Branch networks designed around a central data center backhaul every request through headquarters, even when the destination is a cloud application a few milliseconds away on the internet. That architecture adds latency, congests expensive MPLS links, and does not reflect where enterprise traffic actually goes anymore.
Local breakout without losing control
SD-WAN allows branch sites to route trusted cloud traffic directly to the internet while keeping sensitive traffic on private links, all governed by centralized policy rather than manual router configuration at each site. This local breakout model cuts latency and cost, but only pays off when paired with equivalent security controls at the edge—cloud-delivered firewalling and secure web gateways—since direct internet access removes the inspection that used to happen at headquarters.
Segmentation should extend beyond WAN policy into the network itself: separating guest, IoT, operational, and corporate traffic so that a compromise in one segment cannot freely traverse to another. Overlay network policy and physical segmentation should be designed together, not treated as separate projects.
JIG designs SD-WAN and segmentation architectures that improve application performance while tightening, not loosening, network security posture.