Launching an innovative SD-WAN architecture in Ukraine. DTEK Group case study

In today’s digital age, businesses rely heavily on their network infrastructure to support mission-critical operations and ensure uninterrupted connectivity and efficient data flow. At the same time, traditional networks do not always meet the demands of modern business, which is why they are gradually being replaced by innovative architectures such as Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN).

In Ukraine, this architecture was implemented for the DTEK Group by the systems integrator Netwave in collaboration with the IT company MODUS X. How long did it take to roll out one of the country’s largest SD-WAN architectures? What benefits did it deliver? And how was such a complex project successfully implemented amidst the war? We take a closer look at the DTEK Group case study.

A modern approach to setting up a corporate network

In a dynamic business landscape, the ability to adapt is key. Improving the efficiency of business processes and staff performance, implementing cutting-edge technologies and, above all, responding swiftly to changing requirements — all these aspects are constantly in the spotlight, not only for DTEK Group businesses but also for other Ukrainian companies currently operating in a wartime environment.

SD-WAN architecture is a game-changer, as it truly represents a revolution in the management and optimisation of corporate networks. With its help, companies gain flexibility and scalability, boost their productivity and cost-efficiency, and enhance the user experience.

According to Andrii Kolosov, an SD-WAN implementation engineer at MODUS X, the use of this technology makes it possible to overcome the challenges posed by traditional networks: the complexity of configuration and management, the costs of equipment and maintenance, and the large amount of routine work, which leads to errors and overburdens staff. “A software-defined network delivers a new level of user experience, manageability, performance and security compared to the traditional approach. The high flexibility and scalability of the SD-WAN architecture make it possible to create a reliable foundation for deploying modern applications and services, including cloud-based ones,” noted the expert.

The SD-WAN architecture provides network specialists with full control and convenient, rapid, centralised management of the network via a single interface. Routine network management tasks are automated, eliminating the need for complex and time-consuming manual configuration of each network device individually. This frees up engineers’ time to focus on priority tasks and enables new nodes to be deployed in a matter of minutes or hours rather than days or weeks.

Challenges that called for innovative solutions

According to Denys Garkavyi, Head of the Infrastructure Department at MODUS X, the transition to SD-WAN technology for DTEK is a strategic initiative.

“We had already started working on this even before the full-scale invasion: modern companies must keep pace with technology in order to be able to operate and grow in an increasingly digital and interconnected world,” says Denys Garkavyi. “After 24 February 2022, we had to step up our efforts many times over. The internet, with all its shortcomings, became the main ‘channel’ for all communications. In wartime conditions, DTEK’s companies needed effective tools that would meet their needs even in the event of global disruptions or problems with the internet. We had to ensure the relocation of control centres to safe locations as quickly as possible and without any inconvenience to staff, whilst maintaining high service quality and availability for users. The SD-WAN architecture is precisely designed to tackle such challenges, as the deployment of the necessary nodes in new locations takes place within a single working day, whilst the quality is incomparable to that of ‘traditional’ solutions.

Given the complexity of its network infrastructure and organisational structure, DTEK required a bespoke solution tailored to its specific business objectives and needs, namely:

• Improve the reliability and availability of connectivity across geographically distributed branches
• Modernize the corporate network and standardize connections between on-premises and cloud data centers
• Enable flexible connectivity and switching between private and public clouds
• Optimize the use of communication channels through automatic SD-WAN load balancing
• Accelerate the deployment of new business applications and reduce reliance on legacy IT systems
• Increase IT infrastructure readiness for new services and future scaling
• Reduce the need to replace equipment or expand existing communication channels
• Automate routine network management tasks

VMware SD-WAN: end-to-end deployment by the Netwave team

The first step was to modernise the corporate network (WAN), which enables communication and data exchange between the DTEK Group’s numerous divisions. To this end, a robust SD-WAN solution from VMware was selected, with the full deployment cycle carried out by Netwave. The system integrator’s team possesses a high level of expertise in implementing IT systems based on VMware technologies and has many years’ experience in delivering projects of any level of complexity.

During the implementation of the SD-WAN architecture, a professional team of experienced specialists was formed, including pre-sales engineers, architects, and implementation and support engineers. The systems integrator worked alongside VMware specialists to develop the most effective solution possible.

The full life cycle of building an SD-WAN infrastructure comprised the following stages:

• Detailed consultations and analysis of the enterprises’ needs and existing IT systems
• Selection of VMware SD-WAN as the optimal solution, recognized as a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for SD-WAN for five consecutive years
• Solution architecture and design
• Implementation of a pilot solution to evaluate its effectiveness and alignment with DTEK Group’s requirements
• Deployment of the VMware VeloCloud SD-WAN solution in accordance with the approved design
• Configuration and integration with the existing IT infrastructure and enterprise security systems
• Preparation of all required operational documentation
• Transition to technical support with the appropriate service levels

Results of the implementation

The implementation of a software-defined WAN architecture proved to be the optimal solution for the DTEK Group. As a result, the company gained:

• Flexible and easily scalable network enabling rapid deployment across additional branches
• Simplified management through a centralized interface for deploying new nodes, allocating virtual resources and configuring the entire network
• Fast branch connectivity across Ukraine and internationally within one business day, with centralized management and rapid relocation of critical nodes
• More effective collaboration for geographically distributed teams through unified communications and consistently high-quality voice and video services
• Optimized use of working time by automating routine operations, reducing human error and allowing IT specialists to focus on development projects
• Improved performance through network traffic optimization, automatic issue resolution and dynamic routing via the best available communication channel
• Enhanced reliability and security through full network visibility, faster threat detection, modern traffic encryption and application access filtering
• Cloud scalability enabling fast and seamless workload migration between distributed locations, including from private to public clouds

According to Dmytro Osyka, CEO of MODUS X and CIO of the DTEK Group, the SD-WAN solution that has been implemented enables the dynamic management and optimisation of the DTEK Group’s network infrastructure.

“The roll-out of this solution opens up access to an ecosystem of opportunities for using cloud-based artificial intelligence and machine learning services, big data processing, the Industrial Internet of Things, and other cloud solutions as the Group’s companies undergo digital transformation,” he noted. “Furthermore, DTEK has entered the international arena, so this solution is already benefiting more than just the Ukrainian energy sector. I would add that, in the context of the war, the energy sector is a critically important part of Ukraine’s infrastructure and for our population. I am therefore grateful to our partners at Netwave for implementing this project within a tight timeframe and under what were, quite literally, extreme conditions. This is, in particular, a contribution by our companies to the country’s energy security.”

‘The project to design and implement an innovative SD-WAN architecture for the DTEK Group was a complex, technologically demanding, interesting and significant undertaking for the industry as a whole and for the integrator in particular. We were tasked with modernising the corporate network of the group of companies, a challenge compounded by the need to carry out the work under wartime conditions. The fruitful partnership between our engineering team, the client’s specialists and experts from the vendor VMware enabled us to develop and implement the optimal solution. ‘Even at the pilot testing stage, it demonstrated the best results in terms of performance, efficiency, ease of management, security and network resilience, utilising all available types of primary communication channels,’ summarised Yuriy Sydorenko, CEO of Netwave.