How SDN Increases Application Security

As the global shift to cloud moves IT investment away from user-owned infrastructure to services delivered remotely, on-demand, the network between the end-user in their office and the ‘as-a-service’ hosting location has never been more important.

Although this shift from capex to opex has freed up resources, it has also introduced the potential for increased security risk. Although many enterprises are happy with application security, they have concerns about the security of accessing and downloading application data.

Networks aren’t all built the same

The internet can be just fine for non-critical tasks – and indeed SD-WAN can make great value out of the internet’s patchwork of networks. However, for mission-critical business applications, the general internet is usually not up to task.

The good news is that networking has evolved to keep up with the way cloud and XaaS is being consumed – when and where it’s needed, with far more flexibility than traditional telco services. We are now seeing the rapid expansion of the new breed of automated, software-defined interconnection to the clouds and beyond.

Survey shows security is SDN’s No.1 benefit

According to a 2018 Verizon survey of 165 senior IT leaders on their attitudes to software-defined networking (SDN), when asked what are the main benefits they’re targeting by moving to SDN, the number one pick – by over half of the respondents – was increased network security, followed by better application performance.

In fact, as network architectures become more complex, and human error becomes more of a concern, it is the way SDN automates the network and reduces human intervention that enhances security.

Another cyber-security benefit comes from SDN providers like Console Connect that deliver data over dedicated infrastructure, physically separate from the general internet. This is in contrast to SDN providers who have to rent bandwidth from carriers, and the inevitable performance issues if they under-book or over-commit their hired bandwidth.

If your network can meet your requirements for security and performance, that’s all the more reason to put your trust in the cloud.