Cisco SD-WAN: The Crossroads of Enterprise and IoT

The Internet of Things (IoT) has revolutionized the way businesses operate by enhancing processes through real-time data relays that empower your remote and on-prem operations. The range of IoT’s capabilities is endless and regardless of the industry, there is a good chance that IoT devices are integral to your business. The intricacy that comes with an IoT network is no joke – luckily, Cisco SD-WAN comes ready to simplify many of the complexities associated with IoT device management.

In my last blog, we scratched the surface of how Cisco SD-WAN can help secure, observe, and manage IoT deployments of varying sizes. Today, however, we will be focusing on three use cases and explaining how Cisco SD-WAN provides a path to enhanced management and observability while connecting your Enterprise and IoT networks.

Use Case #1: Non-Carpeted Device Connectivity

The Internet of Things has transformed the way networks operate – in certain instances, an IoT network will have remote assets spread out over thousands of miles. The flow of information from IoT devices installed in equipment such as kiosks, POS systems, ATMs, and pipelines generate terabytes of data that require proper management to ensure that traffic is optimized in a way that is cost-efficient for your business. Simplified provisioning on Cisco SD-WAN allows you to reduce costs by applying template-based management of configurations and security policies to potentially large groups of similar IoT devices across geographic regions.

Connectivity to non-carpeted IoT devices is made possible with the Cisco Catalyst IR 1100 and IR 1800 Rugged Series Router – these series of routers come ‘SD-WAN ready’ and provide a collection of capabilities that ensure IoT devices in the field are securely connected to your enterprise network. vManage, Cisco’s SD-WAN’s main dashboard, provides visibility to ensure that the devices connected to your enterprise network, in both traditional spaces and industrial settings are always monitored. VManage also allows you to onboard devices automatically to ensure that your network can scale at the same speed as your business.

Use Case #2: Managing Your Fleets of Vehicles

Regardless of the type of business, you are involved in, fleet management comes with a plethora of obstacles that stem from copious amounts of actionable data being delivered to various locations. Between fuel consumption, estimated arrival times, route planning, and driver behavior, the amount of information collected oftentimes can become overwhelming. The case for Cisco SD-WAN and its ability to streamline fleet management is built around the benefits of both observability and security.

In an instance of IoT devices in fleet vehicles, Cisco SD-WAN allows you to segment your network into VLANs or possible VRFs which effectively limit access to non-essential functions of a user’s role. For example, those in charge of maintenance and service cannot see information regarding routing and logistics, the same way those who oversee finance cannot see information pertaining to driver behavior. This provides peace of mind for those on the security side while simplifying the day-to-day life of those on the operations side.

The second key capability that Cisco SD-WAN offers is observability centered around operational insights and enhanced visibility of your IoT devices. Cisco SD-WAN enables your team to monitor and manage the performance of IoT routers and applications from your main campus, wherever they may reside. Through the vManage dashboard, you can monitor cloud-native applications and employee devices alongside the IoT devices in your network so that you never miss a beat. To complement this, Cisco Catalyst IR 1100 and IR 1800 Routers are FirstNet ready and come equipped with modular LTE and 5G backup so that your fleet can stay online all the time.

Use Case #3: Roadways and Intersections

There are 4.17 million statute miles of roadways across the United States and every day billions of IoT devices at intersections and alongside highways work around the clock to protect commuters, first responders, and roadways workers operating on our critical infrastructure. The challenge of managing and optimizing legacy equipment on our roadways while also planning and advancing roadway developments can be simplified with Cisco SD-WAN.

The ability to add new IoT devices to a pervasive network while ensuring the integrity of legacy devices is made possible through a seamless onboarding experience via vManage and the power of the Cisco router capabilities. Lastly, the ability to push enterprise security policies down to roadways devices ensures the integrity of our roadways infrastructure.

Cisco SD-WAN allows operators to manage multiple remote roadways sites and onboard new devices seamlessly while also conveniently allowing you to manage these devices from a customizable dashboard console. Cisco vManage is the dashboard that powers our SD-WAN products and allows you to see real-time data for network performance so that downtime can be avoided – which in terms of critical infrastructure could mean life or death.

IoT Device Management Made Simple

The IoT devices that your business deploys are often considered mission-critical, which means the ability to extend security policies beyond the campus into the non-carpeted spaces where these devices exist is an essential function of your operations, and protecting this environment is non-negotiable. In a world where networks are constantly at risk, the need for consolidated management and observability is clear and the best way to ensure that both your Enterprise and IoT networks are protected and observed is with Cisco SD-WAN.

Additional Resources

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