The customer operates their own data centers with VMware virtualization, along with Cisco voice and collaboration over an MPLS wide area network. They had a mixture of applications run through their internal data centers as well as the cloud. The customer also manually managed and configured their routers to backhaul traffic through their data centers to create a centralized internet with access to cloud services.

Sentinel's Advisory Services team began working with the customer to review the state of their network, consumption, and inventory in order to determine the requirements for a next-generation, cloud-optimized secure wide area network. The Advisory team engaged with manufacturers and cloud providers to ensure the proper compatibility and architecture to extend the new modern SD-WAN fabric across multiple clouds as well as promote secure and optimized SaaS consumption over all networks. Sentinel also assessed the customer's security and monitoring needs to help protect the distributed network from perimeter intrusion and provide visibility for advanced monitoring and future SOC services.

Sentinel recommended a Cisco SD-WAN (Viptela) solution for the customer. Most of the customer's legacy WAN equipment could be reused for the new solution, which lowered costs and made it easier to deploy. They also chose a Cisco Enterprise Agreement with True Forward, enabling them to simplify consumption, stay up-to-date, save money, and adopt new Cisco services without complicated licensing purchases and elaborate deployments.

Next-generation intrusion prevention (IPS) and URL controls were embedded in each router at all endpoints for both public and private internet connections. Sentinel's Enterprise InsightTM visibility powered by Splunk provided another layer of security for the new intelligent SD-WAN solution. Sentinel added a consulting engagement to test Cisco SD-WAN and Firepower Threat Defense within the customer's Oracle cloud environment to ensure there would be no unexpected compatibility or deployment issues prior to entering production. The customer also adopted Sentinel's Managed Services for their SD-WAN solution, which included Enterprise Lifecycle Services to help them get the most out of their subscriptions. Sentinel is one of the few worldwide leaders invited to participate in Cisco's Managed SD-WAN program for Viptela.

The next-generation SD-WAN platform enabled the customer to achieve a high performance, application-aware networking experience at a lower cost and with increased cyber security protection for end users. While supporting traditional networking needs, Sentinel's solution added extensive application visibility, centralized control, monitoring, and dynamic networking services so the customer can easily automate decisions and enhance the user experience. Sentinel Enterprise Lifecycle Services continues to provide the customer with ongoing management of their subscriptions, periodic workshops, updates on newly available capabilities, as well as recurring consultations to ensure they receive the most value from their SD-WAN investment.

The customer plans to work with Sentinel to further strengthen their cloud security and threat investigation capabilities by deploying Cisco Umbrella and Cisco ThreatGrid in the near future. They are also considering adding Sentinel ActiveDefense security service with 24x7x365 SOC monitoring and immediate response to all indicators of compromise identified by the advanced security capabilities in the Cisco SD-WAN platform.