As the “temporary” new normal sets in, some of our traditional methods of connecting users to resources have changed. Here are some ways that networks can adapt to best serve predominately remote workforces.
Adapt Quickly with Public Cloud
The use of vendor-hosted marketplace and native public cloud services allows organizations to scale out operations to quickly adapt. The cloud allows us the opportunity to deliver and react to what is needed now without the wait.
To scale out currently undersized on-premises VPN access, IaaS marketplace firewalls and routers can be used in combination with Public DNS services to buffer the increased workloads.
Our leading recommended next-generation firewalls can be deployed in the cloud just as they are on-premises. They allow for continuity of security standards for VDI workloads that have scaled to the public cloud, expanding the work-from-home end user desktop experience. A wireless LAN controller (WLC) can also be hosted as an IaaS appliance that helps by extending office SSIDs into the home via access points sent to remote workers.
Since your workforce may be geographically dispersed, the use of cloud-native application acceleration services can improve the work-from-home experience. Users can connect to the public cloud from a geographically nearby entry point and ride the public cloud backbone to the location of the hosted service.
Cloud-controlled management portals have allowed for the introduction of remote provisioning, management, and monitoring of company-owned firewalls, switches, APs, and phones. This trend is increasing amongst all network vendors while eliminating human error and delivering amazing analytical-driven insights for proactive network performance.
Every enterprise has a unique need that we are ready to address with cloud.
Give Workers the Best WAN Experience with Cloud
The idea of making WAN your new LAN has been a work in progress for a long time coming. Companies with remote workers have long enjoyed using the WAN: The companies achieve cost savings through smaller real estate footprints and utilities, while remote workers gain additional flexibility in their schedules.
Oftentimes, organizations create just enough resources for remote and travel workforces to use the WAN as a LAN. Now, many organizations must transition to having almost their entire workforce use the WAN as a LAN.
How can you give them the best experience? The cloud.
Workloads and services that have been traditionally hosted in the company co-location facilities had optimized paths back to their worksites. Now, they all connect to the co-location edge, and application performance is often suffering. Enter the public cloud to lighten the network load on the co-location edge.
Let’s presume we move an application to a public cloud that requires authentication at the co-location. The only data on that co-location edge is authentication data for that app. As this scales out to multiple applications, the load lightens even further.
Now, how do you get your end users to your cloud regions that host these applications and services even quicker? Each public cloud-offered entry points worldwide, outside of the direct region hosting the application, so your end users’ traffic can enter through a nearby accelerator point and ride the public cloud’s backbone to the application or service. This works with existing client/client-less SSL/TLS VPN, as well!
If a company decides that it wants to physically extend its presence into the work-from-home space and maintain deeper visibility and control for public cloud/co-location applications and services, it can place a cloud-controlled security device or wireless AP at the location that builds secure overlay tunnels to all of its hosted applications and services.
ConvergeOne’s remote access solutions take a proven approach to rapidly scale your network to support a remote workforce, both now and when you need it again in the future.
WITH CONVERGEONE,
NOW YOU CAN BE READY TO ADAPT FOR YOUR REMOTE WORKFORCE
Special offers are now available to help you develop your remote worker and mobility strategy!
At ConvergeOne, we don’t shy away from tough challenges. We are prepared to serve as your trusted advisor in ways we may not have before. These include free solutions that quickly enable you and your teams to stay connected from wherever you are.
Topics: Enterprise Networking, COVID-19
