There’s no question that use cases focused around the infrastructure edge are driving serious innovation in many enterprises. Companies in most industries are moving more of their services to the cloud and supporting a more dispersed set of users and devices. At the same time, private 4G and 5G networks are maturing and delivering wireless connectivity to end users that’s powered by a new level of performance. Enterprises are transforming their WANs so they can take advantage of the latest advances in edge computing and data center modernization.
We’re already seeing some of the benefits of these game-changing trends across industries, through use cases including:
Industry 4.0 manufacturing: We’ve seen some of the strongest innovation in private mobility applications in the Industry 4.0 space. Manufacturers are pioneering use cases for autonomous guided vehicles, AR/VR for “digital twin” repairs, and other applications. For example, a repair technician could don a set of goggles with a built-in display to troubleshoot malfunctioning equipment. Without having to reach for a manual or leave their station during every step, the tech can view documentation and stream expert guidance to fix the issue. A 5G private network delivers the wireless connectivity.
Delivery robots: Colleges and universities are employing delivery robots to make campus dining and shopping more enjoyable and convenient. If students are studying for finals and feeling hungry, they can order a small meal and a cup of coffee from a nearby café, using a phone app. The coffee shop packs up the order and places it on a delivery robot, which travels down the street and drops it off at the student’s dorm. This door-to-door service is powered by connectivity to a 4G or 5G private mobility network.
Extending mining communications: Safety is top of mind in the mining industry and nonstop communications are key. But keeping in touch with workers deep underground isn’t easy. Wired connections obviously aren’t practical, and Wi-Fi has coverage and interference issues. Private mobility technology like 4G and 5G can keep those mines connected to the central operational side as workers go about doing their daily jobs.
Exceptional use cases require exceptional connectivity
These use cases showcase a new level of mobile performance, but they also have connectivity requirements that go well beyond Wi-Fi. For example, Industry 4.0 manufacturing application places new demands on:
Scalability to support thousands or tens of thousands of endpoints, including temperature, humidity, and other sensors on industrial equipment
Reliability to ensure that connectivity is continuous. An uninterrupted flow of data from the factory floor to the enterprise from the factory floor must be maintained to avoid outages that could jeopardize worker safety
Low latency to support applications like AR/VR that require rich streaming, as well as autonomous guided vehicles with precision, agility, and millisecond-level responsiveness
Throughput for high-definition streaming for multiple security cameras and other devices, each of which could require up to 200 Mbps uplinks for live factory floor video
Differentiated SLA capabilities to ensure high bandwidth and minimal latency for devices that need it most, such as vehicles and video streaming devices, compared to identification badges and other less demanding devices
Precise positioning and location sensitivity to support mobile devices such as robots picking up and moving goods in warehouses and retail environments, ensuring that the right goods are delivered to the right customers and locations
Security to protect business communications, customer information, and other sensitive data from bad actors who may listen in or tamper with the mobile traffic
Edge computing to tailor and support highly specific application requirements for quality control, predictive maintenance, and other business processes
Bringing it all together
It’s clear that private mobile technologies like 4G/5G networks have plenty of potential to drive some exciting business outcomes, but to fully unlock these applications, organizations need to bring together the best of two worlds. VMware SD-WAN™ provides a WAN optimization layer, along with an optimized application delivery platform. When paired with VMware private mobile network solutions, you can extend these capabilities into the enterprise.
To take advantage of private 4G/5G networks, enterprises not only need to provide wireless connectivity to the end user, but also high performance and guaranteed SLAs at every WAN edge site. Private networks have unique traffic prioritization requirements within the same network slice to meet the SLAs of certain critical use cases. VMware SD-WAN, along with private connectivity solutions, helps you tackle these unique challenges with policy-based application prioritization in the SD-WAN overlay network, utilizing the highly secure underlay cellular 4G/5G private network.
VMware SASE™ brings it all together with a cloud-delivered solution that provides application-quality assurance, intrinsic security, and simplified operations. VMware SASE supports a multi-tenant operations model, enabling you to support the customized SLA guarantees you need for specialized private networking applications. Additionally, it helps you take advantage of a small on-premises footprint that keeps your fixed costs low, with value-added services delivered from a SASE PoP.
If you’d like to learn a lot more about how VMware SD-WAN can help you unleash the full potential of advanced edge applications, check out our video from VMworld 2021, VMware SD-WAN with Private Connectivity for Enterprise. Ram Venketaramani, Sr. Director of Solutions Management at VMware, and Kishan Ramaswamy, Sr. Manager, Product Management at VMware, will show you how VMware SD-WAN and VMware SASE work together to provide security, flexibility, and scalability for use cases built around private connectivity.
