Cloudflare Announces Magic WAN Connector to Speed Up, Simplify, and Secure How Any Business Connects to the Internet

Rhea-AI Summary

Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE: NET) has announced the launch of Magic WAN Connector, an open-source software package that integrates with Cloudflare One to provide a comprehensive SASE solution. This innovation enables businesses to connect and secure their corporate networks, enhancing performance and flexibility. CIOs seek unified vendor solutions, and Cloudflare's offering aligns with the trend towards single-vendor deployments in SASE. The company also expanded its Network On-ramp partner program, enhancing customer choice for connectivity options.

Positive

• Launch of Magic WAN Connector enhances Cloudflare's SASE offering.
• Provides flexibility for businesses to deploy on preferred hardware.
• Supports transition from legacy systems to modern zero trust networks.

Negative

• None.

New functionality completes Cloudflare’s single-vendor secure access service edge (SASE) offering

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Cloudflare, Inc. (NYSE: NET), the security, performance, and reliability company helping to build a better Internet, today announced Magic WAN Connector, the open source software-defined software package that makes it easier than ever for any business to connect and secure their entire corporate network with Cloudflare. With Magic WAN Connector, Cloudflare One is now a true integrated SASE security and networking solution to protect and accelerate the performance of enterprise devices, applications, and networks. Additionally, Cloudflare announced new participants in the Network On-ramp partner program as well as OEMs to give customers flexibility and freedom of choice no matter how they connect to Cloudflare’s network.

“The future of work requires flexible IT infrastructure. When I speak to CIOs working to support evolving workforces, they want one vendor to work with that can offer them everything they need,” said Matthew Prince, co-founder and CEO of Cloudflare. "Whether that means securely connecting remote employees, offices, data centers, or even multi-cloud deployments, IT teams shouldn’t have to sacrifice speed or security to keep their business productive. With the addition of Magic WAN Connector to Cloudflare One, we now offer one of the most comprehensive SASE solutions available today.”

Businesses have struggled to move from fragmented and patchwork legacy architectures to modern zero trust networks because of the complexity and cost of coordinating with dozens of disparate security and networking vendors. According to Gartner®, “by 2025, one-third of new SASE deployments will be based on a single-vendor SASE offering, up from 10% in 2022.*”

Magic WAN Connector is an open source software-defined software package that securely connects any network — whether physical, such as an office, manufacturing facility, or retail store; or virtual, such as a private cloud property — to automatically configure secure tunnels and routing policies, directing traffic to Cloudflare’s global network. As part of the comprehensive Cloudflare One SASE solution, this allows for access to a full suite of security tools including Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), Data Loss Prevention (DLP), Intrusion Detection System (IDS), Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) and more. It can be used seamlessly with other on-ramps to the Cloudflare network including the WARP device client, the Cloudflare Tunnel application-layer connector, and direct connections via Cloudflare Network Interconnect.

Magic WAN Connector can be deployed as a virtual machine on a physical device or cloud service or with OEM hardware, giving customers unparalleled flexibility and freedom of choice in how they connect to Cloudflare’s global network. Cloudflare is announcing partnerships with certified bare-metal OEM hardware companies. Customers can work with additional channel partners in the Cloudflare One Partner Program ecosystem to support the installation and deployment of Magic WAN Connector and manage OEM partner hardware lifecycles.

With the launch of Magic WAN Connector and Cloudflare’s expanded partnerships, businesses of any size can easily transition to Cloudflare's modern SASE architecture – reducing costs, increasing simplicity, and speeding up deployments. With Magic WAN Connector, customers can now:

• Connect every office, data center, and cloud property: Magic WAN Connector replaces the patchwork of connectivity and security solutions in offices and remote locations with a single-vendor SASE solution managed through a common dashboard.
• Deploy however and wherever businesses want: To provide the utmost flexibility, Cloudflare is open sourcing Magic WAN Connector, allowing organizations to deploy network functionality on their hardware platform of choice and reducing their exposure to supply chain issues.
• Make the best use out of every Internet connection: Magic WAN Connector software provides traffic routing, load balancing, and failover; application-aware traffic steering and shaping; and automatic configuration and orchestration to ensure traffic from customer locations to Cloudflare’s network is secure, fast, and reliable.
• Modernize their network and security architecture: Customers can prepare their organizations for hybrid work, reduce their attack surface area, and improve employee productivity using advanced traffic management features and fully integrated security that eliminate the need to backhaul traffic to a hub site.

In addition to the inclusion of OEM partners, Cloudflare expanded the Network On-ramp Partnerships to include more SD-WAN devices that are compatible with Magic WAN, giving customers even more ways to connect to Cloudflare’s network. To view the full list or if you are interested in joining the partner program, please check out the partnership page here.

To learn more about Cloudflare One and Magic WAN Connector, please check out:

• Blog
• Landing Page
• CIO Week
• Network On-ramp Partner program

*Gartner Market Guide for Single-Vendor SASE, 09/28/2022, Neil MacDonald, John Watts, Jonathan Forest, Andrew Lerner

GARTNER is the registered trademark and service mark of Gartner Inc., and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and/or internationally and has been used herein with permission. All rights reserved.

About Cloudflare

Cloudflare, Inc. (www.cloudflare.com / @cloudflare) is on a mission to help build a better Internet. Cloudflare’s suite of products protect and accelerate any Internet application online without adding hardware, installing software, or changing a line of code. Internet properties powered by Cloudflare have all web traffic routed through its intelligent global network, which gets smarter with every request. As a result, they see significant improvement in performance and a decrease in spam and other attacks. Cloudflare was named to Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top Company Cultures 2018 list, ranked among the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company in 2019, awarded by Reuters Events for Global Responsible Business in 2020, named to Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies in 2021, and ranked among Newsweek's Top 100 Most Loved Workplaces in 2022.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “explore,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “could,” “intend,” “target,” “project,” “contemplate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” or “continue,” or the negative of these words, or other similar terms or expressions that concern Cloudflare’s expectations, strategy, plans, or intentions. However, not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Forward-looking statements expressed or implied in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the capabilities and effectiveness of the Cloudflare One suite of Zero Trust solutions (including Magic WAN Connector), the benefits to Cloudflare’s customers from using the Cloudflare One suite of Zero Trust solutions (including Magic WAN Connector) and Cloudflare’s other products and technology, the expected functionality and performance of the Cloudflare One suite of Zero Trust solutions (including Magic WAN Connector) and Cloudflare’s other products and technology, the timing of when any new Cloudflare One features (including Magic WAN Connector) will be generally available to all current and potential Cloudflare customers, the potential shift of companies from multi-vendor SASE solutions to single vendor SASE solutions, the expansion of Cloudflare’s Network On-ramp partner program and the potential resulting benefits to Cloudflare customers, the potential opportunity for Cloudflare to attract additional customers and to expand sales to existing customers through the expansion of Cloudflare’s Network On-ramp partner program, Cloudflare’s technological development, future operations, growth, initiatives, or strategies, and comments made by Cloudflare’s CEO and others. Cloudflare’s actual results could differ materially from those stated or implied in forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including but not limited to, risks detailed in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including Cloudflare’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on November 3, 2022, as well as other filings that we may make from time to time with the SEC.

The forward-looking statements made in this press release relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements made in this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect new information or the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law. We may not actually achieve the plans, intentions, or expectations disclosed in Cloudflare’s forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on Cloudflare’s forward-looking statements.

© 2023 Cloudflare, Inc. All rights reserved. Cloudflare, the Cloudflare logo, and other Cloudflare marks are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Cloudflare, Inc. in the U.S. and other jurisdictions. All other marks and names referenced herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230110005418/en/

Cloudflare, Inc.

Daniella Vallurupalli

Vice President, Head of Global Communications

press@cloudflare.com

Source: Cloudflare, Inc.

FAQ

What is the Magic WAN Connector announced by Cloudflare on January 10, 2023?

The Magic WAN Connector is an open-source software package that integrates with Cloudflare One to enhance SASE capabilities, enabling secure and flexible corporate network connections.

How does Magic WAN Connector improve business connectivity for Cloudflare customers?

It replaces fragmented security solutions with a unified SASE solution, allowing seamless management through a common dashboard.

What are the benefits of Cloudflare's expanded Network On-ramp partner program?

The expansion allows customers more options for connectivity, integrating additional SD-WAN devices compatible with the Magic WAN.

How does the launch of Magic WAN Connector align with industry trends in SASE solutions?

It addresses the increasing demand for single-vendor SASE solutions, moving away from complex multi-vendor architectures.

What role does Cloudflare's Magic WAN Connector play in modernizing network architecture?

It helps businesses prepare for hybrid work environments, reducing attack surfaces and improving productivity with integrated security tools.