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The world is getting smaller every day and becoming more and more connected, thanks in large part to technology. Certainly, the Internet of Things (IoT) has played a major role in this transformation, and will continue to do so. Gartner predicts that next year the world will reach 5.8 billion enterprise and automotive IoT endpoints in use. And a Forbes article reports that McKinsey predicts the IoT market will be worth $581 billion for ICT-based spend alone by 2020, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between seven to 15 percent.
This makes sense given IoT’s virtually infinite use cases and the unparalleled benefits it provides. IDC has advised that cost-effective, secure, and manageable connectivity is the foundation of IoT adoption, and traditional wide area networks (WANs) could hamper IoT’s progress as they are far too complex and costly to effectively support, protect, and secure the continued widespread deployment of IoT.
There is, however, light at the end of the tunnel, or perhaps “pipe”. Software-defined wide area networks (SD-WANs) are rapidly gaining popularity and fame due to the flexibility, security, ease-of-use, and cost advantages they enable.
A Brief Introduction to SD-WAN
SD-WAN is a software-based technology that is particularly advantageous for connecting remote locations to a distributed enterprise network. SD-WANs at the edge of existing networks function as a network overlay, allowing remote sites to consolidate numerous network functions and applications over low-cost broadband connections.
As they are software-based, SD-WANs decrease the number of network devices and connections required at each site, dramatically reducing network complexity and costs. Moreover, SD-WANs can be remotely reconfigured and customized via software to quickly adapt to changing business needs and to make ongoing system updates.
SD-WANs can be delivered as a cloud-based managed service, which simplifies enterprise-wide SD-WAN deployment and eradicates the need for IT departments to maintain and manage their own centralized SD-WAN data centers. This results in rapid time-to-execution for initial installations, as well as future upgrades, and it can all be done at web scale with the lowest possible cost.
These are critical advantages for enterprises making strategic investments in IoT for their businesses. Given the expected ubiquitous deployment of IoT devices, organizations must be able to affordably deliver, as well as centrally manage, protect, and secure their networks. Designed to address these requirements, SD-WANs are ideally suited for IoT deployments, including the key issue of security.
How SD-WAN Minimizes IoT Security Risk
You need not be an IT or data security expert to see that connecting billions of devices and networks around the world could introduce – certainly open the door to – security risk.
Until recently, enterprises have relied upon virtual private networks (VPNs) for the safe and secure transmission of data in a cost-effective manner. However, as the IT and business environment has evolved, and enterprise requirements have grown, VPNs have proven themselves unable to keep pace – they simply were not designed with today’s business and IT reality in mind. And unfortunately for VPNs, not only has their effectiveness and security dramatically decreased, but their cost and management complexity has at the same time increased.
The situation is exacerbated for businesses that enjoy IT expertise at their corporate data center, but lack the level of technical know-how and resources required to ensure data security at their remote sites. Think, for example, of a large petroleum conglomerate with geographically dispersed wholly owned subsidiaries, or gas station/convenience store franchises, or a global retail brand with mall retail stores, etc.. These remote business locations are as highly susceptible to the countless security and cyber threats that IoT can introduce at the corporate data center, likely even more so.
On an enterprise scale, although modern data centers are evolving to protect their assets by implementing innovative, multi-layered security solutions, the remote sites of these newly modernized, distributed enterprises are for the most part left without adequate protection. Effectively, these sites become the weak link in the enterprise security chain. Organizations are then left to work out how to extend enterprise-class security to remote sites with limited IT staff and tight budgets.
The answer lies in SD-WAN. But not just any SD-WAN. The SD-WAN solution should offer unified threat management (UTM) that provides an integrated security and visibility solution that expands in scope to increase security agility. The SD-WAN’s UTM should cover an all-inclusive range of security functions, such as firewalls, web and app filtering, SIEM, SSL (decryption, inspection, and re-encryption), and intrusion detection as well as anti-virus, anti-malware, and anti-spyware software. With these capabilities, distributed businesses can fundamentally change how they use and protect technology like IoT, and become empowered to rapidly and safely deploy and utilize new cloud-based applications and services.
The Future is Bright for Secure IoT with SD-WAN
IoT is everywhere – from your wrist to your local convenience store to the gas pump, and it’s growing fast. And, while IoT could introduce a level of complexity and risk if not managed properly, with the right SD-WAN solution, business and IT leaders can ensure its productivity, security, and cost effectiveness. The key, of course, is to choose an SD-WAN solution that is designed to meet your IT and business requirements, rather than to merely connect sites and devices.
Together, SD-WAN and IoT can arm organizations with a strategic roadmap to the future, where they can fully exploit the opportunities of a world where everything is connected, while retaining the high levels of management control and security that are so vital for business longevity and success.