SSE Enterprise Telecoms launches SD-WAN solution

IT architecture holding back innovation in enterprises - 40% cite IT agility as an issue.

Thursday, 18th April 2019 Posted 5 years ago in by Phil Alsop

SSE Enterprise Telecoms – one of the UK’s leading connectivity providers, and part of SSE plc – announces the launch of its new SD-WAN solution, targeting UK enterprises. Legacy WAN (Wide Area Networking) has so far, relied on physical on-premise data centres, which weren’t built to manage today’s enterprises. Increased data usage and critical dependence on the cloud has turned businesses on their heads and forced network managers to reconsider their network infrastructure. With SD-WAN, SSE Enterprise Telecoms will give IT teams unprecedented visibility and central control over their IT estate, from which enterprise IT managers can benefit from increased agility – quickly and securely connecting branch users to applications via any underlying network without compromise.

Increasingly, businesses need real-time visibility of their network estate, and tools to optimise it. The lack of visibility – experienced by around half of IT decision makers – means businesses could be paying for bandwidth they don’t need and could be making use of expensive, resilient links that usually lie dormant waiting for failure. SSE Enterprise Telecoms’ SD-WAN will give IT managers a central view of their IT estate and empower them to optimise traffic routes to critical applications. It will spot opportunities to enhance visibility, speed, flexibility and security.

SSE Enterprise Telecoms is collaborating with two market-leading brands, utilising market-leading technology to deliver its SD-WAN solution: enterprise network technology expert Silver Peak, and specialist network systems integrator Axians. Both bring extensive SD-WAN knowledge and experience.

Why do businesses need to transform their networks?

WAN technology has remained unmoved for the best part of three decades. Traditional WAN architecture is increasingly unable to keep up with the demands of the digital workplace, however SSE Enterprise Telecoms’ SD-WAN will bring agility by minimising the need for expensive routing hardware and improving business connectivity between branch locations, the head office, and the cloud.

SSE Enterprise Telecoms’ SD-WAN solution can be offered flexibly, in line with the changing procurement demands of many modern businesses. The tool will enable network managers to deliver higher levels of application performance, directly supporting organisations on a digital transformation journey.

“We’re delighted to be partnering with Silver Peak and Axians to launch our very own SD-WAN solution”, said Stephen Lawrence, Sector Director for Enterprise, SSE Enterprise Telecoms. “It’s the next natural step in offering true digital transformation to UK enterprises. For us, SD-WAN is about providing a holistic view of an IT estate, having a secure and private network, enabling integrity, and a better end-user experience of application performance and availability, all whilst maximising uptime and benefitting from the efficiencies achieved”.

The partnership SSE Enterprise Telecoms selected, with Axians and technology partner Silver Peak, will support their relentless focus on customer satisfaction and delivering service excellence. The company currently maintains an external NPS score of +22.

Allan Paton, Sales Director, UK & Ireland, Silver Peak said: “At Silver Peak, we’re proud to be recognised for developing a business-driven WAN edge platform that is globally acknowledged for its quality. SSE Enterprise Telecoms’ impeccable customer service reputation makes them the ideal partner for future SD-WAN projects in a cloud-dependent world. Currently, there’s a big push for service providers to focus on opening up the network to improve business functionality and we’re pleased to collaborate to lead that initiative with our award-winning business-first SD-WAN technology.”

“There has never been a more exciting time than now when it comes to SD-WAN in the UK, and we’re proud to be working with connectivity market experts SSE Enterprise Telecoms.” Said Chris Gilmour, CTO of Service Provider and Enterprise, Axians UK “Axians know that legacy enterprise networks are inefficient for today’s traffic, where requirements place a need on accessing cloud-hosted applications from any branch; traditional backhaul adds latency which impairs cloud application performance. The work Axians are doing with SSE Enterprise Telecoms combined with Silver Peaks’ leading-edge technology shows that businesses can optimise the availability of clouds services in an agile and cost-effective way.”