Matt Kimpel, director of IT engineering for Magna5, discusses the importance of network security in an SD-WAN deployment.

NetworkComputing.com recently released an article, Avoid These Five Common SD-WAN Deployment Mistakes, discussing common SD-WAN deployment pitfalls. Matt Kimpel, Magna5’s director of IT engineering and SD-WAN expert, commented about one aspect that many organizations look past: security.

A software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) is a virtual WAN architecture that enables enterprises to rely on a combination of connections—including MPLS, LTE, and broadband Internet—to link users to critical applications. SD-WAN is used to connect widely dispersed branch offices to enterprise networks to improve application performance, business productivity and reduce IT costs.

However, sometimes existing and newly needed network security functions are overlooked during the implementation process.

“The organization is opening the door to threats if the SD-WAN solution lacks security capabilities, such as next-generation firewall functions,” Kimpel noted.

 Here’s a rundown of the top pitfalls:

> Read the full article on NetworkComputing.Com