WAN
A Wide Area Network (WAN) is a network that spans a large geographic area. Whether across a city, a county or across several countries, and that connects multiple Local Area Networks (LAN).
The network inside a business office, for instance in Oxford, would likely be a Local Area Network (LAN). The same business may have another office in Aberdeen, for instance, that could again have a LAN. If those two networks were then connected you would have a wide area network. The parts of a WAN could potentially be anywhere in the World. There is also no limit to the number of LAN that can connect to each other. No matter what the WAN joins together or how far apart the networks are, the result is always intended to allow different smaller networks in different locations to communicate with one another.
A business may have a WAN that consists of connections to its headquarters, branch offices and cloud services. This enables data sharing between locations and can save having to install resources such as a server on each site. Instead of each site for instance having its own server, each site accesses the resource at one central site.
A wide area network is generally private and is used to connect different sites of a business to each other. But they can be used to connect any networks together. The basis of the internet itself is a wide area network connecting millions of smaller networks together to allow communication across them.
Whether you need more information, need help planning a WAN or need to review your existing WAN, to see what we can do for you please contact us.
MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching)
MPLS is a private, carrier-managed network technology where traffic is routed using short labels rather than long network addresses, delivering fast and highly predictable performance. It was historically considered the gold standard for enterprise connectivity.
MPLS is a legacy solution for most SMEs. Unless you have specific regulatory or latency requirements, the cost and inflexibility are hard to justify when SD-WAN delivers comparable or better results at a fraction of the price.
SD-WAN (Software-Defined WAN)
SD-WAN is a modern approach that uses software to intelligently manage and route traffic across multiple connection types — broadband, 4G/5G, leased lines — from a single centralised dashboard. It was effectively built for organisations like UK multi-site SMEs.
SD-WAN software sits on top of standard internet connections at each site. It monitors link quality in real time and automatically routes each type of traffic via the best available path. A Teams call might take a different route to a file download, ensuring both get the performance they need.
Key Benefits For UK SMEs
Cost:
Speed:
Cloud-ready:
Resilience:
Centralised management:
Scalability:
PSTN switch-off ready:
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Slow internet or connection issues
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VoIP, hosted telephony, call recording and reporting
Moving premises or reviewing your current supplier
Switching with minimal disruption to your business