Software Defined Networking (SDN) has grown from strength to strength in recent times. According to research, the market is expected to grow from US$8.8 billion in 2018 to US$28.9 billion by 2023. With such advancement, it’s no wonder why SDN has become a trusted solution that is offered by many prominent vendors.
But even with such a high rate of growth, numerous IT leaders, particularly administrators and network engineers, have to date been reluctant to implement SDN. When it comes to SMBs, the cost is one of the biggest factors. Management must balance the advantages of SDN against the time and cost of implementation.
If you’re in the process of weighing up whether SDN would be ideal for your company, consider the following benefits and guidance for seamless implementation before making a final decision.
Advantages Of SDN
Adjusts to the peaks and valleys of network loads
As the world becomes more and more reliant on the Internet, devices will increasingly take up more bandwidth, which results in network performance issues. With SDN, your business can overcome this bottleneck through a more balanced load distribution. It will mean that there is less pressure on your network during periods of high demand.
Centralizes operation control
SDN provides a much more efficient way of controlling network traffic and the allocation of tasks. It gives you the ability to direct your end-to-end operation from one centralized location, thus improving the overall productivity of your systems and network.
Improves security
When it comes to security, SDN streamlines control and monitoring. This is because there is only one central location where security policy can be conducted and information can be disseminated from, instead of multiple applications spread across your systems.
Diminishes operating costs
As a result of multi-tasking in network operations, SDN needs less equipment and less expensive network switches such as those utilized in the traditional style. Furthermore, SDN is highly adaptable to virtualization, meaning that there’s less of a need for additional hardware.
Top 3 Tips For Launching SDN In Your Organization
A few useful tips to ensure a seamless transition to SDN are provided below.
1. Ensure you have the requisite skills available
Whether it’s personnel with expertise in creating security policy or network engineers, implementing SDN effectively calls for an extensive range of IT skills and resources. In addition to this, there is a need to maintain close working relationships across functions for the best results.
2. Conduct a test phase before full implementation
It is good practice to restrict SDN to smaller sections of your network that don’t significantly affect your company as a whole during the initial launch. This is the best way to identify and rectify problem areas as you establish how to proficiently manage your systems on the new technology.
3. Slow deployment to the rest of your network is advisable
Following the test phase, slowly deploy SDN to the rest of your network. By doing so it gives your team more time to familiarize and leaves your organization in a much better position to avoid downtime and maintain normal operational performance.
Implementing SDN delivers a wide range of benefits. While the time and cost factors are important considerations to take into account, the additional combination of a transition towards server virtualization and rapidly increasing mobile usage among others make SDN an ideal option for the long-term success of your company.
