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Can SD-WAN replace Internet VPN?

Can SD-WAN replace Internet VPN?
Can SD-WAN Replace Internet VPN?
SD-WAN is a modern, more secure alternative to traditional internet VPNs, offering enhanced capabilities for cloud-based environments and evolving security needs.SD-WAN is a modern, more secure alternative to traditional internet VPNs, offering enhanced capabilities for cloud-based environments and evolving security needs.

SD-WAN is a good option to replace a basic internet VPN service. In many ways, SD-WAN is an evolution of the standard IPSec VPN service, which is still used today to meet specific or simple requirements. IPSec remains a popular encryption security option for site-to-site or user-to-user requirements where there is no breakout to the public internet. For example, when an IPSec VPN is configured as "VPN-only," all unauthenticated traffic is dropped, resulting in a secure tunnel between endpoints.

Can SD-WAN Replace Internet VPN?
Can SD-WAN Replace Internet VPN?

IPSec VPNs were widely adopted by enterprise businesses before the introduction of smartphones and public cloud applications. As a result, Enterprise VPN architecture requirements were much simpler, often resulting in a single breakout to the internet from a designated data centre or branch office location.

However, in today's world, users require constant access to public cloud resources through phones, tablets, and laptops. This transition to a cloud-based world has resulted in increasingly sophisticated threats to data from hacking. SD-WAN is designed to meet these demands head-on by implementing highly secure feature sets that are consistently updated via the cloud.

Internet VPN
SD-WAN
Basic site-to-site communication.
Feature rich with dynamic tunnel setup and the ability to steer traffic over any Internet circuit.
Low cost and easy to implement from almost any device or application.
The vendor or service provider market is competitive and can be difficult to understand the landscape.
Good for IoT where hardware simply needs to communicate with a server, i.e. to request more stock.
SD-WAN can be used across hardware, virtualised instances and applications with a fully featured Enterprise hardened configuration.
VPN only configuration.
Where requirements involve both secure communications and access to the Internet, SD-WAN with SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) and SSE (Security Service Edge) offers significant benefits.
Robert Sturt
Managing Director

Robert Sturt is a leading expert in SD-WAN and enterprise network solutions with extensive experience in telecommunications and network infrastructure. As a Forbes Business Council member and contributor to TechTarget, he provides strategic insights on network transformation and digital connectivity solutions. His expertise spans SD-WAN implementation, network security, and enterprise digital transformation initiatives.

Fact-checked by: Harry Yelland - Cybersecurity Writer, Netify