Cloud applications like Zoom used to be viewed by many as a useful alternative to in-person collaboration. This year, they’ve more than proven their value as the primary way for many enterprises to keep connected with their workforce, customers and partners during the pandemic. In Q3 2021, Zoom saw a 485% increase in customers with more than 10 employees year-on-year, validating the continued importance these key cloud-based technologies play in the ‘new normal’ all businesses are faced with today.

The shift to digital working has accelerated in 2020, and as a result the public internet has become even more critical to support enterprise connectivity, as opposed to the private networks many have been used to relying primarily on. At GTT, we’ve seen internet traffic volumes are already more than 50% higher than they were this time last year. Traffic on the internet usually grows 20-30% year over year, so 2020 stands out.

With an uptick like that, businesses will increasingly be in need of a cloud-optimised network that ensures security, resiliency, flexibility and agility. Without a reliable and robust network backbone in place they run the risk of reduced productivity due to downtime and lack of security. However, organisations can combat this with a software-defined approach to their wide area networking and security posture.

Implementing SD-WAN can ensure that traffic takes the most direct and low-latency path to mission-critical applications. With all of the benefits SD-WAN has to offer, businesses can build a strong cloud networking strategy that will see them through next year and beyond.