One of the reasons that today’s networks are pretty much “invisible” to most users, consumers and businesses alike, is that they “just work”: data flows to and from mobile devices, across continents, bounces off satellites and jumps through multiple network exchange points, cellphone masts, and Wi-Fi repeaters.

That obliviousness to the network infrastructure will hopefully continue, given that we are entrusting increasing swathes of our lives to the network. Once 5G becomes widespread, and IoT and autonomous transport systems function on top, we will literally be trusting our lives on the reliability and performance of the network.

One of the companies that has pioneered the building of national and global networks that support the critical infrastructures of nations and supplies the top 50 communication service providers in the world is Nokia. Although its historical public face as a cellphone manufacturer will be first to be recalled by many, IT professionals will be aware of the Finnish company’s decades-long history in industrial frameworks and foundational technologies.

Built on Nokia technology and know-how, Nuage Networks is helping a new generation of businesses of all shapes, sizes and nationalities transform their network infrastructure to ensure that it plays an irreplaceable part of the organization. With Nuage Networks, the network will no longer be a cost drain, but the enabler of the business’s very lifeblood.

Nuage helps companies transform their network by taking the concepts of traditional software-defined networking (SDN) technology that’s increasingly commonplace in the on-premise data centre and public cloud, and deploy it across the enterprise’s WAN in the form of software-defined wide-area networking (SD-WAN).

The unique nature of the Nuage Networks platform, the Virtualized Services Platform (VSP), enables SD-WAN as well as SDN inside the data centre. This results in one management platform deployed for the entire network— that’s because the solution is entirely network agnostic, and is extensible by users in ways that are not prescribed or limited.

The Nuage Networks VSP enables agility, scalability and flexibility in the data centre, and from there, right out across the WAN to remote branch users — the type of solution that modern businesses need.

If your organization is cloud-centric (or moving towards a cloud-first approach, for example), then a reassessment of the business’s thinking about what might be a 20-year old network design is probably in order.

New network hardware acquisitions like standalone routers, remotely managed switches and packet shapers (optimizers) may well represent the cutting edge as single proprietary devices, but the underlying concepts and practicalities of the broader network may be a dozen of years out of date.

It’s worth noting that unlike some of its SD-WAN and network management competitors, the Nuage VSP platform does not rely on proprietary appliances or codebases. The Nuage Networks SD-WAN stack operates on the hardware and systems you already have and continue to trust.

That means there’s no need to reskill dedicated staff, find new suppliers, adopt new working processes, or see costs ramp up as your procurement and staff strive to provide an agile, controllable service.

The VSPs agnosticism extends to the solution itself, which is extensible in any way you may wish. Additional third-party tools can be deployed alongside or on top of the Nokia routing stack that is used in the VSP, using the same hardware and OS.

Hardware elements can be swapped out with commodity, off-the-shelf replacements with no lengthy service interruptions — and control over the whole is seamless.

Nuage Networks preferred consumption model is through a managed SD-WAN service from one of their trusted CSP partners. Through these services the platform can be co-managed in-house by your staff to the degree that they feel comfortable, or the CSP partner can offer various levels of support, from fully-managed NaaS to occasional support, to in-depth consultative processes and on-going development.

It’s worth re-iterating that the Nuage Networks SD-WAN is not a “burn down and start again” type of product, and that realistic, business-grounded ethos extends to the company’s capabilities of working with any existing network hardware, software or technology.

Overall, SD-WAN’s capabilities of ensuring an enterprise-grade network are accomplished with data security entrenched in the solution, from individual packet level to the top-most OSI layers. Because Nuage and Nokia already run mission-critical infrastructures all over the world (from national cellphone networks and fixed broadband internet to airports, railways and medical facilities), Nuage is the company to trust.

Whether you’re revising your multi-site topology or are having to ingest new networks after an acquisition or merger, Nuage Networks has the provenance and experience to be a canonical source.

To learn more about what SD-WAN solution might be required in your specific circumstances, get in touch with Nuage Networks today.