It may seem strange that one of the biggest contributors to innovation is not confident risk-taking start-ups, but in fact, the military sector propelled by generous state aid. This crucial relationship between the public sector and the private sector has long been overlooked. For instance, is it a coincidence that most of the technological advancements of the last century have also been the home of the largest military power? This has benefited us all, from the helpful guide of GPS navigation to the first and last thing you look at, weather predictions, the creation of digital photography and even includes the humble but useful creation that is duct tape, to name a few. Alas, in the 1950’s the US air force conjured up the very first wide area network (WAN), connecting the SAGE radar system but in the process unknowingly creating the first seeds of what would become known as the internet. This, in turn, would revolutionise the private sector and indeed our society. In truth, never before have we relied on digital infrastructure or IT networks in securing our livelihoods, our jobs and our social lives as it has in the pandemic. However, as we move towards a digital future, one which will enable people to work from home and allows for a more spatially distant workforce, so does its effect in stretching IT networks across much greater distances.
Firstly, a wide area network (WAN) is essentially a collection of local area networks (LANs) which communicate with each other, with the internet forming the world’s largest WAN. Furthermore, a WAN acts a bit like a crisp factory, it gathers all the crisps (data) then divides the crisps into packets (data bundles) and sometimes divides the crisps into their flavours (data messages) and sends the packets off to different destinations. The destinations of these data packets are informed by IP addresses and connected by WAN routers. This presents an issue when bandwidth and latency constrain the performance of the WAN. We have most likely experienced zoom crashers or our colleagues morphing into some pixelated monster residing in their rural home. Consequently, remote working has meant that people have moved to places with varying degrees of digital connectivity and as such the performance of WAN’s is being put under strain. Additionally, with a lot more traffic on business IT systems and with more distant endpoints, the systems are under a lot more pressure and the cost of having time out for maintenance is much higher. This places new security risks to data flows and with Application program interfaces (API, in essence, it is software that allows two applications to communicate together) that are now communicating between distant endpoints, it is much harder for IT teams to resolve issues. In the office, an IT crew can fix issues more effectively as all the endpoints tend to be under the same roof, with remote working these dynamics change. However, using cloud security strategies by incorporating SASE will be essential if a business is to thrive securely in disruptive digital times. In fact, SASE helps your IT systems evolve with the changing nature of threats and adapt to a more digitalised workplace. Equally, SDWAN (software-defined WAN) is an approach that makes architecture more navigable and improves the traffic management of the system. As well as this, SDWAN lowers costs and moves data traffic from high-cost MPLS lines to lower- cost lines, allowing for savings and greater data efficiencies.
To sum up, the pandemic has accelerated the shift to greater digitalisation in the workplace. This has meant that endpoints are more spread apart and that digital infrastructure is being pressurised. Ultimately, this reinforces the message that companies need to start incorporating cloud security strategies into their networks and managing their traffic more effectively. The digital revolution will usher in huge gains but it will not be without some teething issues.
By Henri Willmott,
Content Manager