How AI-powered SD-WAN enables more resilient and efficient networks
SD-WAN and AI are a natural fit, delivering enhanced network resiliency, responsiveness, and efficiency. Here is what AI-driven network operations look like.
Gartner predicts that by 2027 roughly 70% of network operators will use generative AI for Day 2 SD-WAN management. In early 2024 that figure was 5%. Together those numbers paint a clear picture: AI is a game-changer, and network operators will increasingly seek AI-focused SD-WAN platforms.
What capabilities will those platforms offer? Here is how SD-WAN is embracing AI to deliver best-in-class network performance.
Streamlined network management
Enterprise networks used to be simple: a few workstations, a firewall, maybe a server or two. Modern SD-WANs are sprawling ecosystems of endpoints, users, applications, and data flows. The traffic alone is too much for an operator to track unassisted.
An AI-driven SD-WAN platform ingests data from across the entire network to run proactive traffic management. It predicts spikes and automatically adjusts routing, resources, and policies to compensate. The same capability powers predictive maintenance, so human operators only get involved when the AI encounters something it genuinely cannot handle.
Improved network security
Like an immune system, AI-powered SD-WAN automatically identifies, analyzes, and remediates potential threats. It dynamically applies and enforces policies around models like Zero Trust Network Access, adding a further barrier for attackers. And it operates 24x7, keeping everything safe when an attack lands outside business hours. Security teams spend less time investigating and more time improving posture.
Effortless troubleshooting
AI is not infallible and does not replace human expertise. Even the most sophisticated platform will occasionally need human intervention, but that intervention does not have to be painful. AI-driven SD-WAN pairs extensive telemetry with analytics to give operators comprehensive insight into performance and aid root cause analysis. Some platforms propose remediation steps directly.
Zero-touch provisioning
Configuration and deployment no longer need to be a time sink. Instead of logging in and configuring each device, administrators create templates that automatically apply the correct settings to each newly provisioned system. A process that once took hours, days, or weeks can be reduced to minutes.
What the future holds
These capabilities share one natural endpoint: fully autonomous SD-WANs. Dynamic, self-directed networks that require far less human intervention. Tsinghua University in Beijing launched the world's first Level 4 autonomous network a full decade sooner than expected, and platforms like Juniper Mist already give operators unprecedented visibility and control through AI, machine learning, and data science.
Embrace smarter SD-WAN with Momentum
Thanks to AI, SD-WAN has evolved past basic abstraction and manual optimization. Zero-touch provisioning makes it easier to deploy. Self-healing and self-optimizing behaviour makes it more reliable and cost-effective. And it autonomously protects itself against changing threats. Momentum delivers AI-powered SD-WAN as a fully managed service. Schedule a meeting to see how we can help.
