Five Benefits for Insurance Companies in Using MPLS for WAN

Multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) is a widely used technology for connecting the networks of businesses that have multiple offices with different network speeds and protocols. It encapsulates various protocols in “labels”, enabling the network to forward data packets with an understanding of their contents.

While it has been used for more than a decade, some recent changes in the way businesses manage their operations have renewed the interest in MPLS. These include the growing use of cloud computing and the need for organisations to be agile and flexible in their deployment of IT.

As an extremely data-dependent domain, the insurance industry has become one of the prime users of MPLS technology. Companies in this sector need to ensure that data transmission between their branches, regional offices and headquarters is always secure. They also seek ways to make network speeds high and consistent across business locations.

Here’s how MPLS can support them in meeting their goals and fit into the overall wide area networking (WAN) operations:

1- Prioritisation of Network Traffic

In simple terms, prioritisation of traffic implies giving critical network traffic precedence over unimportant traffic. It is also called Class of Service (CoS) and allows high-priority traffic to borrow capacity from low-priority traffic streams whenever needed. MPLS comes with different levels of CoS to specify latency, jitter and packet loss minimums for low, medium and high-priority traffic types. Packets containing real-time traffic, such as voice or video, can be mapped to low-latency routes across the network. This is not easy to achieve with conventional routing.

For the effectiveness of their routine business processes, insurance companies using MPLS can prioritise the functioning of their critical apps, transit of sensitive information and custom online activities over other tasks such as web browsing.

2- High Network Uptime and Security

If banks hold money, insurers hold significant data – records of their clients’ health, properties and vehicles details. With new cyber attacks emerging all the time, it is crucial to ensure that their security systems are up-to-date, and they have safe access to information necessary for operations.

While MPLS does not offer encryption on its own, it is a virtual private network (VPN) and is therefore segregated from the public Internet. Hackers and non-authorised users cannot access the network for cyber espionage or snooping.

3- Reduced Network Congestion

When it comes to telephone and data networks, sometimes the shortest distance between two points is not necessarily the best one. Congestion on the path makes it less attractive – till the time the traffic on it has reduced.

However, like any other data-centric business, insurance companies cannot afford to wait for the transit and receipt of information they need for their operations. MPLS provides traffic engineering options whereby data can be transmitted through non-standard paths. This reduces latency and congestion on the network and shapes traffic for maximised efficiency.

4- Scalability

With MPLS , insurance companies can automatically configure a new network and set up tunnels or label-switched paths. It does not require significant investment in physical infrastructure to add new circuits on the network, and users can avoid the complex mesh of tunnels that gets built with other technologies.

The scalability is simplified, thanks to a bundled preconfigured router provided by the vendor. And MPLS is capable of establishing robust networks with enterprise-grade last-mile connectivity.

5- Ease of Management and Round-the-Clock Support

Besides offering better bandwidth utilisation and end-user experience, MPLS is also easy to manage. It is provided as an enterprise service backed by a Service Level Agreement (SLA). By deploying this technology for network connectivity, insurance companies can ease the burden on their in-house IT staff and avail round-the-clock support delivered by the service provider’s trained team of specialists. They manage the entire service outlay and ensure the required uptime for business operations.

MPLS is old technology and is currently being compared with more modern alternatives such as SD-WAN. However, the fact remains that it still has a significant role in connecting specific point-to-point locations, including large regional offices and geographically dispersed data centres. It is also required for real-time applications. With its guaranteed performance and resilience, MPLS continues to be an optimal choice for the insurance sector.

Are you interested in further details about this secure and robust technique of connecting multiple offices? Contact Tata Tele Business Services at 1800-266-1800.