WAN Optimization as a Service on the Rise

“A tech-support call starts it all,” says industry observer JohnBrandon, who certainly sounds like he knows what he’s dealt with a few of these perennial questions: “Why is my application running slow? What happened to my spreadsheet data? Is HQ using a 56K modem to handle traffic for my branch office -- again?”

And then, as he says, “the number of calls suddenly increases, and network analysis reveals unforeseen usage spikes at a new marketing location. The dream of data-center consolidation turns into a nightmare.”
So what to do? Brandon discusses WAN optimization as a way to address “slow application performance over sagging, slow and overused networks.” The problem, he notes, comes in when companies are so distributed, “implementing a comprehensive strategy to resolve network congestion issues isn't easy. In addition, upgrading switches and carrier lines can be prohibitively expensive.”
As TMC’s (News - Alert) Susan J. Campbell wrote earlier this month, “think about the implications of limited bandwidth within the enterprise. The end user will only pay attention to how well their information processes through the available space – how fast are they able to work? They won’t notice a limited WAN pipe, replication issues or lax backup. It is up to the IT manager to ensure that performance is as expected at all times.”
So what to do? “Enter managed WAN optimization services. A host of providers including AT&T, BT Global Services (News - Alert) and Verizon Business have beefed up their managed-services portfolios with options for boosting application performance over their networks.”
The services, as Brandon explains, “perform the same duties as a WAN optimization appliance from such companies as Citrix Systems, Riverbed (News - Alert) Technology or Silver Peak Systems, yet offload the installation, configuration and maintenance chores to the hosted provider.”
The benefits, he says, include the fact that managed WAN optimization as a service “addresses unresponsive applications, slow transmissions and network congestion; more and more they also are providing relief for companies that don't have a dedicated network-optimization staff or the time to tweak applications for improved performance.”