With the emergence of “killware,” Magna5 urges all its customers to spring into action to ensure their networks are secure. Here are five ways we can help.
Managed SD-WAN can bring benefits and increased uptime to your network, especially if you are utilizing cloud applications, IoT or taxing bandwidth solutions. SD-WAN represents a simplified, cost-effective and flexible alternative to traditional WAN solutions. It can bring unparalleled visibility across your WAN, optimal connectivity for end users and increased security to protect your network.
Even though SD-WAN has been the talk of the town, do you really understand what it is and how it can benefit your organization? In this blog post, we got with our experts to answer the most common questions we get about managed SD-WAN solutions.
Our most common questions we get is, what is SD-WAN? While SD-WAN is becoming more mainstream, there is still a lack of understanding of the main principals of SD-WAN. So, we will start from the beginning:
Managing and optimizing the Wide Area Network (WAN) has traditionally been hard for IT professionals. Connecting wide-spread branch locations and data centers with the same speeds and functionality was always a challenge, especially if you are purchasing from multiple vendors. Conventional routers were not cloud friendly and typically required backhauling traffic from branch offices to a hub or headquarters. This negatively impacted application performance, user experience and productivity.
SD-WAN is the application of software-defined networking (SDN) to WAN connections such as broadband internet, 4G, LTE or MPLS to connect enterprise networks over large geographical distances. SD-WAN has the ability to support multiple connection types at one time to dynamically share bandwidth across connection points. When traffic comes in, SD-WAN will determine optimal paths and steer traffic over them, regardless of connection type. This results in better connection utilization, optimized application performance, less blackouts / brownouts, and happy end users.
Managed SD-WAN is also sometimes referred to as SD-WAN as a Service because a customer will turn to a managed service provider (MSP), like Magna5, to design, deploy, manage and monitor their SD-WAN solution.
The main benefit of managed SD-WAN is that customers can rely on a trusted advisor to ensure their SD-WAN is working as efficiently as possible. The customer gets 24/7/365 access to a dedicated team of certified professionals who are rooting for their success. They are with the customer every step of the way, keeping a watchful eye on network performance, day and night. The MSP acts as an extension of the customers internal team to fill skillset gaps. If an issue is to arise, they quickly respond and remediate to eliminate costly downtime situations.
MPLS is widely deployed globally due to its proven reliability, efficiently and security. It offers configuration-controlled methods to haul traffic over a pre-determined path between a branch office and an aggregation site, typically either a hub or a data center. However, MPLS architecture struggles with the agility required by traffic flowing to frequently changing destinations such as cloud-based applications or branch locations. MPLS is also an expensive service to use if you need to add bandwidth as you grow, limiting the ability to expand quickly and cost-effectively. And, in most cases, you need to work with one carrier on your MPLS network, so your network has a single point of failure, and no redundancy.
Managed SD-WAN transforms low-cost broadband connections to be suitable for business-class traffic with technologies such as: per-packet forwarding, dynamic multi-path optimization, continuous monitoring, application steering, on-demand remediation, packet replication and dynamic jitter buffering. Managed SD-WAN does not demand an instant switchover from existing MPLS networks either. They can run parallel together or as an overlay on the legacy network to introduce application steering flexibility over an older infrastructure.
Traditionally, interconnecting branch offices required costly links, multiple boxes and complicated network architectures. Managed SD-WAN removes the complexity by providing seamless branch office connectivity in minutes. With low-touch deployments, the managed service provider can have new offices up and running from a single remote point. SD-WAN will automatically detect the available links and start to steer traffic directly between source and destination to prioritize traffic and provide appropriate user experience. No onsite IT staff intervention needed.
Yes. SD-WAN can provide policy-driven network segmentation and security by user, data type or location from remote locations to the data center. Managed SD-WAN can secure traffic by isolating and segmenting across the WAN. A few of the use cases are: line of business separation by departments for audit purposes, user data separation (guest, PCI data, and employee traffic), overlapping IP addresses for different groups and VPN segmentation for off-network sites.
Having your managed SD-WAN delivered by cloud can enhance your WAN architecture to deliver increased branch agility, simplicity and application performance for every location. When the cloud is your network, you can manage a secure WAN over any physical connectivity, without the headache of complex hardware configurations. A cloud-delivered SD-WAN additionally optimizes the delivery of traffic directly and efficiently to other cloud-based destinations by building software-defined encrypted tunnels when and where needed. It will then dynamically steer traffic and leverage cloud-based gateways to efficiently deliver traffic to its destination without jitter, latency and brownouts / blackouts.
If you need help optimizing network connections, contact Magna5 today.
Mike Penn joined Magna5 as Senior Content Developer. His role is to bring to life stories that inspire or inject clarity in how managed services and emerging trends can be applied to help organizations operate better and more efficiently.
Magna5 Makes Key Strategic Move by Divesting its Telecom Business and Focusing Exclusively on Managed IT Services
With the emergence of “killware,” Magna5 urges all its customers to spring into action to ensure their networks are secure. Here are five ways we can help.
Managed SD-WAN can bring benefits and increased uptime to your network, especially if you are utilizing cloud applications, IoT or taxing bandwidth solutions. SD-WAN represents a simplified, cost-effective and flexible alternative to traditional WAN solutions. It can bring unparalleled visibility across your WAN, optimal connectivity for end users and increased security to protect your network.
Even though SD-WAN has been the talk of the town, do you really understand what it is and how it can benefit your organization? In this blog post, we got with our experts to answer the most common questions we get about managed SD-WAN solutions.
Our most common questions we get is, what is SD-WAN? While SD-WAN is becoming more mainstream, there is still a lack of understanding of the main principals of SD-WAN. So, we will start from the beginning:
Managing and optimizing the Wide Area Network (WAN) has traditionally been hard for IT professionals. Connecting wide-spread branch locations and data centers with the same speeds and functionality was always a challenge, especially if you are purchasing from multiple vendors. Conventional routers were not cloud friendly and typically required backhauling traffic from branch offices to a hub or headquarters. This negatively impacted application performance, user experience and productivity.
SD-WAN is the application of software-defined networking (SDN) to WAN connections such as broadband internet, 4G, LTE or MPLS to connect enterprise networks over large geographical distances. SD-WAN has the ability to support multiple connection types at one time to dynamically share bandwidth across connection points. When traffic comes in, SD-WAN will determine optimal paths and steer traffic over them, regardless of connection type. This results in better connection utilization, optimized application performance, less blackouts / brownouts, and happy end users.
Managed SD-WAN is also sometimes referred to as SD-WAN as a Service because a customer will turn to a managed service provider (MSP), like Magna5, to design, deploy, manage and monitor their SD-WAN solution.
The main benefit of managed SD-WAN is that customers can rely on a trusted advisor to ensure their SD-WAN is working as efficiently as possible. The customer gets 24/7/365 access to a dedicated team of certified professionals who are rooting for their success. They are with the customer every step of the way, keeping a watchful eye on network performance, day and night. The MSP acts as an extension of the customers internal team to fill skillset gaps. If an issue is to arise, they quickly respond and remediate to eliminate costly downtime situations.
MPLS is widely deployed globally due to its proven reliability, efficiently and security. It offers configuration-controlled methods to haul traffic over a pre-determined path between a branch office and an aggregation site, typically either a hub or a data center. However, MPLS architecture struggles with the agility required by traffic flowing to frequently changing destinations such as cloud-based applications or branch locations. MPLS is also an expensive service to use if you need to add bandwidth as you grow, limiting the ability to expand quickly and cost-effectively. And, in most cases, you need to work with one carrier on your MPLS network, so your network has a single point of failure, and no redundancy.
Managed SD-WAN transforms low-cost broadband connections to be suitable for business-class traffic with technologies such as: per-packet forwarding, dynamic multi-path optimization, continuous monitoring, application steering, on-demand remediation, packet replication and dynamic jitter buffering. Managed SD-WAN does not demand an instant switchover from existing MPLS networks either. They can run parallel together or as an overlay on the legacy network to introduce application steering flexibility over an older infrastructure.
Traditionally, interconnecting branch offices required costly links, multiple boxes and complicated network architectures. Managed SD-WAN removes the complexity by providing seamless branch office connectivity in minutes. With low-touch deployments, the managed service provider can have new offices up and running from a single remote point. SD-WAN will automatically detect the available links and start to steer traffic directly between source and destination to prioritize traffic and provide appropriate user experience. No onsite IT staff intervention needed.
Yes. SD-WAN can provide policy-driven network segmentation and security by user, data type or location from remote locations to the data center. Managed SD-WAN can secure traffic by isolating and segmenting across the WAN. A few of the use cases are: line of business separation by departments for audit purposes, user data separation (guest, PCI data, and employee traffic), overlapping IP addresses for different groups and VPN segmentation for off-network sites.
Having your managed SD-WAN delivered by cloud can enhance your WAN architecture to deliver increased branch agility, simplicity and application performance for every location. When the cloud is your network, you can manage a secure WAN over any physical connectivity, without the headache of complex hardware configurations. A cloud-delivered SD-WAN additionally optimizes the delivery of traffic directly and efficiently to other cloud-based destinations by building software-defined encrypted tunnels when and where needed. It will then dynamically steer traffic and leverage cloud-based gateways to efficiently deliver traffic to its destination without jitter, latency and brownouts / blackouts.
If you need help optimizing network connections, contact Magna5 today.
Mike Penn joined Magna5 as Senior Content Developer. His role is to bring to life stories that inspire or inject clarity in how managed services and emerging trends can be applied to help organizations operate better and more efficiently.
Magna5 Makes Key Strategic Move by Divesting its Telecom Business and Focusing Exclusively on Managed IT Services
With the emergence of “killware,” Magna5 urges all its customers to spring into action to ensure their networks are secure. Here are five ways we can help.
With the emergence of “killware,” Magna5 urges all its customers to spring into action to ensure their networks are secure. Here are five ways we can help.
With the emergence of “killware,” Magna5 urges all its customers to spring into action to ensure their networks are secure. Here are five ways we can help.
BeCybersmart. Own your role in cybersecurity by becoming preparedness champions utilizing best practices in cybersecurity.
Learn how teaming with Magna5 can help your organization proactively monitor, detect and troubleshoot network problems before they impact business operations.
Hear stories how other companies are winning their battle to fight cybersecurity and ransomware attacks. You can stay ahead, too. In this webinar, you will learn insightful best practices in building an ironclad multi-layered security defense to stop bad actors in real-time.
Be on the offensive in protecting your unsecured endpoints with a six-point multi-tiered strategy defense.
Cyber threat intelligence is a critical security component needed to gain a deeper understanding of what’s happening inside and outside your network.
Network blind spots are dangerous. Learn how to gain visibility into your critical network components to improve network uptime and performance.
Be on the offense to protect your endpoints. Here are six pillars to gain an upper hand in providing real-time prevention, detection and response.
Learn how to quickly respond to hidden and emerging cyber threats with a fully managed detection and response defense.
Discover how managed detection and response helps you stay ahead of security risks by identifying and blocking both known and unknown cyberattacks.managed
Is malicious malware lurking inside your network without you even knowing it? Take action now by building a multi-tiered defense.
Read how Magna5 helps organizations improve their cybersecurity resilience with a multi-tiered security defense fully managed around the clock.
Let Magna5 help you improve your cybersecurity resilience with a multi-tiered security defense fully managed around the clock.
Discover the various types of IT network monitoring and the importance of full network visibility for better network performance.
Learn why real-time IT monitoring is the best approach to keep your network “always on” and performing at peak performance.
Proactively safeguard your network and endpoints using a three-step defense strategy to counter attacks before they penetrate your perimeter.
Build a strong Zero Trust authentication and verification strategy to limit unauthorized access from multiple entry points.
Magna5 helps organizations on-ramp cloud services and speed digital transformation to seize new business opportunities without the hassle.
Protect your MS365 accounts from data breaches and unauthorized access with these six essential security defense measures.
Through actionable Dark Web ID intelligence, Magna5 can let you know ahead of time if cybercriminals already have the keys to access your network.
The only way to stay ahead of growing cyber threats is to build an ironclad, multi-tiered defense. To win this fight, you have to be proactive and vigilant.
Through centralized patch management, Magna5 can seamlessly analyze vulnerabilities and distribute patches across your network companywide to reduce security downtime events
“There are only two types of companies: those that have been hacked, and those that will be.” – Former FBI Director Robert Mueller
With widespread usage of video conferencing solutions, bad cyber actors are eager to exploit holes in your online virtual meeting’s security. Since the coronavirus lockdown,…
The headlines say it all. Ransomware Attacks Take on New Urgency Ahead of Vote – Attacks against small towns, big cities and the contractors who…
If there is one thing we can learn from the virus pandemic, cybersecurity can never be put on the back burner. The crisis taught businesses…
It has been six months since the global health crisis invoked government-mandated “shelter-in-place.” Yet many organizations that scrambled to standup hundreds of work-from-home offices are…
“I’m about to go ballistic! Our SLAs are falling short. We’re experiencing more frequent network downtime. Our vendor is monitoring and sending us alerts but…
Do you have a trust deficit with your existing managed IT services provider? Are you confident they are taking care of your network? Is juggling…
Driving Responsiveness – Agility Series (Part Five) Whether or not your organization made the government’s cut as ‘essential workers’ during the coronavirus pandemic, we…
Driving Responsiveness – Agility Series (Part Four) Recognize this? “Jason is the kind of guy who’s always in a state of readiness. He likes…
Recently, the Enterprise Networking Magazine’s editorial board selected Magna5 as one of its Top 10 SD-WAN Solution Providers for 2020. The magazine evaluates and selects…
Driving Responsiveness – Agility Series (Part Three) By default, playing it safe during a downturn can hurt your chances to thrive in a stronger…
Driving Responsiveness – Agility Series (Part Two) During a business downturn, it is important to go beyond just surviving and position your organization as a…
Driving Responsiveness – Agility Series (Part One) Rather than tapping the brakes during the COVID-19 business lockdowns, many organizations are accelerating growth by reaching out…
It has been open season for cyber threat actors targeting organizations’ endpoints during the COVID-19 epidemic. With a large percentage of employees now working from…
By 2025, contact centers will morph into experience hubs and how they perform will be placed more clearly within the context of the overall performance…
Every day, cyber criminals bombard networks with phishing emails or social engineering enticing users to give up confidential information. Examples include trying to trick you…
With the rise of the remote worker operating model, it doesn’t take long to discover that a distributed workforce depends upon high network performance and…
It is bad enough that cyber criminals relentlessly breach organizations’ networks with malware and ransomware to hold their data hostage. Now they are going a…
No doubt about it, the work-from-home transition during the mandatory COVID-19 stay-in-place business lockdown has been a watershed moment. It has given organizations a “live-fire”…
As hundreds of millions of workers around the country set up shop in their spare bedrooms or dining tables during the pandemic lockdown, many organizations…
Hackers are leveraging ransomware and other malware through phishing lures, malware distribution and domain registration tied to COVID-19. Common themes include scamming, brand impersonation, blackmail…
With many organizations escalating home working on a grand scale, remote workers need to be diligent in taking cybersecurity seriously. Working across the open internet…
We’ve heard the infamous quote, “Never let a crisis go to waste.” Cybercriminals are now using fears over the coronavirus outbreak to prey on people…
The ripple effect of a major global health crisis can have a profound impact on organizational operations. As we’ve seen with the recent coronavirus outbreak,…
How quickly you recover from a disaster depends on how good your plan is. But before you can develop one, you need to know a…
IT monitoring and management services offer organizations a way to improve security and network uptime without burdening internal IT teams. In this post, we’ll review…
SD-WAN in healthcare is changing how hospitals, medical offices and clinics care for patients. Here are four ways healthcare organizations are reaping the rewards. SD-WAN…
Federally Qualified Health Centers are community-based health care providers who provide a vital link to primary and preventive healthcare services in underserved communities. Dependable communications…
HO. HO. HO. It’s holiday season … and prime time for hackers to make a data haul compromising your systems and selling their gifts on…
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…
We’ve heard the saying: “Expect the unexpected.” But do businesses really take it seriously? Last October, weathermen cautioned residents in the Dallas area of pending…
In our last two blog posts, we discussed how to “OWN IT” and “SECURE IT.” Today, continuing our National Cybersecurity Awareness Month series, Be Cyber…
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is working on final rules to enable true national number portability on a nationwide basis. When implemented, it will enable complete national number porting…
Imagine getting to work and seeing an invoice from your voice provider that your company ran up a $122,000 phone bill in a single weekend!…
The Con Is On. Meet Dave. He’s a branch manager at a bank managing hundreds of transactions daily. He has access to customer data that…
The threat of cyberattacks and the need for advanced security measures has never been greater. But businesses still fall short when it comes to detecting…
Cyber Spoofing Is No Laughing Matter. Meet Tracy. She’s an energetic executive administrative assistant making travel arrangements, preparing reports and maintaining filing systems for her…
By 2021, a new business will be victimized by ransomware every 11 seconds. Even with strong security controls in place, your organization still has a…
ONE CLICK IS ALL IT TAKES. Meet Ted. He works for a growing hospital, making sure patient records are accurate and complete. Since most of…
Toll-free least cost routing helps organizations find the best path between caller and destination at the lowest available cost. Here’s why it matters. Toll-Free…
Handling a ransomware attack is a challenging, resource intensive process. But most businesses fall far short when it comes to ransomware recovery. In this post,…
SD-WAN with Magna5 offers three popular deployment models to fit the needs of your organization – on-premises, hybrid and cloud application. Software-Defined WAN (SD-WAN) is…
Roughly 40-60% of midsize businesses never reopen after a disaster. But, with the right disaster recovery and business continuity plan in place, the damage can…
“A business will fall victim to a ransomware attack every 14 seconds in 2019 … every 11 seconds by 2021.” – Cybersecurity Ventures As Baltimore…
Over the past five years, security breaches have increased by 67%, according to Accenture’s global survey. Traditional security is in trouble. As threat actors deploy…
An effective IT monitoring and management strategy helps organizations protect precious uptime to eliminate downtime situations. Every company’s network and server structure are different. Some…
SD-WAN is revolutionizing networking by improving how businesses connect. But before hopping on the SD-WAN train, you need to decide whether you want to manage…
Data protection is a matter of trust. That’s why the steady increase in data breaches over the years has left a steady decrease in customer…
Healthcare providers are finally hopping on the managed SD-WAN train – and telehealth is driving it. In this post, we’ll look at five ways s…
Mid-sized organizations beware: data breaches against businesses soared 235% in Q1. Managed security services can help organizations combat sophisticated ransomware and trojan attacks. According to…
If you’ve ever seen your area code on the caller ID, only to be greeted by a pre-recorded voice message promising to erase your credit…
As you see in the video, sometimes network complexity can make you want to go back to the antiquated days of pen and paper. However,…
In the world of network downtime, time is money. And because of the loses associated with downtime, time is of the essence. In our recent…
Ransomware attacks on healthcare organizations are expected to quadruple by 2020. In a typical healthcare ransomware attack, a hacker will shut down a portion of…
As a financial institution, using cybersecurity as a differentiator can create positive impact on the overall customer experience In the world of finance, a data…
Your business can tolerate a certain amount of downtime before causing unacceptable damage. But what will it cost you? Many organizations think that downtime events…
Deliver high quality voice and application performance over SD-WAN for your employees, nationwide. Organizations utilize Unified Communications to bridge the gap between multiple locations and…
Every organization is liable for the information it keeps. In a data-driven world, company records and information are everywhere … in servers, in storage, on…
How proactive IT management and SD-WAN are helping manufacturers eliminate costly downtime. Technology is a critical need in most organizations, but for manufacturers it often…
Traditional WAN is out of date. SD-WAN can make your network agile and efficient with the cloud. Almost every IT and business leader today is…
It’s that time of year again. Time for the wave of posts that discuss the trends and events that shaped the year that was and…
Simplify your branch office network with optimized application performance using SD-WAN Today’s enterprise IT has become more sophisticated and bandwidth intensive, creating a complex and…
One-click on a suspicious email link or attachment could lead to your files being encrypted and a note from a cybercriminal demanding money to unlock…
Companies are increasingly moving IT workloads to the cloud, but are they doing it at the risk of exposing themselves to a data breach? Multiple…
Lots of companies are moving IT workloads to the public cloud, but is this the right strategy for your business? I’m sure you’re aware by…
Disasters hit every organization sooner or later. The cloud, combined with reliable partners, makes recovering from disasters easier than ever before. Disasters have a tendency…
Simplify your Enterprise communications with Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) in the cloud. Enterprise businesses are constantly struggling with communication challenges. Traditionally, business phone…
Secured business communications mean better connections to your customers. UCaaS (Unified Communications) ensures your security with features like encryption, business continuity, and 24/7/365 support. Security…
Improve customer satisfaction and the customer experience with a hosted UC and Cloud Contact Center solution. One of the many exciting things happening at Magna5…
Managing your network can be hard, but it doesn’t have to be – that’s why Magna5 now offers Cloud Managed Network. Experience feature-rich benefits and…
Reduce Costs, Increase Uptime and Improve Performance A network operations center (NOC) is the heart of an IT managed services provider – monitoring, managing and responding…
Enhance collaboration to increase productivity and save money Being able to easily connect with your customers, vendors, and fellow employees is key. Without it, employees…
What is SD-WAN? Combined with UCaaS, it’s the future for small businesses in 2018 Unified communications, delivered as a service (UCaaS) from the cloud, is…
A fast, flexible data recovery system not only saves thousands – it could save your business. Business Data Loss can be the result of anything…
Businesses today either evolve or get left behind. We see organizations of all sizes that were once successful, now losing customers because they have not…
As business pushes the limits of IT availability, productivity and efficiency, the importance of reliable IT operations continues to be apparent. Small- and medium-sized organizations…
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