Download - DN5865 Achieving Agility with Cloud UC - Success Depends on … · Achieving Agility with Cloud UC Success Depends on Evolving the Network For more than 15 years the enterprise WAN

N e m e r t e s R e s e a r c h G r o u p I n c . w w w . n e m e r t e s . c o m 1 - 8 8 8 - 2 4 1 - 2 6 8 5

AchievingAgilitywithCloudUCSuccessDependsonEvolvingtheNetworkFormorethan15yearstheenterpriseWANhasremainedlargelyunchanged:MPLSastheprimarymeansofbranchconnectivity,higherspeedservicesatthecore,andInternetaccessonlythroughalimitednumberofcentralizedaccesspoints.Asapplicationsandcommunicationsshiftstothecloud,networksmustchange.Asaresult,SD-WANanddirectcloudconnectservicesareemergingtoenableorganizationstoreducecosts,bettersupportcloud-basedapplicationsincludingUnifiedCommunicationsasaService(UCaaS)andimprovesecurityandagility.

Winter17

08

IrwinLazarVicePresident&ServiceDirectorJohnBurkeCIOandPrincipalResearchAnalystNemertesResearch

CompassDirectionPoints:± Applicationsarerapidlyshiftingtothecloud:Enterprise

demandforgreateragilityandtheviewthatcloudismoresecurethanon-premisesaredrivingincreasingcloudapplicationandplatformadoption.

± RevisittheWAN:Networksoptimizedforinternaldatacenterconnectivitydon’tcutitinanincreasinglyPaaS/IaaS/SaaSworld.

± EvaluateemergingSD-WANoptions:OrganizationsareleveragingSD-WANtoreducecosts,increaseresiliencyandimprovecloudapplicationperformance.

± DirectcloudconnectoptimizesperformanceofUCaaS:EspeciallyforsiteswheredirectInternetaccessisn’tfeasible.

©NemertesResearch2016!www.nemertes.com!888-241-2685!DN5865

2

TableofContents

TABLEOFFIGURES 3

EXECUTIVESUMMARY 4

THEISSUE:BUSINESSNEEDSUCAAS,UCAASNEEDSMORE 5

THESHIFTTOTHEUCAAS 5

IT’STIMEFORANEWWAN 5THECLOUDREQUIRESANEWWANBASEDONSIMPLICITYANDINTELLIGENCE 7DIRECTINTERNETACCESS 7ENTERSD-WAN 8

TYPESOFSD-WAN 9OVERLAYSD-WAN 9IN-NETSD-WAN 10DIRECTCLOUDCONNECT(DCC) 10WAN-CLOUDEXCHANGES(WAN-CX) 11

MAKINGTHEBUSINESSCASEFORSD-WAN 11BOTTOMLINEBENEFITS:COSTSAVINGS 11TOP-LINEBENEFITS:BUSINESSAGILITY 12TOOMUCHRISK,ORRISKREDUCED? 13GLOBALWAN,REGIONALSERVICES,ANDSD-WAN 13

CONCLUSIONSANDRECOMMENDATIONS 13

©NemertesResearch2017!www.nemertes.com!888-241-2685!DN3661 3

TableofFiguresFIGURE1:ISCLOUDMOREORLESSSECURETHANON-PREMISES?...................................................................6FIGURE2:THECURRENTDOMINANT3-TIERWANMODEL...................................................................................6FIGURE3:FROMTRADITIONALWANANDBACKHAULTOINTERNET-ENABLEDBRANCHES..............7FIGURE5:OVERLAYSD-WANARCHITECTURE.............................................................................................................9FIGURE6:IN-NETSD-WANARCHITECTURE................................................................................................................10FIGURE7:SD-WANCOSTSAVINGSEXAMPLE..............................................................................................................12


4

ExecutiveSummaryBusinessesarerapidlymovingtothecloudfortheircommunicationsandcollaborationneeds,especiallywhentheywanttodeliveraconsistentsetofservicestostaffanywhereintheworldwithoutthehasslesofmaintainingaPBXoftheirown.UnifiedCommunicationsasaService(UCaaS)strivestomeetbusinessneedsforfeaturesandperformance,butachievingasuccessfulrolloutmeansprovidinganetworkthatdelivershighavailability,highperformance,andtheabilitytoproactivelyaddressconditionsthatcanhurtcloudcommunicationsandcollaboration.Threeoptionsarekeytore-architectingtheWANintheageofcloud:Software-DefinedWAN(SD-WAN),directcloudconnect,andWAN-CloudExchanges(WAN-CX).SD-WANpoolsbranchconnectivityandintelligentlymanagestrafficacrossallavailablelinks,increasingresilienceandimprovingperformancewhilereducingmanagementcosts.DirectcloudconnectbypassestheInternetforcommunicationswithaspecificcloudserviceproviderbylinkingtheenterpriseWANedgetothecloudprovider’sedgedirectly.WAN-CXusesanexchangeapproachtodirectconnection:enterprisesconnecttoanexchange,thenspinupvirtuallinksthroughthatconnectiontoanycloudserviceproviderontheexchange.Connectingenterprisenetworkstocloudserviceprovidersthroughdirectconnect,SD-WAN,orWANexchangeservicesofferstheopportunitytoguaranteehighqualityapplicationservicedeliveryaswellastoreducecostsbyleveraginglower-costconnectivityoptions,globally.ITleadersshould:

! Reevaluatetheirwideareanetworkstrategyinconjunctionwiththeirplanstoadoptcloudapplicationandplatformservices

! ConsidertheabilityofSD-WANtoreduceoperatingcosts,enablegreaterflexibility,andoptimizecloud-basedtrafficflows

! Evaluatedirectcloudconnectofferingstojoinenterprisedatanetworkswithcloud-basedservicestoprovidepredictableperformance,resiliency,andend-to-endperformancemanagementforcloud-basedapplications,especiallyUCaaS

! EnableflexibilitytoleveragevariousSD-WANapproacheswhereitmakessense;avoidbeinglockedintoasingle,globalapproach.


TheIssue:BusinessNeedsUCaaS,UCaaSNeedsMoreBusinessesarerapidlymovingtothecloudfortheirUnifiedCommunications(UC)andcollaborationneeds,especiallywhentheywanttodeliveraconsistentsetofservicestostaffanywhereintheworldwithoutthehasslesofmaintainingaUCplatformoftheirown.LeveragingUnifiedCommunications-as-a-Service(UCaaS)enablesorganizationstorapidlydeploynewfeaturesandcapabilities,andtooffloadresponsibilityforsecuritytoasoftwareserviceprovider.UCaaSprovidersstrivetomeetbusinessneedsforfeatures,reliability,andperformance,butachievingasuccessfulrolloutmeansprovidinganetworkthatisoptimizedforSaaS,thatdelivershighavailability,highperformance,andtheabilitytoproactivelyaddressconditionsthathurtcloud-basedUCandcollaboration.

TheShifttotheUCaaSThemarchtothecloudismovingahead—andaccelerating.Nemertes’2016-17Cloud,DataCenterandSD-WANbenchmarkandpreviousstudiesfoundthat:

• 75%ofcompaniesarenowusingpublicInfrastructureasaService• NearlyhalfareusingPlatform-as-a-Service• SaaScomprisesapproximatelyaquarterofthetypicalenterprisesetof

applications.Atthesametime,nearly40%oforganizationsareusingorplanningtouseUnifiedCommunicationsasaServicetoshifttheirtelephony,messaging,andconferencingapplicationstothecloud.ITleaderscitetheagilitythatcloudofferstosupportrapidlychangingbusinessconditions,andtotakeadvantageofnewcapabilitiesastheirprimaryjustificationforshiftingtocloud.Perhapsmoreimportantly,nearly45%saythattheyseecloudservicesasmoresecurethanon-premisesplatformsthankstotheabilityofcloudproviderstofocusresourcesonsecurity.(PleaseseeFigure1.)Greaterreliancetheclouddrivestheincreasinglycommonneednotjustforrock-solidreliabilityandhighthroughput,butalsoforapplicationintelligenceinthenetwork.Anintelligentnetworkpreserves—andimproves—performanceforbusiness-criticalapplications.

It’sTimeForaNewWANFormostofthelastdecadeIThasreliedonathree-tierWANarchitectureforconnectingofficelocationswithapplicationshousedincorporatedatacenters.(PleaseseeFigure2.)


6

Figure1:IsCloudMoreorLessSecurethanOn-Premises?

Thisarchitectureisillsuitedtothetransitiontocloud.Whereasinthepastmosttrafficstayedontheenterprisenetwork,today,thankstogrowingadoptionofcloud-basedapplications,mosttrafficflowsarebetweenend-userdevicesandapplicationseitherrunningoninfrastructure/platform-as-a-servicehostedinthird-partydatacenters,ordeliveredasasoftware-as-a-service.

Figure2:TheCurrentDominant3-TierWANModel

Why More Secure? •  “Can’t keep up with

changing regulatory / compliance / threat environment”

•  “Major providers invest more than we can”

Data Center

Optical, Carrier Ethernet

Internet, Satellite, broadband wireless

MPLS, Carrier Ethernet, Leased Lines

Data Center

Offices

Offices

Offices

Offices

Remote Site Remote Site


TheCloudRequiresaNewWANBasedonSimplicityandIntelligenceOrganizationscontinuetoincreasetheirnumberofphysicallocations,oftenbybreakinguplargeonesintomultiplesmallerones,orbyextendingapplicationsintothehomeviatelework.Emerging,cloud-optimizedWANapproachesincludeDirectInternetAccess,andSD-WAN.

DirectInternetAccessReplacingMPLSwithdirectInternet-connectedofficeshasemergedasawayforITtodecreasenetworkspendwhileincreasingbandwidthandavoidingbackhauloftrafficdestinedfortheInternet.WhenusingUCaaS,Internet-connectedbranchescanimproveperformancebyreducinglatencyassociatedwithbackhaulingInternet-boundtrafficacrosstheWAN,andcanfurtherreducecostsbyeliminatinglocalloopsorSIPtrunksforPSTNaccess.Offloadingsomeorallsuchtraffictolower-costbranchInternetaccessreducesoravoidsloadsonhigh-costWANlinks(andtherebyreducesWANperformancechallenges,aswell),reducesloadsonfirewallsandothersecuritysystemsinthedatacenter,freesupdatacenterInternetbandwidth,andcanevenreduceoverallvulnerabilitytodenial-of-serviceattacksagainstthedatacenters(andotherincidents)bymakingitpossibleformorepeopletogetmoredonewithoutusingdatacenterservices.Internet-enabledbranchescomeintwoflavors—brancheswithdirectInternetaccesssupplementingdedicatedWANlinks,andbrancheswithInternetlinksonly—withvariationsoneach.(PleaseseeFigure3.)

Figure3:FromTraditionalWANandBackhaultoInternet-EnabledBranches


8

Internet-onlybranchessubstitutecheaperbandwidthforMPLSforallbranchcommunications.Inthisscenario,connectivitycomesinthreeflavors:VPN-only,splitpipe,andInternetonly.

• VPN-onlyconnectionsusethewholeInternetlinkasanencryptedpipebacktoacompanydatacenter.

• Internet-onlyconnectionsusethewholelinktosendtrafficouttotheInternet.Tothem,thecompanydatacenterlookslikeanyotherInternetsite,andstaffinsuchsitesapproachallinternalsystemsjustastheywouldiftheywerenotonacompanynetwork:throughpublicinterfacesorviaadevice-specificVPNratherthanafull-siteVPN.

• Split-pipeinstallationsdevotesomebandwidthtoasite-to-siteVPNandtheresttodirectInternetaccess.

Asnoted,allInternet-connectedbranchapproachesofferthepotentialtoreducecostsandalignnetworkdesignmorecloselywithdatatrafficflows.ButpurelyInternet-connectedbranchesofferlittleopportunityfornetworkarchitectstooptimizeconnectionsforspecificapplications,enableinsightintoperformancebetweenbranchofficesandSaaSproviders,orenableoptimizedutilizationofmultipleInternetconnectionsormixedInternetandMPLSscenarios.

EnterSD-WANSoftware-DefinedWAN,orSD-WANoptimizesbranchconnectivitybyincorporatingseveralkeyconcepts:

• Abstractionofedgeconnectivity:Virtuallycombiningalltheconnections(InternetandMPLS)intoalocationtoappearasasinglepoolofcapacityavailabletoallservices.

• VirtualizationoftheWAN:OverlayingoneormorelogicalWANsonthepoolofconnectivity,withbehaviorandtopologyforeachoverlayWANdefinedtosuittheneedsofspecifictypesofnetworkservices,locations,orusers.

• Policy-driven,centralizedmanagement:KeytoanSD-WANistheabilitytodefinebehaviorsforanoverlayWANandhavethemimplementedacrosstheentireinfrastructurewithoutrequiring

Using Now18.2%

Planning 20169.1%

Evaluating36.4%

No Plans36.4%

SD-WAN State of Deployment

Figure4:SD-WANStateofDeployment


device-by-deviceconfiguration.• Flexibletrafficmmanagementforperformanceandsecurity:SD-WANscan

optimizetrafficinmanyways;foremost,theycanselectivelyroutetrafficacrosslinksbasedoncriteriasuchaslinkperformance,availability,orend-to-endperformancebetweenthebranchandtheSaaSapplicationbeingused.

InterestinSD-WANisexploding,with27%ofcompaniesusingitorplanningtohavedeployeditbytheendof2016,andanother36%evaluatingpotentialfuturedeployments.Earlyadoptersreporta95%reductionintroubleshootingtimeandanearlyequalreductioninoutages.NearlyaquarterplantouseSD-WANtoreducespendonMPLS.

TypesofSD-WANTherearetwokeywaystoprovideSD-WANservices.Nemertescallstheseoverlayandin-netSD-WAN.

OverlaySD-WANInanoverlaySD-WAN,appliancesaredeployedonanexistingroutednetwork,eitherbehindtheroutersorreplacingthemasthebranchconnectiontotheWAN.SD-WANappliancescanalsocollapsethetypicalbranchstackbyreplacingotherbranchWANappliancessuchasoptimizersandfirewalls.

Figure5:OverlaySD-WANArchitecture

MPLS Carrier Core

Branch

DC

Branch

Inte

rnet

SD-WAN

Encrypted tunnels Optionally encrypted tunnels

SD-WAN

SD-WAN


10

Figure6:In-NetSD-WANArchitecture

In-NetSD-WANIncontrast,in-netSD-WANtiestheSD-WANfunctionalitytotheconnectivityservices.Thesefunctionsmayallbeprovidedintheserviceprovider’sedgeandcoreinfrastructure,withthebranchusingatraditionalroutertoconnecttotheprovider’snearestpointofpresence.Or,someorallfunctionsmaybeprovidedon-premisesviaappliancesunderserviceprovidermanagement;thispushesworkoutoftheserviceprovider’sinfrastructureandalsoallowsoptimizationoflast-mileconnectivityviacompression.In-netSD-WANcanbetiedtoNetworkFunctionsVirtualization(NFV),withthevariousfunctionsprovidedbyseparate,cooperatingVirtualNetworkFunctions(VNFs)dynamicallydownloadedtotheon-premisesdevice(wherethereisone)orchainedintothetrafficpathinthecarrierinfrastructure.Thisopensthepossibilityoftheon-premisesdevicebeingwhite-box/genericratherthanbespokefortheservice,decreasingvendorlock-insomewhat.

DirectCloudConnect(DCC)Ofcoursesometimes,routingtrafficovertheInternetisn’ttheidealoption.ExamplesincludewhenanorganizationwantstoadoptUCaaSbeforeithastheopportunitytotransitiontoSD-WAN,orwhereanSD-WANtransitionisn’tcost-effective.Insuchcases,thevariabilityinperformanceofanInternet-onlylink,or

SD-WAN Service Cloud

Branch Branch

DCSD-WAN

Internet

Encrypted tunnels

SD-WAN SD-WAN

PoP


back-haulingInternet-boundtrafficacrosstheWANcanleadtounacceptableperformancevariationfortheservices.Inresponse,majorcloudvendorssuchasAmazonandMicrosoftintroducedtheabilitytoconnectdirectlytotheirnetworkedges,withservicessuchasAmazon’sDirectConnectandMicrosoft’sExpressRoute.UCaaSprovidersaregettingintothegameaswell,forexampleRingCentralCloudConnect.Inalltheseexamples,anenterpriseextendsalinkfromanedgerouterinitsinfrastructuretoanedgerouterintheprovider’s.Thiscanbeachieveddirectlyviaacablepull,incaseswherethebusinesshassomeinfrastructureinthesamedatacenterasthecloudprovider(the“meetme”space).Oritcanbeachievedindirectly,bytheenterpriseleasingarouterportinsuchafacilityfromitsconnectivityprovider—extendingitsWANtothatrouter—andhavingtheconnectionpulledfromthere.Thirty-fourpercentofcompaniescurrentlyusedirectcloudconnect,withanother43%evaluatingpotentialfuturedeployments.DirectcloudconnectusepositivelycorrelateswithhowNemertesbenchmarkparticipantsratetheoverallsuccessoftheircloudstrategy.

WAN-CloudExchanges(WAN-CX)WAN-CXsolutionsprovideanalternativetoDCCbylettingWANserviceprovidersinterconnectanenterprisedatanetworkwithSaaSproviders.ExchangestaketheideaofDCCandintroducealayerofmediationandabstraction:businessesconnecttothe“outside”oftheexchange,andCSPsconnecttothe“inside”ofit.Throughasingleconnectiontotheexchange,customerscanspinupmultiplevirtualDCCstoanyproviderconnectedtotheexchange.WAN-CXproviderscanbetraditionalcarriersornetwork-as-a-serviceproviders;orconnectivityexchangesoperatinginsidecarrierhotelsandbigcolocation/hostingfacilitiesthatserveasathird-partyjunctionpointbetweentheWANandtheCSPs.ExamplesincludeAT&TNetBond,EquinixCloudExchange,Level3CloudConnect,andVerizonSecureCloudInterconnect.Just17%ofcompaniesareusingWAN-CXbutanother35%areevaluatingitforpotentialfutureuse.Likedirectcloudconnect,WAN-CXusealsopositivelycorrelateswithhowNemertesbenchmarkparticipantsratetheoverallsuccessoftheircloudstrategy.

MakingtheBusinessCaseforSD-WAN

BottomLineBenefits:CostSavingsFirstandforemostthebusinesscaseformostSD-WANadoptersiscostsavings,andthemainsourceofhard-dollarcostsavingsinSD-WANisthesubstitutionoflower-costInternetconnectivityinplaceofmoreexpensiveserviceslikeMPLS.SavingsareentirelydependentonthecostandavailabilityofInternetaccess,currentMPLS


12

rates,andthescopeofthetransition.OneNemertesclientoperatinga200siteMPLSnetworkreducedexpectedWANspendby$4.9millionoverthreeyearsbyshiftingMPLStoSD-WANoverInternetservices.(PleaseseeFigure6.)

Figure7:SD-WANCostSavingsExample

Top-LineBenefits:BusinessAgilitySpeedhasvalueinbusiness.Forthegrowingnumberofbusinessesadoptinga“getclosertothecustomer”approachtotheirphysicalstorefronts,thatspeedcanbemeasuredinpartbyhowmanydaysittakestoturnupanewbranch.SD-WANcanradicallyalterthatnumber.Mostsolutionsallowfreemixtureofdifferentkindsofconnectivity.Consequently,anewlocationcanbebroughtupwithwhateverformofconnectivityismostreadilyavailable,beitcableorDSLoreven4G/LTE,andcanbecomeonlineinunderaweek,evenwithinadayofreceivingitsendpointequipment.Contrastthatwiththemoreusual30tomorethan90daystoconnectupanewbranchusingtraditionalapproaches.SD-WANalsoenablesrapiddeploymentofSaaSapplicationswithahighlikelihoodofacceptableremotesiteperformance.Forexistingbranchoffices,directcloudconnectcanofferacceptableSaaSperformancewithouttheneedtofirstprovisionInternetouttoremotebranches.

$-

$1,000,000.00

$2,000,000.00

$3,000,000.00

$4,000,000.00

$5,000,000.00

$6,000,000.00

JAN2016

FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN2017

FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN2018

FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC

Current

ExpandwithCarrierEthernet

ExpandwithCable


TooMuchRisk,orRiskReduced?SD-WANsolutionscanalsocontributetothesecurityofanorganization.BecausetheymakeitpossibletomoreeasilysendtrafficdirectlytotheInternetfromthebranch,avoidingbackhaulsthroughthedatacenter,mostbuildfirewallfunctionalityaroundthat,andallallowforcarefulselectionofwhichtrafficisallowedtoflowdirect.Forexample,policycanallowtraffictoandfromOffice365orSalesforcetogodirect,whileotherweb-boundtrafficisnot.

GlobalWAN,RegionalServices,andSD-WANLastly,SD-WANcanmakeiteasierfortheorganizationtospinupnewbranchesanywheretheyneedto,globally,bydeliveringaconsistentsetofserviceswhiletakingadvantageofwhateverlocalconnectivityoptionsareavailable.In-netSD-WANcanenjoyaparticularadvantageinthisscenariobyusinganoptimizedbackbonetodeliver“middle-mile”optimizationsindependentoflocale,avoidingtheunpredictabilityofmulti-continentalInternetperformance.Bringinggreaterconsistencyaswellasbetterperformancetobothin-houseandSaaSapplicationscanboostproductivityglobally.

ConclusionsandRecommendationsEnterpriseadoptionofcloud-basedapplicationsisontherise.Asaresult,traditionalnetworkarchitecturesmustevolvetosupportchangingtrafficflowsandperformancerequirementsassociatedwithcloud-basedapplications,especiallyUnifiedCommunicationsasaService.ITleadersshould:

! Reevaluatetheirwideareanetworkstrategiesinconjunctionwiththeirplanstoadoptcloudapplicationandplatformservices.

! ConsidertheabilityofSD-WANtoreduceoperatingcosts,enablegreaterflexibility,andoptimizecloud-basedtrafficflows.

! Evaluatedirectcloudconnectofferingstojoinenterprisedatanetworkswithcloud-basedservicestoprovidepredictableperformance,resiliency,andend-to-endperformancemanagementforcloud-basedapplications,especiallyUCaaS.

! EnableflexibilitytoleveragevariousSD-WANapproacheswhereitmakessense,avoidbeinglockedintoasingleglobalapproach.

AboutNemertesResearch:NemertesResearchisaresearch-advisoryandconsultingfirmthatspecializesinanalyzingandquantifyingthebusinessvalueofemergingtechnologies.YoucanlearnmoreaboutNemertesResearchatourWebsite,www.nemertes.com,[email protected].

Download - DN5865 Achieving Agility with Cloud UC - Success Depends on … · Achieving Agility with Cloud UC Success Depends on Evolving the Network For more than 15 years the enterprise WAN

Top Related