Preparing every business for what’s next: Introducing SD-WAN for companies of all sizes

Every business leader is working diligently to build a future-ready organization—one able to thrive amidst changing work environments and customer expectations, and capable of tapping technology to streamline operations. That requires relying on emerging technologies and digital services backed by a strong IT network. But while every business is striving for digital innovation, not every business has the same requirements in getting there.

From small businesses to global enterprises, Comcast Business is ready to partner with business leaders to develop the optimal IT infrastructure that can help drive their businesses forward. To better serve that mission, Comcast Business announced the expansion of its SD-WAN portfolio with the addition of two single-site SD-WAN solutions from Comcast Business and Masergy. Masergy Secure Network Edge and Comcast Business SD-WAN with an added standalone site support feature enable businesses to create and manage a secure network perimeter for single location businesses or standalone locations that need to connect to the cloud.

These SD-WAN solutions enable businesses with either a single location or multiple standalone locations to help securely connect and manage their network, applications, and users. These businesses rely on Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) applications and cloud services to operate, making secure networking a critical requirement. Comcast Business’ full range of global secure networking solutions provide connectivity, security, application optimization and control, as well as threat monitoring and response for single and multi-site customers.

Global secure networking: Why it matters

Today’s heightened expectations for digital services have accelerated the pace of innovation, putting new pressures on business leaders and the IT infrastructures supporting them. In order to compete, companies of every size need to provide secure, reliable digital experiences to users everywhere. In this context, the network has become the new competitive edge.

But in meeting today’s demands, new challenges arise. As companies leverage more cloud technologies and public Internet services, there are more variables that can inhibit the ability to deliver high-quality online experiences.

• Small businesses: With rigid resource and budget constraints, small companies rely on the convenience and cost efficiencies of cloud technologies, full-service solutions, and public Internet or broadband connectivity. But when businesses are connected using a single public Internet link without a second link for redundancy or backup, an outage can lead to gaps in productivity, sales, and experience. SD-WAN can help solve this problem — however, small companies have traditionally had limited access to these solutions due to the investment level required.
• Midsize businesses: With internal IT teams that are commonly overstretched, midsize companies struggle to manage (much less secure) sprawling technologies, cloud application performance, and IT infrastructures as they grow more distributed, remote, and increasingly complex. When corporate networks need to be rearchitected to meet modern, cloud-centric demands, companies seek the help of managed network service providers with agile solutions that don’t strain their IT teams — all, of course, while managing their costs.
• Enterprise businesses: While enterprises have larger dedicated IT teams and resources, the challenges above are often multiplied by size and scale with global network complexity, rigid architectures, and long lead times. Thus, enterprises need highly tailored, agile solutions that deliver global services.

New solutions from Comcast Business and Masergy

Comcast Business is addressing the needs of businesses of all sizes by introducing a wider variety of global secure networking solutions. We’re offering a broader SD-WAN portfolio specifically for more use cases:

SD-WAN for standalone businesses

Masergy Secure Network Edge and the enhancements to Comcast Business SD-WAN bring the benefits of network management and visibility as well as intelligent application routing to standalone offices and locations connecting to cloud resources. These solutions are ideal for companies that lack IT budgets or the interest in building a corporate network but need to support single locations and site-to-cloud connectivity using public Internet services. Moreover, highly competitive pricing and the ease of deployment at scale with Comcast Business make SD-WAN now widely available to the small and midsize market.

Key features include:

• Diverse connectivity, intelligent traffic steering, and direct connections to cloud services enhance application performance and resiliency
• Advanced security capabilities to help protect against cyberthreats
• 24×7 Security Operations Center (SOC)
• Low-touch deployment capabilities provide easy installation
• Highly competitive pricing

SD-WAN for mid-to-large enterprises

With the acquisition of Masergy adding to its suite of managed SD-WAN and edge security services, Comcast Business has now rounded out its offerings of high-performance solutions designed for companies needing global and complex connectivity. Ideal for mid-to-large enterprises seeking reliable availability backed by a private, software-defined network, these solutions converge network and security services into a single offering.

Key features include:

• A variety of choices in SD-WAN hardware devices and vendors
• Network automation features powered by artificial intelligence
• Integrated, advanced security for the network, cloud, and endpoints
• Converged solutions meeting the key tenets of the SASE model

More choices: Managed services, international offerings, and an agnostic approach to SD-WAN

Further maximizing customer choice and ease of management, these solutions are offered as a fully or co-managed services including highly tailored solution design, white-glove implementation, 24/7 network monitoring and management, and 24/7 threat monitoring and response. And with the acquisition of Masergy, Comcast Business can provide network services globally.

Because Comcast Business takes an agnostic approach to SD-WAN, customers get a broad selection in SD-WAN devices, connectivity types, direct connections to the cloud, and security add-ons. That means more vendor variety and SD-WAN solutions that uniquely fit your business outcomes.

• Hardware Options: Select SD-WAN hardware devices from trusted manufacturers and industry leaders.
• Connectivity Options: Configure connectivity using a hybrid mix of public and private network access — from 5G wireless and Masergy’s global software-defined network to the ability to bring your own network — with the freedom to mix and match services to achieve the right level of performance for every location, application, and user.
• Cloud Options: Connect to cloud applications and services easily with direct connections to cloud service providers and a menu of hundreds of SaaS applications.
• Security Options: From cloud security and endpoint security to network security and SASE offerings, we’ve partnered with market leaders to integrate innovative technologies into our global secure networking solutions.

Meeting every size business where they are with what they need

Every business has different needs — but one thing remains consistent: Every company needs a network that works the way they need it to, when they need it to, helping them strike the right balance between price and performance and manage it all at a cost that works within their budget.

Whether a single location business connecting to the cloud or a large global enterprise connecting thousands of sites, our solutions provide the reliability, security, and intelligence you need to help drive your business forward.

To learn more about Comcast Business and Masergy SD-WAN solutions, please visit:
business.comcast.com/enterprise/products-services/sd-wan-solutions