Kinetic Business by Windstream is out with a new SD-WAN offer to help SMBs manage how much broadband they use.

Kinetic Business SD-WAN is built on VMware‘s VeloCloud technology. The partnership between Kinetic and VMware delivers to SMBs the same “control and confidence” as major corporations, the companies said. And it’s accessible through a management portal.

Joe Johnson is the vice president of Kinetic product development and management. He says Kinetic Business SD-WAN provides partners with a solution including features that are generally not available at this price point.

“The inclusion of the our Insights engine in our SD-WAN management portal is a feature typically not associated with the small to mid-sized market,” he said. “It offers even greater information to our customers about their networks, the applications they run, and most importantly making sure they operate the way they need them to.”

Use Cases

There are many potential ways that businesses could use SD-WAN to assist with COVID-19 related issues, Johnson said.

“For example, there is the ability to see and manage their SD-WAN without having to go into the office or store locations,” he said. “Diving deeper, customers will be able to use SD-WAN to make informed decisions on their network expenses. SD-WAN can also help with changes in how businesses will operate.”

VMware SD-WAN also features WAN controls to keep businesses up and running, according to Windstream. Critical apps continue to operate when the unexpected occurs, whether a customer brings in a second WAN link or relies on an LTE backup.

Not only does the wide area network control automatic failover communications, it can do so without dropping a customer call.

Kinetic Business by Windstream SD-WAN also helps customers with more than one location. Branch offices can connect to each other, without building VPN connections, managing routing tables and other networking configurations, the company said. Owners can see what devices and networks are doing at all locations. That way, they know communications between branch sites and headquarters, data centers or the cloud are up and running.

“We are always evaluating the best ways to bring even more options to our customers to fit their needs, and offer greater insight and control,” Johnson said.