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Network security is a topic on everyone's mind these days. Whether it's building tools for customer-facing applications or for internal use, keeping the information that's flowing on that network safe and available for use is top priority. Thankfully, new technologies like cloud-based systems and software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) are helping to keep the whole network protected in the face of new technologies such as the Internet of Things.

Shopping for internet service can be one of the most thankless and exhausting of chores there is. With options limited by geography, such a project often becomes one of shopping for the best among what's actually possible, not what's actually best. Even with this massive issue afoot, there's an even bigger dilemma to come, and this time, the ISPs might be just as hard-hit as their customers. More specifically, it's SD-WAN's steady growth, and its ability to accommodate multiple service providers at once.

The notion of a better network is different for most everybody, but some common facets emerge. Issues of speed and latency are naturally important, but so too is the issue of cloud adoption rates. These issues all go hand-in-hand to make a better network, and where one improves, the other two are likely to improve as well.

Software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) has fundamentally changed networking technology in a host of ways. It's changed so much, in fact, that some think WAN optimization itself is a dead art, lost forever against the greater efficiency of SD-WAN. That's not strictly true, but not too far off. There are still ways to optimize a WAN, thanks in large part to SD-WAN itself.

• No more broadband backup. There's no longer a need to hold broadband connections as a backup with SD-WAN. Now, all broadband connections are available for use at all times, making a more reliable network.
• Improve error correction. SD-WAN systems allow for both forward error correction and packet error correction. With multiple error corrections going on at once, that improves the overall stability of the network and reduces the odds of failure.
• Add overall bandwidth. The typical local area network (LAN) is running at gigabit speed, while WAN tends to run in the megabit range. By stepping up to an SD-WAN, the gap is somewhat closed, meaning more bandwidth.

• Reduced downtime. If network downtime drops, then there's more able to be done in the same time. Formerly lost opportunities can be acted on. Businesses using SD-WAN are 25 percent more likely to see less downtime.
• Reduced capital spending. A network up more often means less costly physical augmentation. Sixty-five percent of businesses with SD-WANs saw at least some reductions in capital expenditures.
• Better branch connections. Connecting various branches allows information to be more readily shared and used appropriately. SD-WAN is specifically meant to improve inter-branch connections.