secure, high-performing WAN that allows for efficient access to cloud-based applications can be costly and complex for enterprises, whether large or small. SD-WAN solutions automate the process of network selection and put traffic steering control in the hands of your organization’s network administrators to do direct internet breakout to cloud-based applications. While the ability to connect to cloud over public internet links (using any device and from anywhere) is a major factor driving the adoption of SD-WAN, public internet is still best effort and comes with several performance challenges such as latency, packet loss, and inherent security risks. SD-WAN vendor solutions available in the market address these challenges by deploying a virtual instance of their SD-WAN solution in the cloud point of presence (POP) nearest to the destination application. This allows them to implement SD-WAN features throughout the network, from branch site to cloud, ensuring optimal performance and reliability. Vendors can also integrate their SD-WAN solution into the cloud partner’s infrastructure to provide a quick on-ramp to cloud data centers. For example, several vendors have integrated their SD-WAN solution with Azure Virtual WAN to optimize connectivity to Microsoft Azure cloud. While these options are beneficial and part of a complete SDWAN solution to bring users closer to cloud applications, they are not the whole solution. The VMware solution includes the capabilities listed above but expands upon them. VMware SDWAN™ by VeloCloud® offers the unique approach of a cloud-hosted SD-WAN service with cloudbased gateways that complement branch deployments. VMware SD-WAN Gateways offer optimized paths for users accessing cloud IaaS and SaaS applications because they are located at major POP locations around the world, eliminating the challenges of deploying and maintaining SD-WAN appliances in the cloud. The SD-WAN gateway approach has become even more significant in the current COVID-19 situation as remote workers connect to cloud over residential broadband links. In this paper, we review the performance and operational benefits of the VMware SD-WAN Gateways in enabling optimized and reliable connectivity to the cloud
Optimizing Remote Worker Connectivity to Cloud Applications Using SD-WAN Gateways SD-WAN AS AN ENABLER FOR CLOUD CONNECTIVITY Cloud adoption continues to grow across business segments and industries. Exhibit 1 shows the adoption rates for various cloud services indicated by respondents to the 2019 Frost Sullivan cloud survey. Cloud laas(57%)leads the adoption curve, followed by hosted private cloud(43%)and Saas (41%). The data in the chart also indicates that hybrid cloud and multi-cloud are on the rise, with 40% of the respondents stating they plan to implement multi-cloud in the next two years. Businesses use an average of 4. 5 deployment models for their workloads, including premises-based servers, managed services, and cloud. They also use, on average, 2.2 public cloud providers. Exhibit 1: Cloud Adoption Trends Public Cloud Infrastructure as a Service(laas 12% Hosted Private Cloud (single tenant laaS 43% Software as a Service(SaaS) 41% 36% Hybrid Cloud 37% 35% 20% Platform as a Service(PaaS) 36% 37% 19% Multi-Cloud 40% 24% Bare Metal Cloud (laaS) 23% 13% No plans to implement Plan to implement in next 2 years Not very familiar Source: 2019 Frost Sullivan Cloud End-user survey In the same survey, respondents indicated that the top three business drivers for deploying cloud solutions include 66% 65% 65% Delivering services and Improving business Supporting business applications faster. continuity/disaster recovery. As cloud becomes an integral part of enterprise digital transformation, ensuring optimized and secure connectivity to cloud applications is extremely critical Cloud connectivity is one of the key reasons enterprises are evaluating SD-WAN services. The ability to use public and private networks in a hybrid WAN and make real-time changes to routing based on pre-defined policies is valuable to enterprises. As with the choice of cloud infrastructure for enterprise applications, the networks connecting various cloud-based applications do not have to be one type. For example, while MPLS could be the right choice to connect to an ERP application in a hosted private cloud, for reasons of security and compliance, internet links could suffice for accessing a less-critical SaaS application The enterprise predefines business policies in an SD-WAN solution to specify which cloud applications are suitably accessed directly through the internet versus backhauled to a hub site. In a recent Frost Sullivan SD-WAN survey, 78% of the respondents stated the ability to achieve superior WaN performance as a key reason to deploy sD-Wan All rights reserved@ 2020 Frost Sullivan
Optimizing Remote Worker Connectivity to Cloud Applications Using SD-WAN Gateways 4 All rights reserved © 2020 Frost & Sullivan SD-WAN AS AN ENABLER FOR CLOUD CONNECTIVITY Cloud adoption continues to grow across business segments and industries. Exhibit 1 shows the adoption rates for various cloud services indicated by respondents to the 2019 Frost & Sullivan cloud survey. Cloud IaaS (57%) leads the adoption curve, followed by hosted private cloud (43%) and SaaS (41%). The data in the chart also indicates that hybrid cloud and multi-cloud are on the rise, with 40% of the respondents stating they plan to implement multi-cloud in the next two years. Businesses use an average of 4.5 deployment models for their workloads, including premises-based servers, managed services, and cloud. They also use, on average, 2.2 public cloud providers. Exhibit 1: Cloud Adoption Trends Public Cloud Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) Hosted Private Cloud (single tenant IaaS) Software as a Service (SaaS) Hybrid Cloud Platform as a Service (PaaS) Multi-Cloud Bare Metal Cloud (IaaS) Currently use Plan to implement in next 2 years 57% 27% 12% 5% 43% 38% 15% 4% 41% 36% 15% 7% 37% 35% 20% 9% 36% 37% 19% 8% 28% 40% 24% 8% 21% 42% 23% 13% No plans to implement Not very familiar Source: 2019 Frost & Sullivan Cloud End-user Survey In the same survey, respondents indicated that the top three business drivers for deploying cloud solutions include: Delivering services and applications faster. Supporting business agility/market responsiveness. Improving business continuity/disaster recovery. As cloud becomes an integral part of enterprise digital transformation, ensuring optimized and secure connectivity to cloud applications is extremely critical. Cloud connectivity is one of the key reasons enterprises are evaluating SD-WAN services. The ability to use public and private networks in a hybrid WAN and make real-time changes to routing based on pre-defined policies is valuable to enterprises. As with the choice of cloud infrastructure for enterprise applications, the networks connecting various cloud-based applications do not have to be one type. For example, while MPLS could be the right choice to connect to an ERP application in a hosted private cloud, for reasons of security and compliance, internet links could suffice for accessing a less-critical SaaS application. The enterprise predefines business policies in an SD-WAN solution to specify which cloud applications are suitably accessed directly through the internet versus backhauled to a hub site. In a recent Frost & Sullivan SD-WAN survey, 78% of the respondents stated the ability to achieve superior WAN performance as a key reason to deploy SD-WAN
Optimizing Remote Worker Connectivity to Cloud Applications Using SD-WAN Gateways THE VALUE OF EXTENDING SD-WAN TO REMOTE WORKERS Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, remote working or work-from-home(WFH)was a growing trend in the past decade. While the tech industry has led the way in embracing part-time and full time remote working, a wide range of businesses that rely on knowledge workers has adopted According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 26 million Americans-about 16% of the total workforce--now work remotely at least part of the time In its 2020 State of Remote Work report, Buffer Inc surveyed 3, 500 remote workers, 98%of whom stated they would like to work remotely at least some of the time for the rest of their careers Frost Sullivan predicts that the lessons learned from the pandemic, the benefits of sourcing talent and resources based on qualifications(without the location limitations), and the cost savings for businesses from reduced office infrastructure will speed up remote working adoption across industries. A recent survey by the Kung Group of more than 500 founders of venture-backed companies revealed that 70% of the founders reported that once the office opens, they would let some or all of their employees work remotely at least part time. Facebook, a company that has been a big believer of work from office, has stated about 50% of the company's workforce could be remote in the next 5-10 years. 4 The power of cloud and connectivity has become especially apparent during the current COVID-19 situation, when global organizations had to quickly transition the majority of their workforce wherever applicable) to a remote working environment. With businesses across industries embracing the public cloud to host key applications, and with advances in residential broadband and wireless speeds, remote workers can access most enterprise applications from home. However, as remote workers compete for bandwidth with kids attending virtual classrooms and others at home trying to stream videos, optimizing and prioritizing business applications on home networks is even SD-WAN solutions leverage real-time performance monitoring of transport networks to make application-aware, policy-based network link selection and steer traffic over the best available link In scenarios that rely on a single network link and where sufficient bandwidth is not available to support all applications, SD-WAN technology optimizes the available bandwidth by: Giving higher priority to business traffic compared to social media sites and entertainment channels such as You tube or netflix. Continuously monitoring the traffic path for packet loss and delay, and applying forward error correction to reduce packet loss and increase throughput. Using traffic-handling techniques to throttle less-critical application traffic. These advanced features ensure that the WaN is always available and delivers superior performance to support critical enterprise applications. With the rapid increase in remote workers and the fact that these employees are accessing the same enterprise applications as office-based workers, it is imperative that remote workers have the same superior user experience while accessing enterprise applications as they would in an office) All rights reserved@ 2020 Frost Sullivan
Optimizing Remote Worker Connectivity to Cloud Applications Using SD-WAN Gateways 5 All rights reserved © 2020 Frost & Sullivan THE VALUE OF EXTENDING SD-WAN TO REMOTE WORKERS Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, remote working or work-from-home (WFH) was a growing trend in the past decade. While the tech industry has led the way in embracing part-time and fulltime remote working, a wide range of businesses that rely on knowledge workers has adopted remote working for flexibility, productivity and harnessing the best talent from across the world. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 26 million Americans—about 16% of the total workforce—now work remotely at least part of the time.1 In its 2020 State of Remote Work report, Buffer Inc. surveyed 3,500 remote workers, 98% of whom stated they would like to work remotely at least some of the time for the rest of their careers.2 Frost & Sullivan predicts that the lessons learned from the pandemic, the benefits of sourcing talent and resources based on qualifications (without the location limitations), and the cost savings for businesses from reduced office infrastructure will speed up remote working adoption across industries. A recent survey by the Kung Group of more than 500 founders of venture-backed companies revealed that 70% of the founders reported that once the office opens, they would let some or all of their employees work remotely at least part time.3 Facebook, a company that has been a big believer of work from office, has stated about 50% of the company’s workforce could be remote in the next 5-10 years.4 The power of cloud and connectivity has become especially apparent during the current COVID-19 situation, when global organizations had to quickly transition the majority of their workforce (wherever applicable) to a remote working environment. With businesses across industries embracing the public cloud to host key applications, and with advances in residential broadband and wireless speeds, remote workers can access most enterprise applications from home. However, as remote workers compete for bandwidth with kids attending virtual classrooms and others at home trying to stream videos, optimizing and prioritizing business applications on home networks is even more critical. SD-WAN solutions leverage real-time performance monitoring of transport networks to make application-aware, policy-based network link selection and steer traffic over the best available link. In scenarios that rely on a single network link and where sufficient bandwidth is not available to support all applications, SD-WAN technology optimizes the available bandwidth by: • Giving higher priority to business traffic compared to social media sites and entertainment channels, such as YouTube or Netflix. • Continuously monitoring the traffic path for packet loss and delay, and applying forward error correction to reduce packet loss and increase throughput. • Using traffic-handling techniques to throttle less-critical application traffic. These advanced features ensure that the WAN is always available and delivers superior performance to support critical enterprise applications. With the rapid increase in remote workers and the fact that these employees are accessing the same enterprise applications as office-based workers, it is imperative that remote workers have the same superior user experience while accessing enterprise applications as they would in an office)