Secure Networking Options for Small & Medium Businesses

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Secure Networking Options for Small & Medium Businesses

Eric Swanstrom
• January 24, 2024

Get enterprise-grade SD-WAN & SASE solutions optimized for your business.

Prioritizing Technology

Over the last several years, small and medium businesses (SMBs) have steadily invested in technology improvements, including connectivity, Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), and network security. Often, SMBs are able to pivot more easily than enterprise, and this agility helps when surveying the latest options for secure networking solutions. As digital business continues to innovate, many SMBs are well positioned to take advantage of current technology offerings to upgrade their network infrastructure and to boost their cybersecurity readiness.

Cost and Resource Challenges

When it comes to networking and security, small and medium businesses often face specific challenges around affordability, in-house IT resources, implementation, and ongoing management of their services. Networking innovation has traditionally brought with it a cost, resource, and time burden that has discouraged some SMBs from upgrading or expanding business connectivity services as readily as they might like. To stay ahead of the competition, SMBs should assess which of the latest innovations are the right investment for their unique business needs.

Secure Networking for All

Historically, network innovations have been aimed at global enterprise. But, these days, with companies of all sizes relying on SaaS applications and cloud to run their businesses, secure networking is a not a luxury but a requirement for every organization. Whether one location or multiple standalone locations, today’s small business demands a secure, high performance network to keep employees and customers connected. Secure network solutions including connectivity, SD-WAN, SASE, managed network services, and threat monitoring are now designed to meet the price and performance requirements of SMBs. Because secure, fast, reliable connectivity is critical to every business.

SD-WAN & SASE Tailored to SMB

In the last year, several SD-WAN and SASE offerings aimed at SMBs have hit the market, delivering better options for small business to improve security and productivity across the network. Small and medium businesses with either a single location or multiple standalone locations now have enterprise-grade solutions from which to choose their next technology investment, with features including:

Affordable per/site pricing
Innovations for network security, multi-cloud connectivity, and threat monitoring
High performance connectivity for accessing cloud and SaaS applications from public internet
Advanced security capabilities, including threat monitoring and 24/7 SOC
Managed services providing installation, deployment, and 24/7 support

Finding the Best Path Forward

With choices and quality running the gamut, it is important to define your unique business goals and to consider the support of an experienced, single-source technology provider when researching potential technology investments. Not all SD-WAN and SASE solutions will be a good fit for every SMB, so assess, test, and choose from the options that would best meet your requirements. The right technology upgrades for your business are those that align with your budget and business plan, allowing you to invest wisely and to continue achieving your goals.

Find out how we helped a fast-growing startup find the right hyperscale data center for their business.

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