In the early 2000s, IP VPN was the enterprise networking technology of choice for IT leaders.
MySpace was the go-to social network, we used Skype for video calls, we listened to music on our new MP3 players and the Nokia 1100 was the most popular mobile handset.
It feels like a different era entirely, yet many businesses are still running on legacy networks that were perfect for their needs back then but are now holding them back.
EVP – Enterprise Sales, Colt Technology Services.
By today’s terms, networks were built for low levels of traffic. Cisco estimates global IP traffic levels were around 175 petabytes per month in 2001. Compare that to today’s figure, which is around 522,000 petabytes per month, or approximately 3000 times higher than 2001 levels, and you can understand why 87% of businesses in an Accenture study believe their legacy network is compromising their ability to advance on cloud, data and AI and digital transformation.
Untangling and replacing the complex web of enterprise networks built up over years is an unavoidable and costly necessity. It’s a bit like replacing the windows in your home – you know you’ll improve security, stormproof your home and cut energy costs by upgrading, but the process feels like a hassle.
Today, IT leaders aren’t just ‘replacing the windows’ by modernizing outdated networks; they’re going further and building high capacity, low latency, secure architectures designed to withstand the explosive demands of AI.
Making the move to SD WAN
Millions of businesses are switching from IP VPN to Software-Defined Wide Area Networks, or SD WAN. Strong market growth is forecast in SD WAN, with one market forecast anticipating SD WAN CAGR of almost 40% (38.9%) from 2023 to 2030.
This growth is being driven by multiple factors including a shift to cloud-native architectures; a change in workplace practices and rise in remote working environments; and strong demand for network architectures that can manage current and future AI-related applications and services.
SD WAN is faster, more cost effective and more secure, with built in zero trust protection. It’s purpose built for distributed users and for managing cloud, AI workloads, data flows, and SaaS traffic.
But, to be truly AI ready, IT infrastructure must be software driven, and this is where SD WAN excels: it gives your business the security, flexibility, and reliability needed to operate confidently in an AI driven future. Here are five ways switching to SD WAN will help you build an AI-ready network:
1. Built for AI-scale performance
High-bandwidth, low latency SD WANs are critical for the delivery of AI workloads, particularly as businesses move towards AI inference. They provide fast access to cloud services and dynamic bandwidth allocation as they monitor network conditions and reroute over the best available path.
For example, imagine a drive-through restaurant that uses an AI voice to take and relay orders or a supermarket that uses an AI model to scan shelves in its store, to detect gaps in stock, alert staff and predict which items will run out next. A high-performance, low latency network is essential here to guarantee a seamless customer experience.
SD WAN’s application-aware routing levels this up even further, prioritizing AI traffic and deprioritizing the transfer of, for example, bulk file transfers or back-ups.
2. Security that matches today’s threat landscape
The global cyber attack surface has expanded dramatically. AI now plays a dual role, enabling more sophisticated attacks while also powering new, advanced defense capabilities. Traditional IP VPNs offer traffic encryption but lack native security features. In contrast, SD WAN is built to protect modern networks from today’s high volume, highly sophisticated cyber threats:
– Zero trust access protects users, devices and applications
– Traffic is encrypted end to end, so that all data between sites, platforms and applications is secure
– Threat prevention at the edge protects core infrastructure from threats, with features such as intrusion detection and prevention, malware scanning and DNS security
– Automated real-time security updates with threat intelligence pushed globally within minutes
3. Cloud connectivity without compromise
SD WANs provide direct, optimized access to major cloud environments, such as Microsoft Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud, by using automated secure tunnels and intelligent path selection.
This ensures cloud and AI services run with lower latency, higher performance, and more reliable connectivity. Also important to note is that SD WANs provide high levels of autonomy and automation, so it’s easy to make changes quickly and easily as businesses navigate dynamic market conditions.
4. Data insights that power automation
SD WAN captures real-time data including latency, packet loss and application usage patterns – data which can be fed into AI-based network monitoring, automation and predictive maintenance management tools, so that networks become self-optimizing, self-healing and proactively secure.
5. A foundation ready for SASE and Zero Trust
When combined with Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), SD WAN creates a single, secure, high performance network foundation that’s built to drive AI opportunities while protecting against cyber risks with integrated security solutions including zero trust, secure web gateways and cloud firewalls.
SASE is a cloud based networking and security framework that combines SD WAN with integrated security services (like Zero Trust, secure web gateways, and cloud firewalls) into a single unified architecture. It’s the gold standard of AI-ready architecture.
As enterprises accelerate toward an AI driven future, the networks that once served them well are now becoming a barrier to progress. SD WAN offers a clear path forward: a software defined, secure, high performance foundation built to handle the scale, speed and complexity of modern cloud and AI workloads.
By making the shift now, businesses can replace aging infrastructure with an agile, intelligent network that not only supports today’s demands but unlocks the full potential of tomorrow’s AI innovation.
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This article was produced as part of TechRadar Pro Perspectives, our channel to feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today.
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