Why Highly Reliable WAN Connectivity Is a Must-Have Across Industries

Not that long ago, the wide-area network (WAN) was used to connect a few branch locations to headquarters and headquarters to the public Internet. Today, the WAN has become the foundation of operations in a wide range of industries.

This is partly due to the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) — organizations are taking advantage of sensors and other Internet-connected devices to allow the collection and analysis of data that improves decision-making. The IoT also enables organizations to remotely monitor and control equipment, vehicles and other corporate assets, and deliver innovative new services to customers.

But the IoT isn’t the only thing driving the growth of the WAN. Organizations also need connectivity for communication and collaboration, cloud services and much more. Here’s a look at how connectivity impacts various industries.

• Energy / Oil and Gas. The energy sector is using a variety of connected technologies to increase efficiency and the reliability of its infrastructure. Oil and gas companies are using real-time data collection and analysis to improve operational processes and to track, monitor and maintain oilfield equipment. High-speed connectivity is also needed to support voice and video conferencing for workers in the field.
• Inland Marine. Operators of tugboats and towboats are investing in onboard systems that replace traditional paper logbooks. When these systems are able to connect to onshore enterprise applications, they can provide invaluable inputs that streamline accounting, reporting and more. Reliable connectivity also helps operators comply with increasingly stringent Coast Guard regulations and enhances quality of life for crews aboard inland marine vessels.
• Healthcare. Network connected devices enable healthcare providers to deliver services more efficiently and cost-effectively and reach underserved communities. Clinicians can remotely monitor blood pressure, glucose levels and other metrics in order to better track symptoms and enhance care while giving patients more freedom. When WAN connectivity can be quickly established at the scene of an emergency or disaster, clinicians gain the information they need to direct care for victims.
• Government. Government agencies at all levels can benefit from improved WAN connectivity. Workers in the field can communicate and collaborate and leverage mobile devices to collect data and provide services to constituents. A high-speed WAN can also support a wide range of “smart city” solutions that improve traffic flow, enhance public safety, and reduce costs and energy consumption.
• Education. WAN connectivity has the power to transform the education environment. K-12 schools are leveraging video conferencing to bring in guest speakers and connect students with their peers around the world. Connected virtual reality (VR) technologies can even enable students to go on virtual field trips. In higher ed, VR can provide students in medicine, aviation and other fields with simulated hands-on training.

All of these applications require a highly available WAN with the performance to support large volumes of data and real-time communications. Security is also critical — the WAN must have integrated security tools that protect users, applications and data from malware, hacker attacks and other threats.

GDS has developed a next-generation SD-WAN solution that can be quickly deployed virtually anywhere you need a stable and secure Internet connection. Full office functionality can be established within 24 hours using any combination of wireline, VSAT and LTE as the “last mile” transports. If an outage or performance problem is detected, our solution automatically reroutes traffic to meet application requirements. Plus, our experience team provides 24x7 monitoring and support.

More importantly, the GDS solution can deliver voice, video and data over a secure private network with application-aware Quality of Service (QoS). This allows us to deliver real-time applications with the highest levels of QoS from the data center to the edge device.

Whatever industry you’re in, highly reliable connectivity optimized for real-time communications is likely critical to your operations. Let us show you how our next-gen SD-WAN can meet your demanding requirements.