Check Point, a VMware technology partner, recently announced the launch of a branch office security solution that will help transform enterprise branch office connectivity with cloud-delivered security services. VMware SD-WAN™ by VeloCloud® is a leader in setting industry benchmarks for performance, scale and security and collaborates with best of breed security providers, such as Check Point. Securing SD-WAN connections to the cloud is essential in helping enterprises combat today’s advanced cyber threats.
As more applications move from the data center to the cloud, enterprise users increasingly rely on these applications to do their daily jobs. These SaaS applications range from productivity software, like Office 365, to file-sharing applications, like Box, and virtual meeting and collaboration tools, like Zoom and Slack. Applications that include voice and video require consistent, high-quality bandwidth. For IT organizations that are managing remote users and branch offices, it can be a challenge to accommodate these needs in a way that’s efficient, secure, and cost effective.
Traditional Wide Area Network (WAN) architectures weren’t designed to support cloud and SaaS applications. Previously, enterprises sent branch traffic to the data center on expensive leased MPLS lines to be secured before reaching the Internet. Routing internet traffic through the data center increased costs and caused cloud applications to have latency issues that negatively impacted the user experience. Local broadband and wireless connections were available, but they were often unreliable and didn’t provide the guaranteed bandwidth needed for voice and video applications. Now there’s a better option.
SD-WAN Intelligently Manages Branch Internet Connections to Optimize SaaS Performance
As enterprises move their branch applications to the cloud, they are adopting Software Defined Wide Area Networking (SD-WAN) to intelligently route traffic directly to the internet without passing it through the data center. SD-WAN brings enterprise-level manageability, performance, and reliability across branch offices. This enables enterprises to support branch office application growth and streamline access to cloud services and private data centers, regardless of the transport mechanism, including broadband Internet, wireless and MPLS lines.
Branch SD-WAN Security Risks Increase with Local Internet Broadband and Wireless Connections
Connecting branch offices directly to the internet significantly increases their security risk and
security management costs. Branches are no longer protected by centralized data center security, which exposes them and the enterprise WAN to sophisticated multi-vector Gen V cyber-attacks. Enterprises could deploy traditional security gateway appliances in all branch offices to protect Internet traffic. This would provide the maximum security for all branch offices, but some locations may not have the local IT resources to support them. Enterprises need additional security solutions that can be quickly deployed across all branch offices, are always up to date with the latest security, and can be seamlessly integrated with existing routers or SD-WAN solutions.
Check Point and VMware Assure Security and Performance
Check Point and VMware SD-WAN have partnered to jointly assure the performance and security of enterprise and cloud applications over the Internet and hybrid-WAN, while dramatically simplifying deployments and reducing costs.
VMware SD-WAN is an overlay solution between VMware SD-WAN Edge devices in distributed sites or data centers and cloud-hosted VMware SD-WAN Gateways. The overlay is independent of physical transport and providers, enabling unified control and visibility, business level abstraction and incremental migration. The key benefits include:
Assured application performance: VMware SD-WAN Dynamic Multipath Optimization™ (DMPO) with application-aware, per-packet steering and on-demand remediation assures transport-independent performance for demanding, real-time applications.
Simplified WAN via business policy automation: VMware SD-WAN can be deployed as zero-touch appliances, virtual appliances, or hosted as multitenant services platforms. Business-level policies enable one-click, policy-based service chaining of traffic (e.g. Check Point Firewall insertion) to enterprise service hubs on the branch edge or in the cloud.
Managed cloud on-ramp: VMware SD-WAN’s system of cloud Gateways uniquely provides a managed cloud on-ramp. Unlike “best effort” direct branch-to-cloud alternatives, the full capabilities of VMware SD-WAN are deployed at the doorstep of cloud apps and provide optimized and secure connectivity to SaaS, IaaS and network or cloud security services.
Working together with partners like Check Point, VMware SD-WAN accommodates the needs of even the most security sensitive businesses, providing corporate IT the security, compliance and control it needs.
Attend one of our upcoming Check Point and VMware webinars on October 15th at 9:00 am (NAM) or Oct 17th at 1:00 am (EMEA) to learn more about Securing Your Branch Office SD-WAN Connectivity to the Cloud. To hear Check Point’s point of view on our partnership, check out their blog. You can also read about our secure cloud-delivered SD-WAN in our joint solution brief.
Check Point, a VMware technology partner, recently announced the launch of a branch office security solution that will help transform enterprise branch office connectivity with cloud-delivered security services. VMware SD-WAN™ by VeloCloud® is a leader in setting industry benchmarks for performance, scale and security and collaborates with best of breed security providers, such as Check Point. Securing SD-WAN connections to the cloud is essential in helping enterprises combat today’s advanced cyber threats.
