Organizations face increasing pressure to adapt their networks to the demands of digital transformation. Users on traditional WAN solutions, however, often struggle with high costs, complex management, and limited scalability, hindering agility and efficiency in today’s cloud-centric environment.

SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Network) emerges as a key solution, offering enhanced visibility, application/traffic prioritisation, and the flexibility to integrate multiple connection types for improved performance and business continuity.
For IT departments looking to future-proof their network infrastructure, understanding the differences between SD-WAN and Traditional WAN is critical. This guide explores those key differences, empowering you to make informed decisions for your organization’s network needs.

What is SD-WAN & Traditional WAN?

Traditional WAN

Traditional WAN (Traditional Wide Area Networks) rely on fixed MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching) connections and centralized data centers to connect multiple locations. While they’re reliable for legacy applications and straightforward traffic flows, they lack the flexibility to support cloud-based services and modern-day business operations.

SD-WAN

SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Network) uses software to optimize and manage network traffic across different connections, such as broadband, MPLS, and LTE. By decoupling the network’s control layer from its hardware, SD-WAN allows real-time application prioritization, centralized management, and enhanced visibility.

Traditional WAN vs SD-WAN

Overall, traditional WAN solutions can be rigid and costly, which makes them less adaptable to modern networking requirements. In contrast, the flexibility of SD-WAN solutions allows businesses to seamlessly integrate cloud services, prioritize critical applications, and achieve reliable connectivity.

Case Studies: See SPTel’s SD-WAN in Action

1. Aspial Group’s Glittering Partnership with SPTel

Background: Aspial Group, a leading jewellery chain in Singapore with over 80 outlets, operates notable brands including Goldheart Jewellery and Lee Hwa Jewellery. They faced significant network congestion that hindered their live-streaming on social media platforms.

The Challenge: Aspial’s reliance on a single IP-VPN connection led to network bottlenecks at their headquarters. The inability to steer traffic or prioritize applications resulted in congestion, and attempts to increase bandwidth proved costly without addressing the underlying issues.

SPTel’s Solution: SPTel implemented a comprehensive SD-WAN solution that transformed Aspial’s network performance:

• Traffic Steering: Enabled Aspial to prioritize critical applications, ensuring smooth operation for essential services like TikTok live streams.
• Unified Network Management: SPTel’s platform provided bandwidth alerts and access to on-demand bandwidth and cybersecurity services, enhancing overall network control.

The Outcome: The partnership yielded immediate and long-term benefits:

• Cost Savings: Aspial optimized network expenses and ROI by prioritizing applications and utilizing on-demand bandwidth, avoiding recurring upgrade costs.
• Enhanced Control and Performance: SD-WAN provided insights for proactive traffic management, and bandwidth can be scaled in minutes via SPTel’s software-defined network to ensure smooth live-streaming during congestion.

2. Michelin-Starred Restaurant Partners with SPTel

Background: A Michelin-starred restaurant chain with over 20 branches in Singapore faced recurring connectivity issues that disrupted their operations. Their reliance on a single intranet connection for all branches created a single point of failure, resulting in frequent downtime for point-of-sale systems, e-menus, and other business-critical applications.

The Challenge: The outdated centralized network architecture could not meet the growing demands of the restaurant chain, resulting in connectivity outages that affected productivity and customer experience.

SPTel’s Solution: SPTel redesigned the network architecture by:

• SD-WAN Implementation: To manage complexity, SPTel introduced an SD-WAN solution, enabling centralized control and seamless failover between Internet and mobile backup lines, reducing manual intervention.
• 2-in-1 Firewall and SD-WAN Solution: SPTel offered a combined SD-WAN and firewall solution to streamline management, enhance cybersecurity, and reduce IT costs.

The Outcome: Following SPTel’s implementation, the business is reaping the following benefits:

• Cost Savings: Individual Internet lines and an integrated SD-WAN and firewall solution led to significant cost savings and reduced equipment investment.
• Reliability: The combination of Internet lines, mobile backups, and SD-WAN’s auto-failover capability resulted in near-zero downtime, enhancing branch performance and employee satisfaction.
• Convenience: SD-WAN’s centralized management dashboard provides the IT team with visibility and control, enabling faster troubleshooting without the need for physical intervention at their branches.
• Performance: Pairing SD-WAN with SPTel’s Software-Defined Networking (SDN) ensures high performance by prioritizing critical applications and allowing on-demand bandwidth increases within 2 minutes during traffic spikes. SD-WAN also monitors connectivity to cloud applications, automatically switching to better-performing connections as needed.

SPTel’s SD-WAN solutions have fundamentally changed how these businesses operate, driving efficiency and supporting digital transformation.

Get Started With SPTel’s Managed SD-WAN Services

SPTel offers cutting-edge Managed SD-WAN solutions that unlock the full potential of your network. Here’s what you can expect:

Take the first step toward a smarter, more reliable network today with SPTel’s Managed SD-WAN solutions.