How Network Performance Monitoring Secures IT Operations

SD-WAN is designed to deliver flexibility, scalability, and cost savings for organizations that require direct-to-cloud connectivity and security, especially those with multiple branches and remote sites. However, distributed organizations face the complexity of managing diverse environments, maintaining performance visibility, and securing remote connectivity. Without proper network performance monitoring, fully realizing the benefits of SD-WAN can be difficult.  

Here are five key network performance monitoring benefits that SD-WAN delivers to help overcome these challenges and ensure successful deployment:

1- Early Problem Identification and Troubleshooting

2- Monitoring and Enhancing Application Performance

3- Efficient Routing and Traffic Control

4- Increasing Security  

5- Simplified IT Operations 

Five key network performance monitoring benefits SD-WAN delivers

1- Early Problem Identification and Troubleshooting

Continuous network performance inspection helps identify issues early before they lead to disruptions like degraded performance, service outages, or security threats. At branch sites, common causes include WAN congestion, faulty hardware, or malicious activity such as DDoS attacks. With automated notifications and anomaly detection, IT teams can quickly spot and respond to issues, minimizing downtime and ensuring a better user experience.

2- Monitoring and Enhancing Application Performance

Because SD-WAN prioritizes application traffic over less critical services, network performance monitoring should include application-level metrics to ensure mission-critical apps perform optimally. This is especially important for branch sites, where SD-WAN can identify applications and prioritize traffic based on types such as VoIP or cloud-based apps. Visibility into application performance ensures that issues in one app do not impact others, maintaining consistent service quality for mission-critical applications.

3- Efficient Routing and Traffic Control

SD-WAN uses intelligent routing to direct traffic over the most efficient path—whether via MPLS, broadband, LTE, or other WAN connections. Network performance monitoring enhances this by enabling dynamic path selection, which tracks the performance of different routes in real time to choose the most reliable path based on metrics like latency or packet loss. It also supports performance-based traffic steering, automatically rerouting traffic if a path degrades, ensuring consistent application performance without manual intervention.

4- Increasing Security  

Monitoring network performance also enhances security by continuously analyzing network behavior for signs of potential threats. For branch sites using SD-WAN, this should include traffic analysis to detect anomalies such as large outbound data transfers or connections to unusual destinations that may signal a breach or malware activity. Integrating advanced security features like intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDS/IPS) further improves security. With increased traffic visibility, IT teams can fine-tune SD-WAN security policies to block malicious or unauthorized traffic more effectively, strengthening overall protection.

5- Simplified IT Operations

As branch sites increasingly rely on SD-WAN for direct-to-cloud connectivity, IT operations can become more complex with network expansion. Network performance monitoring helps simplify this by enabling centralized management and monitoring, giving IT teams a single pane of glass to oversee all SD-WAN connections and branch networks. Automated notifications further reduce manual intervention by flagging issues as they arise. This consolidation and automation streamline IT operations, allowing teams to shift from constant troubleshooting to more strategic initiatives.

How Forcepoint network solutions provide visibility and control

By ensuring visibility into network performance, identifying underutilized resources and optimizing traffic management, IT teams can enhance application performance, improve security and streamline operations. With minimal downtime and optimal performance, businesses can avoid disruptions and improve both productivity and customer satisfaction, leading to a more efficient and secure SD-WAN deployment.

Forcepoint Secure SD-WAN simplifies IT operations by providing centralized, real-time monitoring into network traffic and application health, enabling administrators to detect and resolve issues before they escalate. With intelligent routing, traffic is dynamically steered across the most efficient paths to optimize performance and reduce costs. Dynamic Application Steering ensures bandwidth is prioritized for mission-critical apps, enhancing overall network efficiency. Security is strengthened through Encrypted Traffic Inspection and multi-layer inspection, offering advanced threat detection, granular control over encrypted connections, and comprehensive protection across all sites.