Blog Post - How SD-WAN improves student experiences [Published October 2025]

How SD-WAN improves student experiences in higher education

Universities and colleges are well versed in the use of software-defined wide-area networks, or SD-WAN. While other organizations struggle with increasingly outmoded MPLS or legacy services, utilization of SD-WAN in higher education has been the norm for years.

For IT leaders at academic organizations, the need for secure site-to-site virtual private networking has long been clear. They value its design flexibility and near-instant scalability. SD-WAN also helps them address critical technology staffing challenges.

Yet the advantages of SD-WAN go further still. Geographically distant campuses can be brought together to augment learning opportunities. Data centers can be accessed to deepen research capabilities across a broad spectrum of categories. Especially as part of a managed services solution, SD-WAN is a tool for unlocking the broader potential of an academic institution.

Drawing more from the cloud

Because it is designed to bring together multiple locations under a single protected umbrella, SD-WAN is well-suited for expanding a college curriculum via cloud technology.

EdTech recently reported that 88% of higher education institutions have moved more than a quarter of their applications into the cloud. The more academic organizations utilize the cloud, the more uses they discover for it. 

Cloud services offer an attractive alternative to purchasing and hosting applications that may be needed by only a small number of students in highly specialized fields. They give departments the ability to operate more fluidly outside of specific fields of study.

With a managed SD-WAN solution, colleges and universities can better utilize multi-cloud opportunities by connecting any WAN location to any cloud service without straining their own IT departments. Maximizing the use of cloud services in expanding curriculums is essential to any institution seeking to expand student enrollment.

Tightening up cybersecurity

For higher education, the need for stronger barriers against cyberattack remains central. According to Sophos, 66% of higher education organizations experienced ransomware attacks in 2024. While this was lower than the prior year, recovery costs are reported to have doubled over the same period.

SD-WAN enhances online protection by improving visibility and control of network traffic from a central location and by seamlessly incorporating such advanced safeguards as detection and prevention applications and next-generation firewalls. A managed SD-WAN package often includes third-party monitoring designed to identify and isolate suspicious parties even before they enter the network.

Another type of intrusion SD-WAN can be engineered to thwart are Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. As an SD-WAN design typically isolates excess network traffic and relocates it, a focused disruption-type attack can be blunted as soon as it is launched. According to NetworkWorld.com, “A cloud-based service can detect and thwart the attack by denying or redirecting the suspicious traffic.”

By incorporating managed security services, an SD-WAN can immediately identify a DDoS attack while simultaneously mitigating it.

For colleges and universities, cybersecurity is about more than safeguarding the network itself. It is also about securing data for its students, faculty and staff members, ensuring their activities and personal information are not vulnerable to criminal exposure.

Enabling non-traditional learning

Today’s higher education student is no longer always a twenty-something undergraduate living on campus. Often, they are older, employed, and pursuing credits online. Reports Modern Campus.com: “The traditional-aged student is becoming the minority population for higher education, and institutions need to shed more light on their largest audience.”

SD-WAN is a tool for broadening the deployment of higher education opportunities. Designed to offer more flexible access, it can facilitate remote learning and online instruction as well as bring together multiple campus environments spread across a wide area.

Today, more college IT leaders understand the value of zero-trust architecture (ZTA), where access to a network is conditional and limited. A zero-trust design deployed within a SD-WAN model allows students working off-campus and outside a local network to utilize needed services without risk.

SD-WAN can also help colleges and universities better serve a population that utilizes mobile devices for interacting and learning from the world around them. SD-WAN is also optimally designed to improve performance by addressing bandwidth challenges often encountered in online learning environments.

A network to count on

Whether in a classroom or studying after hours, students and faculty alike expect reliable connectivity. At the same time, the work they do is more data intensive. SD-WAN is a means for higher education networks to manage both these challenges.

According to Fortinet, SD-WAN “ensures continuous connectivity and organizations experience fewer network outages alongside improved application performance.” This capacity is further enhanced as part of a managed service offering that offers 24/7/365 support.

Collaboration between campuses is another clear benefit of a SD-WAN strategy. Instead of struggling with lag and latency issues when working across wide distances outside of a network, the elasticity of SD-WAN bandwidth can make critical traffic flow smoother and more efficient.

The ability to shift bandwidth across a broad network is critical for colleges and universities seeking to avoid costly downtime or service calls. SD-WAN enables this to happen, but it also helps higher-education networks unlock a world of possibilities, enabling a more immersive, versatile and secure learning experience for its students.

How Spectrum Business can help

Spectrum Business provides a wide range of managed services, including cybersecurity and SD-WAN, for colleges and universities across the United States. Whether your institution needs design expertise or more direct oversight, Spectrum Business is ready to be your technology partner.