Enterprise network topology has radically evolved over the last decade.
The accelerated adoption of cloud services has introduced critical new considerations for business network performance, security, and agility.
In this blog, we explore the impact of digital transformation on corporate networks and how to balance the reliability of MPLS with the flexibility of the public internet for optimal cloud connectivity.
The accelerated adoption of cloud services has introduced critical new considerations for business network performance, security, and agility.
In this blog, we explore the impact of digital transformation on corporate networks and how to balance the reliability of MPLS with the flexibility of the public internet for optimal cloud connectivity.
The Impact of Digital Transformation on Enterprise Networks
Cloud maturity has led to widespread reliance on applications hosted by dedicated providers and a significant migration from on-premise data centers to public cloud environments.
This rapid shift has left many organizations unknowingly dependent on best-effort public internet connections to access business-critical cloud instances.
This happens for three key reasons:
Convenience: Public internet is readily available.
Cost: It often appears cheaper than private connectivity.
Shadow IT: SaaS adoption frequently occurs without the IT department’s knowledge.
The appeal of SaaS and PaaS (Platform-as-a-Service) grew because they allowed employees to bypass traditional procurement and start using new services instantly.
While enterprises may have dozens of “official” apps like Office 365, the number of “unofficial” tools like Trello or Slack used by individual teams can run into the thousands.
This new reality exists alongside legacy on-premise applications, creating a complex hybrid environment that traditional WANs were not built to handle.
This rapid shift has left many organizations unknowingly dependent on best-effort public internet connections to access business-critical cloud instances.
This happens for three key reasons:
Convenience: Public internet is readily available.
Cost: It often appears cheaper than private connectivity.
Shadow IT: SaaS adoption frequently occurs without the IT department’s knowledge.
The appeal of SaaS and PaaS (Platform-as-a-Service) grew because they allowed employees to bypass traditional procurement and start using new services instantly.
While enterprises may have dozens of “official” apps like Office 365, the number of “unofficial” tools like Trello or Slack used by individual teams can run into the thousands.
This new reality exists alongside legacy on-premise applications, creating a complex hybrid environment that traditional WANs were not built to handle.
Why Traditional Connectivity Was Not Designed for the Cloud
For decades, MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching) has been the gold standard for enterprise WANs. It provided a robust, private network for connecting branches to each other and the central data center.
The Benefits of MPLS:
• Low Latency: Offers optimal routing for superior application performance.
• Enhanced Security: A private network connection inherently bolsters security.
• Guaranteed Performance: Provides sufficient bandwidth and managed jitter.
Conversely, the public internet is a convenient and affordable way to provide access, but it fails to meet enterprise requirements for security, reliability, and performance.
The Shortcomings of Public Internet:
Best-Effort Service: A patchwork of networks with no performance guarantees.
Unpredictable Performance: Cannot guarantee latency, jitter, or consistent pathing.
Security Risks: Lacks the inherent private security of a dedicated connection.
This makes the public internet unsuitable for mission-critical applications, data center interconnects, and accessing key cloud assets.
Simply adding more Dedicated Internet Access (DIA) lines or extending your MPLS network often fails to deliver the cloud-optimized performance you need.
The Modern Solution: MPLS, Revived as XaaS with Agile Connectivity
MPLS struggles with the cloud’s dynamic nature because it requires pre-configured endpoints and end-to-end management—something not possible with assets owned by other organizations in public clouds.
The core challenges with traditional MPLS are:
Lack of Agility: Long procurement cycles and rigid multi-year contracts.
Slow Deployment: New site deployments can take weeks or months.
High Cost: Expensive on a cost-per-megabit basis.
This is where XaaS (Anything-as-a-Service) connectivity models become a game-changer.
The core challenges with traditional MPLS are:
Lack of Agility: Long procurement cycles and rigid multi-year contracts.
Slow Deployment: New site deployments can take weeks or months.
High Cost: Expensive on a cost-per-megabit basis.
This is where XaaS (Anything-as-a-Service) connectivity models become a game-changer.
How XaaS Solve the Problem
XaaS connectivity transforms unwieldy network management to match the agility of the cloud. It enables real-time deployment, seamless scaling, and support for diverse workloads on a private, dedicated network.
Key advantages of an XaaS model include:
On-Demand Agility: Set up and scale bandwidth between assets in near real-time.
Direct Cloud Connectivity: Establish MPLS-like, private links directly to major SaaS and cloud providers.
Cost-Effective Flexibility: Perfect for temporary needs, like a short-term project requiring a high-capacity link to a cloud provider. Use and pay for connectivity only when you need it.
Direct Cloud Connectivity: Establish MPLS-like, private links directly to major SaaS and cloud providers.
Cost-Effective Flexibility: Perfect for temporary needs, like a short-term project requiring a high-capacity link to a cloud provider. Use and pay for connectivity only when you need it.
Are you ready to optimize your network for the cloud era?
Balancing performance, security, and cost doesn’t have to be a compromise.
Explore our connectivity solutions from GOIP that provide the reliability of MPLS with the agility of the internet.
Explore our connectivity solutions from GOIP that provide the reliability of MPLS with the agility of the internet.
