The Benefits of Combining 5G Technology with an and SD-WAN Solution
November 24th, 2023 | 4 min. read
By Jordan Pioth
If your organization has a poor-performing network that makes it difficult for your employees to maximize their performance, it can lead to productivity issues and organizational inefficiency.
However, combining 5G technology with an SD-WAN solution can improve the performance and reliability of your network while enhancing your employees’ contributions.
No business can afford to utilize a poor-performing network especially when your employees rely on that network connection to perform their daily tasks.
Coeo knows how important a reliable network is to an organization and has delivered thousands of network solutions to organizations to improve their network reliability and performance and increase their employee productivity and efficiency levels.
We want you to understand the benefits of combining 5G technology with an SD-WAN solution so you can determine whether it is a better alternative for your organization.
By the end of this article, you will understand what 5G is, what SD-WAN is, the benefits of combining 5G technology with an SD-WAN solution, and whether it is the right solution for your organization.
What is 5G technology?
Fifth-generation (5G) internet is the latest iteration of cellular technology; an update from 4G. This technology is engineered to increase the speed and responsiveness of wireless networks.
5G technology is designed to achieve faster speeds by using a wireless broadband connection that can travel at multigigabit speeds.
Potential peak speeds with 5G internet can reach as high as 20 gigabits per second; much faster than 4G technology that typically produces speeds of up to 50 megabits per second.
Also, over the next few years, 5G is expected to release a variety of new applications using 5G connectivity for both residential and business use.
What is an SD-WAN solution?
Software Defined Wide-Area-Network (SD-WAN) is an overlay network that is built on top of underlying network connections such as fiber, LTE, MPLS, or broadband.
The solution is carrier agnostic meaning it can be leveraged using any number of underlying internet providers.
SD-WAN is applied as a software network of SD-WAN appliances, connected by encrypted tunnels. Data sent over an SD-WAN network is secure due to the encrypted tunnels it travels through.
An SD-WAN solution continuously monitors the availability and performance of each network service. This allows for data to be sent over the most reliable network.
4 Benefits of combining 5G technology and SD-WAN
5G is updated technology that can improve the performance and reliability of your network. An SD-WAN solution can connect your network over multiple connections in order to prevent downtime.
Combining these two technologies can provide many benefits including:
Faster speeds and minimal latency
Combining the fast speeds of 5G technology with an SD-WAN solution can result in faster network speeds and minimal latency.
SD-WAN solutions have intelligent traffic management allowing your network to use multiple connections to prevent downtime.
Combining 5G and SD-WAN results in faster data transfer rates improving collaboration with remote employees.
Reliable connectivity
5G technology can provide faster speeds and better reliability on its own. However, when you couple 5G with SD-WAN’s ability to reroute traffic to the most reliable and fastest connection it creates an even more reliable connection to your network.
Improved flexibility and scalability
An SD-WAN solution can improve the flexibility and scalability of your network on its own.
However, if you combine it with 5G technology, you can improve the flexibility and scalability even more since 5G’s updated technology allows it to adapt more quickly to change within the business.
This allows you to scale your network up by adding more users without the need for additional hardware installation and allows you to connect to your network from anywhere using the cloud.
Edge computing
Combining 5G technology and SD-WAN opens up new options for edge computing applications. The ability to place your SD-WAN solution at the edge can reduce latency and the distance your data needs to travel.
Is combining 5G with SD-WAN the right decision for your organization?
While both technologies are reliable and can strengthen your network on their own, combining them can improve the speed, reliability, and performance of your network.
If your organization has high network latency and is constantly being disconnected from the internet and your network, combining these two powerhouse technologies may be the right combination for your organization.
Additionally, if you are looking for better network scalability for your growing business, or you are looking to improve flexibility by connecting your employees working in remote locations, combining 5G with SD-WAN may be a good combination for your organization.
However, if your network infrastructure is up-to-date and you do not experience latency, you may not need to invest in 5G and SD-WAN.
Also, if your organization does not use a massive amount of data that causes bandwidth issues, you may not need to combine these technologies.
However, while you may not need to combine them, it may still be a good idea to research 5G technology and SD-WAN separately to determine if one of them may also enhance your network infrastructure.
Determining whether 5G and SD-WAN are a good combination for your organization
Now you understand what 5G technology is, what an SD-WAN solution is, the benefits of combining the two, and whether they’re the best combination for your organization.
With that information, you can now determine if either of these technologies is right for your organization.
No one wants to have poor network connectivity and latency issues. Having these challenges can decrease your organization’s productivity and lead to lost customers and revenue.
Combining 5G technology with an SD-WAN solution can address these issues and get your organization’s network performing at the level necessary to enable your employees to do their jobs more efficiently.
Coeo knows how important a reliable network connection is to an organization and has delivered network solutions to thousands of organizations to improve network reliability and speed.
We want you to understand the benefits of combining 5G technology with an SD-WAN solution so you can determine if they are a strong combination for your organization.
If you would like to speak with our team to learn more about 5G technology and SD-WAN solutions or ask any questions you may have you can schedule an appointment.
Now that you understand the benefits of combining 5G technology with SD-WAN solutions, check out this article to learn more about network security:
When he's not creating content for Coeo, Jordan loves to watch sports, hang out with friends and family, and anything sneaker-related.