Highlight delivers observability at scale

SD-WAN technology can transform network services by enabling more efficient utilisation and management. However, integrating SD-WAN into existing network structures presents a significant challenge, particularly when relying on vendor-specific management dashboards. These dashboards often lack the comprehensive support tools and service management functionalities needed for large-scale operations.

Highlight’s Service Observability Platform addresses this challenge by aggregating network metrics directly from diverse SD-WAN vendor dashboards via APIs, alongside all supporting network infrastructure. The platform then integrates this data into a unified, multi-tenant observability portal. This comprehensive view expands the capabilities of the SD-WAN, providing service providers and network managers with actionable insights, enhanced alerting, and flexible reporting tools that are critical for maintaining optimal network performance at scale.

A standout feature of the Highlight platform is its ability to deliver enhanced alerting on both active and passive SD-WAN connections, providing a level of visibility that vendor-supplied dashboards often lack. For example, if a secondary or backup connection goes down while not in use, many default SD-WAN dashboards still report the location as fully operational. Highlight immediately alerts providers and IT teams as soon as there is any change to either primary or secondary connections, ensuring no surprises when backup connections are needed.

By consolidating data from multiple SD-WAN vendors and supporting networks into a single platform, Highlight reduces the training requirements for IT teams, streamlining support across multiple technologies. Its flexible reporting tools also allows managers to define SLA conditions, schedule reports, and identify developing trends. And since the platform retains the metrics indefinitely, managers can analyse performance trends over weeks and months.

Martin Saunders, COO of Highlight says, “With the introduction of these advanced SD-WAN support capabilities, Highlight is setting a new standard for network observability. Service providers can now confidently manage multi-vendor SD-WAN environments at scale, ensuring high performance, reduced downtime, and a simplified support structure.”