Cyber Security Allies: How SD-WAN and Secure Public Cloud Deployments Go Hand-in-Hand

It’s taken some time, but networking has finally caught up with the rapid expansion of public cloud computing capabilities and requirements. And what’s more, SD-WAN actively enhances the security of public cloud deployments. Here’s how.

A rising tide lifts all boats. High-performance public cloud computing platforms provide the foundations for the rapid evolution we’re seeing in application capabilities. However, for many organisations traditional MPLS networking is in danger of being the anchor holding them back from true digital transformation. Fortunately, today’s software-defined wide area networks – otherwise known as SD-WANs – are built to meet the management, performance and security requirements of public cloud deployments head-on.

If your organisation is still utilising MPLS networking to connect its people to a hybrid cloud infrastructure, read this blog. You’ll learn the potential limitations of traditional MPLS, discover the security benefits of implementing SD-WAN, and gain the foundational knowledge you’ll need to create a business case to sell SD-WAN into your organisation.

The Way Things Were – Choices and Limitations

Before SD-WAN, organisations had three choices when it came to connecting their MPLS network to a public cloud:

• A direct connection from their MPLS network to a public cloud (for example, ExpressRoute for Microsoft Azure and Office 365).
• Individual site-to-site VPNs.
• Direct access to their resources via the internet.

Despite being broadly functional, all of these connectivity methods came with potential limitations. Direct connections were prone to causing network tromboning when operating locations and public cloud resources were geographically dispersed, resulting in unnecessary latency that degraded performance.

Many of these methods lacked out-of-the-box encryption, resulting in complex security configurations that required significant time, resource and experience to execute properly. And in the case of site-to-site VPNs and direct access in particular, misconfiguration carried the risk of exposing data to unwanted eyes.

SD-WAN and Public Cloud – Cyber Security Allies

SD-WAN technology was conceptualised and developed in today’s cloud-centric world. SD-WAN deployments are built from the ground up to address the management, performance and security requirements of public cloud deployments. There are three key SD-WAN security benefits that make it the perfect cyber security ally to public cloud:

• Out-of-the-box encryption, making it straightforward to secure the connectivity components of public cloud deployments.
• The ability to split breakout of internet traffic to trusted destinations (e.g. Office 365) and direct all other traffic through to a central filtering point, thereby solving the trade-off between centralisation and latency.
• Security rules that can be built and managed centrally to ensure conformity.

Secure Your Public Cloud Deployment

These three cyber security benefits make SD-WAN the optimal connectivity solution to secure your organisation’s public cloud deployment. At Six Degrees, we believe SD-WAN is fast becoming the networking standard for organisations globally. We recommend all of our Cloud Platform & Data clients consider SD-WAN to ensure they fully leverage the latest and best cloud technology to drive home competitive advantage whilst ensuring security and organisational resilience.

Want to learn more about our SD-WAN capabilities and how we can help your organisation with its Network Infrastructure modernisation program? Get in touch with one of our experts today.