Pelanggan besar, selalu banyak kepentingan untuk keamanan, kepatuhan terhadap peraturan dan tetap harus mudah sekaligus fleksibel. Cara perusahaan besar untuk mengatur WAN kebanyakan harus tetap mempertahankan sistem lama mereka. Software Defined WAN (SD-WAN) adalah aplikasi spesifik dari teknologi Software Defined Networking (SDN) yang dipakai di koneksi WAN untuk menghubungkan jaringan perusahaan. Ini termasuk jaringan di kantor cabang dan data center dalam area geografis yang luas.

A WAN example is to connect branch offices to a central corporate network, or to connect data centers separated by distance. In the past, these WAN connections often used technology that required special proprietary hardware. The SD-WAN movement seeks to move more of the network control is moved into the “cloud,” using a software approach.

Software-Defined WAN also has the advantage of removing potentially expensive routing hardware by provisioning connectivity and services via the cloud. Emerging SD-WAN technology can also be more flexible. For example, because SD-WAN connectivity can be controlled through cloud software, a customer might be able to scale up or “burst” connectivity during times of peak demand.

There are many software-defined WAN offerings, for example, can be used to improve and secure Internet connectivity, making it more competitive with more expensive legacy WAN technologies such as T-1 or MPLS. In some cases, software-defined WAN technology uses Internet broadband connections to replace more expensive solutions. Virtualization technology can apply security and virtual private networking (VPN) technology to broadband Internet connections, making them more secure.