Education is a huge deal in the networking community. The more you keep up on new technologies, the more efficiently you can recommend and implement them. That means better infrastructure and happier customers. The key is to find the right resource to learn. Thanks to Viptela and the FutureWAN summit earlier this year, you have all the resources you need to find out all about SD-WAN.
Software Defined Crystal Ball
To say that SD-WAN is winning huge converts to SDN is an understatement. Even the most reluctant believers in SDN technologies are coming around to see the value and benefits of adoption. Of course, it really helps when you’re hearing about the huge advantages of SD-WAN from companies like First American and Kindred Healthcare. Seeing financial and healthcare verticals taking full advantage of this technology shows that it’s not just an experiment or a platform for other ideas. It’s a real thing that real companies are using to save real time and real money.
And it’s not just the Viptela customers that talked about advantages at FutureWAN. Partnering companies like CA, Zscaler, and LiveAction also took the time to discuss how they’re using Viptela’s SD-WAN technology to build better security, monitoring, and management technologies to bring to customers. Why reinvent the wheel when you can partner with the company building a better version and helping your car go faster at the same time? That’s the advantage of all of the development that’s been done by software companies like Viptela. You can use it to make your own products much, much better.
Community Commentary
The networking community also has a lot to say on the subject of SD-WAN. Tech Field Day recorded a special roundtable discussion that had some of the best and brightest minds in the networking industry discussing the pros and cons of SD-WAN as a technology. Some of the participants had deployed SD-WAN solutions and offered their feedback. Others were still trying to find the best fit for their customers and help understand why the technology is going to be so important in the coming months. It’s definitely worth the time to take a look at the video if you have questions about SD-WAN.
In addition, the Packet Pushers did a Q&A session about the challenges of SD-WAN. Greg and Ethan have been on the forefront of SDN and SD-WAN technology for quite a while. They are asking the tough questions about why it makes sense and where you should (and shouldn’t) be using it. The voices of reason give you all the reasons you should be looking at SD-WAN and more than a few of why you need to be careful.
Tying It Together
In the end, FutureWAN was a very successful event because it raised the profile of SD-WAN in the eyes of the networking community and provides examples of deployment, partnership, and caveats about the technology to help raise the overall education level in the community. By educating and highlight the advantages of SD-WAN, networking professionals are more capable of using SD-WAN where it makes the most sense and ensuring that stakeholders are happier and more satisfied with deployments. This means happier users and fewer support calls. And that makes for happier networkers.
To see all the sessions from FutureWAN, please visit http://viptela.com/futurewan-sd-wan-virtual-summit. To learn more about Viptela and their SD-WAN solutions, please visit http://viptela.com/sd-wan.
