2024 shows increased demand for further capability across AI to optimise and secure network connectivity. Past years have witnessed a shift with SD-WAN and Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) integrating into solutions, focusing on the security-first approach while addressing the threat landscape that challenges all businesses.
Here’s 4 areas where SD-WAN will evolve in 2024
AI Integration and Network Optimisation
AI in modern networks offers capabilities across management and optimization. As 2024 progresses, vendors are increasingly embedding AI into their SD-WAN offerings. AI’s potential extends to enhancing performance, managing complexity, and enabling scalability to meet varying demands, particularly for cloud applications and SaaS.
AI-Driven Management: Centralized orchestration powered by AI simplifies network management and can contribute to more agile deployment processes.
Performance and QoS: AI optimizes application performance by prioritizing traffic based on intelligent assessments of network conditions and requirements.
Security through SASE: Integrating SASE, companies like Palo Alto and Juniper extend network visibility and security. Generative AI is employed to detect emergent cyber threats quickly and accurately, maintaining uptime and protecting data over the network.
Scalability and Flexibility: Networks must scale responsively to handle increasing data from a multitude of sources. Using AI, solutions can dynamically adjust to fluctuating traffic, allowing for efficient use of resources and maintaining performance across the network.
Cloud Innovation: Cloud onramp services and Network-as-a-Service models benefit from AI to negotiate the complex requirements of cloud-based and SaaS applications.
In summary, SD-WAN advancements in 2024 are closely tied to AI integration. This trend is evident in the enhancement of network performance, management efficiency, and comprehensive security posture, which together form the basis for a resilient and adaptive network infrastructure.
SD-WAN Exchange and Quantum-Safe Communication
SD-WAN Exchange promises a transformative impact on enterprise connectivity, particularly within multi-cloud frameworks. Enterprises are aligning their infrastructure to prioritise access to cloud resources, where SD-WAN Exchange stands as a significant development. It enables better network management by bridging the connection between various SD-WAN technologies, which enhances data routing efficiency and supports digital.
SD-WAN is also evolving to embark on the quantum computing era, prompting the need for advanced cybersecurity measures. Quantum computing’s ability to break conventional encryption requires quantum-safe security protocols to secure sensitive communications. Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) employs principles of quantum mechanics to create a theoretically tamper-proof system for exchanging cryptographic keys.
Enterprises adopting SD-WAN platforms are gradually acknowledging the foundational role of security within this context. Especially as Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) converges network and security functions into a single, cloud-based platform, ensuring data integrity and confidentiality becomes paramount. This is where integrating quantum-safe security capabilities with SD-WAN connectivity becomes critical.
The promise of Quantum-Safe SD-WAN lies in safeguarding communications against future cyber threats, making it a subject of pressing concern for those at the forefront of network security. As Europe’s enterprise adoption of SD-WAN and related technologies, such as Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) and network slicing expands, the focus sharpens on deploying solutions that not only satisfy current security demands but are also resilient against tomorrow’s cyber challenges. Within the current market trends, vendors are playing a crucial role in shaping the future of secure network management.
The SATCOM Industry’s Intersection with SD-WAN
Software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) technology has become increasingly critical in the satellite communications (SATCOM) industry as it enables better management of satellite networks. Enterprises adopting SD-WAN for their satellite networking leverage this technology’s software-defined networking (SDN) capabilities to efficiently direct and distribute traffic across complex satellite architectures. These architectures include geostationary (GEO), medium earth orbit (MEO), and low earth orbit (LEO) links, each presenting unique operational conditions.
SD-WAN supports robust application performance by using Quality of Service (QoS) mechanisms that prioritize essential traffic, particularly useful under changing network conditions typical for satellite links.
With Traffic Engineering, SD-WAN allows multiple satellite connections to increase bandwidth and redundancy. The technology supports asymmetric paths, permitting different links for upload and download traffic—a feature useful for links with directional limitations.
Cloud integration plays an important role as it offers services like Cloud Onramp, enabling smoother connections to SaaS applications and cloud environments. Vendors are leading this integration, which facilitates the utilization of satellite resources in a cloud-centric ecosystem without compromising the quality.
In North America, 5G deployments and broadband internet expansion influence the SATCOM industry’s approach to enterprise adoption, with SD-WAN positioned as an essential component.
Lastly, Fixed Wireless Access (FWA), cellular networks, and VPN technologies complement SD-WAN, providing additional avenues for satellite network access and zero-touch configuration to simplify operations. Overall, 2024 predicts a deeper convergence of SD-WAN with satellite communications, propelling the SATCOM industry to new heights of connectivity and efficiency.