There’s a new software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) technology on the scene from a company called Netsurion, which is based out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The company today announced its Netsurion Connect SD-WAN product that combines network connectivity, security, and management.

Unlike many SD-WAN startups, Netsurion is an established company that was formed in 1989. It sells specialized security technology for multi-tenant enterprises such as retail merchants, fast-food chains, and various franchise businesses. Its software ensures the security of credit-card transactions. It also provides WiFi access points to its customers.

“Merchants make up most of our portfolio,” said Mark Cornwell, Netsurion’s chief information officer. “We have 16,000 customers. Most are multi-unit merchants. We provide security services for their franchisees, so they have enterprise-class security at the individual location level.”

Netsurion’s customers are asking for SD-WAN for a variety of reasons. They want to monitor their connections to prioritize traffic. They also want to ensure quality of service for their voice over IP (VoIP) connections, and they are looking for alternatives to expensive MPLS contracts.

A couple of years ago, Netsurion acquired some SD-WAN intellectual property. “It was an existing product, but it didn’t have any traction,” said Cornwell. “We re-tooled it substantially and incorporated our security features.”

Netsurion Connect is the company’s new SD-WAN platform based on its proprietary software that runs on a Netsurion-branded device. The device supports wired and wireless connections, including LTE and WiFi.

“The software, which is really about orchestration, is where all the magic happens,” said Cornwell. “It allows you to manage fleets of these SD-WAN devices through single pane of glass."

The company has more than 250 employees and multiple offices in the United States. A couple of its customers are already using its Netsurion Connect SD-WAN, including a grocery store chain and Volta Charging, a company that provides electric-car charging stations.

"We know our market," said Cornwell. "They are limited to available bandwidth at the edge and need to optimize the bandwidth for credit-card processing. We segment out traffic like credit-card traffic so it doesn’t take unnecessary trips to the cloud or provide additional risks.”