Introduction to vManage and Its Role in SD-WAN

The evolution of enterprise networks has reached a point where traditional WAN solutions no longer provide the agility, scalability, or centralized control that modern businesses require. In this landscape, vManage emerges as a critical component of the Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) architecture. It is designed to be the central nervous system for orchestrating and managing all devices and services across the SD-WAN fabric.

vManage simplifies how networks are configured, monitored, and maintained. Rather than dealing with individual devices and manually applying policies, administrators can use vManage to deploy configurations, set traffic rules, and visualize performance metrics from a single, intuitive interface. This centralized approach streamlines network management and significantly reduces the potential for human error.

Why Centralized Management Matters in SD-WAN

Traditional network management practices often involve configuring routers and firewalls at each site manually, leading to inconsistent policies and increased operational overhead. With growing demands for secure connectivity, cloud integration, and remote access, these legacy practices become bottlenecks to innovation and efficiency.

vManage resolves these challenges by offering a single pane of glass for managing the entire network. Whether your infrastructure spans dozens or hundreds of branch offices, vManage ensures consistency in policy enforcement, configuration templates, and real-time monitoring. This centralized system allows IT teams to rapidly respond to changes in business requirements without disrupting end-user experience.

Key Capabilities of vManage

vManage is not just a dashboard—it is a comprehensive orchestration platform equipped with powerful features that include:

• Zero-touch provisioning of edge devices
  
  
• Real-time monitoring of link health and application performance
  
  
• Configuration templates for policy automation
  
  
• Software and firmware upgrades at scale
  
  
• Security policy deployment and enforcement
  
  
• Integration with analytics and telemetry systems

These capabilities reduce deployment times and provide deep insights into how the network performs under varying loads and user behaviors. As organizations move toward hybrid and cloud-first strategies, the agility offered by vManage becomes a necessity rather than a luxury.

Understanding the Architecture of vManage

To fully appreciate the importance of initializing and configuring vManage correctly, it’s important to understand how it fits within the SD-WAN architecture. vManage operates in conjunction with vBond and vSmart to form the control plane of the network.

The vBond orchestrator is responsible for the initial handshake and authentication of all SD-WAN components. It ensures that all devices are legitimate and guides them to their appropriate control connections.

The vSmart controller is responsible for the distribution of routing and security policies throughout the network. It works hand-in-hand with vManage to ensure that routing decisions reflect the most up-to-date policy framework.

Together, these three components maintain the health, security, and intelligence of the SD-WAN environment. The vManage controller provides the user interface and automation framework for managing this entire ecosystem.

Deployment Models for vManage

vManage can be deployed in various ways depending on the scale, infrastructure, and specific needs of the organization. The two most common deployment models are:

• On-premises: Suitable for organizations with dedicated data center resources and a requirement for internal control.
  
  
• Cloud-based: Ideal for businesses looking for scalability and minimal infrastructure overhead.
  
  

Each deployment method comes with its own set of advantages and operational considerations. Regardless of the deployment type, the configuration steps and operational principles remain largely consistent.

Preparing for vManage Initialization

Before powering up and configuring vManage, several critical preparations must be made. These preparations ensure that the environment is stable, secure, and ready to handle the orchestration duties required.

System Requirements and Hardware Specifications

Start by verifying that your hardware or virtual environment meets the necessary system requirements for running vManage. This includes:

• Minimum CPU and memory allocations
  
  
• Adequate disk space for logs and databases
  
  
• Network interfaces for communication with other controllers and edge devices
  
  
• Time synchronization settings using NTP

These hardware baselines are vital for achieving optimal performance and long-term reliability.

Software Image Acquisition

Ensure you have the appropriate software image for vManage. This should be sourced from a trusted vendor or internal repository, with checksums verified to maintain software integrity.

The version of vManage you deploy must also be compatible with other SD-WAN components, including vBond and vSmart. Compatibility matrices are essential tools for confirming software interoperability.

IP Addressing and DNS Configuration

Allocate static IP addresses for vManage and related controllers. These IPs must be reachable across the network, especially between vManage, vBond, vSmart, and edge devices.

DNS entries should be configured and resolvable, particularly for the hostnames of the controllers. This ensures that devices can locate and communicate with vManage correctly during provisioning.

Planning Certificate Infrastructure

vManage relies heavily on digital certificates for secure communication and authentication. You need to decide whether you will use a public Certificate Authority (CA), a private internal CA, or a manual method for certificate signing.

The certificate strategy should be determined before deployment, as it affects how devices are authenticated and how trust is established between network components.

Clock Synchronization and NTP

Time synchronization is crucial for maintaining log integrity, certificate validity, and coordination across controllers. All controllers, including vManage, must point to the same Network Time Protocol (NTP) server and maintain accurate time.

Desynchronized clocks can cause failures in device onboarding, certificate validation, and communication between SD-WAN components.

Deploying the vManage Controller

Once the environment is prepared, the next step is to deploy the vManage controller. This process varies slightly depending on whether you’re using a physical appliance or virtual infrastructure, but the core steps remain the same.

Booting and Initial Access

After deploying the vManage image on your hypervisor or hardware, power on the system. The first boot initializes system processes and launches the base operating environment. Upon successful initialization, you can access vManage via a local console or remote SSH session to begin basic configuration.

Assigning Hostname and Interfaces

One of the initial tasks is to assign a hostname to the controller. This hostname must match the one used in the certificate infrastructure to avoid trust issues.

Next, configure the network interfaces. At minimum, vManage should have one management interface and optionally a separate interface for control or data plane communication, depending on network design.

Assign the static IP address, subnet mask, and gateway to ensure proper network connectivity. Test connectivity by pinging neighboring devices or verifying reachability from a jump host.

Configuring System Settings

You’ll also need to define the system-wide parameters, such as:

• System IP: A unique identifier used by the SD-WAN overlay network
  
  
• Organization name: Must match across all controllers and edge devices
  
  
• Site ID: Used to group devices in the topology
  
  
• Timezone: For log consistency and local scheduling
  
  

These settings define how vManage identifies itself within the SD-WAN fabric and how it interacts with other controllers.

Setting Up User Access and Roles

By default, vManage allows administrative access via the default credentials. These should be changed immediately after the first login to ensure security.

You can then configure user roles and privileges. vManage supports role-based access control (RBAC), allowing you to assign different levels of access to network engineers, operators, auditors, and administrators. This control helps enforce operational discipline and restricts unauthorized changes.

Integrating with External Systems

Depending on your organization’s ecosystem, you may want to integrate vManage with external tools for:

• Authentication (e.g., LDAP, RADIUS)
  
  
• Logging (e.g., syslog servers)
  
  
• Monitoring (e.g., SNMP traps or APIs)
  
  
• Ticketing systems (e.g., incident correlation tools)

These integrations can be configured early to ensure that your network operations center receives alerts and logs in real time, promoting faster response to incidents.

Testing the Initial Configuration

Once the base configuration is complete, thorough testing should follow. These validation steps help ensure the setup is stable and functioning as intended.

• Verify interface connectivity using ping and traceroute
  
  
• Confirm system parameters like hostname, organization name, and site ID
  
  
• Check NTP synchronization and certificate status
  
  
• Login to the GUI and confirm access to dashboards and menus
  
  

This testing phase provides the foundation for onboarding additional controllers and edge devices, and it ensures that vManage is ready for production use.

Maintaining a Backup Strategy

Before proceeding with further integration or device onboarding, it’s essential to configure a backup mechanism. vManage supports backup of configuration files, logs, and template data to remote storage.

This backup can be scheduled and stored off-site to protect against data loss due to hardware failure, misconfiguration, or cyber threats. Routine backups are also essential during firmware upgrades or changes in network architecture.

Full SD-WAN Integration

With vManage successfully initialized and configured, the platform is now ready to serve as the command center of your SD-WAN deployment. The next phases include integrating vBond and vSmart controllers, enrolling WAN edge devices, and building overlay tunnels.

Through policy templates and device management capabilities, vManage allows you to expand your SD-WAN infrastructure with minimal effort. More importantly, it equips your IT team with the tools needed to maintain network performance, security, and uptime in an increasingly complex digital environment.

Integrating vManage with vBond and vSmart Controllers

Once vManage has been initialized and its base system settings configured, the next step is to integrate it with the other core SD-WAN controllers: vBond and vSmart. These components form the backbone of the SD-WAN control plane, and establishing proper communication among them is essential for a functional, secure overlay network.

vBond acts as the orchestrator and initial authenticator for all SD-WAN devices. It helps vManage and vSmart discover and authenticate new WAN edge routers. Meanwhile, vSmart is responsible for distributing routing, security, and policy information across the fabric.

To enable integration, all controllers must share a common organization name, valid certificates, and synchronized system clocks. These elements form the trust foundation that allows encrypted communication to flow securely between components.

Establishing Secure Controller Communication

For seamless integration, controller communication must be authenticated and encrypted. This is achieved using certificates signed by a trusted Certificate Authority. Each controller, including vManage, must have a signed certificate containing the correct system IP and hostname.

The exchange of certificates typically follows this process:

• Generate a Certificate Signing Request (CSR) on each controller
  
  
• Submit the CSR to the Certificate Authority or internal CA
  
  
• Install the signed certificate back onto the respective controller

Once all certificates are installed, the controllers can securely exchange control plane information and authenticate WAN edge devices joining the network.

Additionally, each controller’s system IP address must be unique across the SD-WAN fabric. These IPs are used for internal routing and control messages and should be carefully assigned to avoid conflicts.

Configuring the Control Plane Topology in vManage

Within the vManage dashboard, you can define the topology of your control plane. This includes specifying the IP addresses of your vBond and vSmart controllers, adding them as trusted devices, and confirming their operational status.

The process generally involves the following:

• Navigating to the controller section in the vManage interface
  
  
• Adding vBond and vSmart by their IP addresses or DNS names
  
  
• Associating the appropriate site ID and organization name
  
  
• Verifying reachability and trust status through control connections

The vManage GUI offers real-time status indicators, so administrators can immediately see if controllers are communicating as expected. Green checkmarks indicate successful connections, while red or yellow icons suggest misconfigurations or connectivity issues.

Testing and Verifying Controller Synchronization

Once the controllers are added, testing is essential. Some common checks include:

• Verifying that each controller recognizes the others
  
  
• Checking time synchronization via NTP across all devices
  
  
• Reviewing certificate status and trust relationships
  
  
• Observing control connection status and tunnel health metrics

These tests confirm that the control plane is operational and that each component is ready to support device onboarding and data plane formation.

Onboarding WAN Edge Devices to vManage

With the control plane in place, the next task is to bring WAN edge routers into the management system. WAN edge devices serve as the physical or virtual routers that connect branch offices, data centers, and cloud platforms to the SD-WAN fabric.

The onboarding process can be performed manually or through zero-touch provisioning. Regardless of the method, the device must be authenticated, authorized, and assigned a configuration template for full functionality.

Zero-Touch Provisioning for Edge Devices

Zero-touch provisioning allows WAN edge devices to automatically connect to the SD-WAN fabric upon first boot, eliminating the need for on-site configuration. This is especially useful for large-scale deployments or geographically dispersed locations.

The process involves:

• Pre-loading the device serial numbers into vManage
  
  
• Assigning site IDs and device roles
  
  
• Ensuring the device reaches out to vBond for initial authentication
  
  
• Establishing secure control connections to vManage and vSmart
  
  
• Downloading configuration templates from vManage

Zero-touch provisioning accelerates deployment timelines and ensures that new devices conform to centralized configuration policies from the moment they connect.

Manual Device Provisioning

In some environments, zero-touch provisioning may not be feasible due to network restrictions or security policies. In such cases, manual onboarding is an option.

This involves physically accessing the WAN edge device or using out-of-band management to:

• Set the system IP, site ID, and organization name
  
  
• Upload the signed certificate
  
  
• Manually point the device to the IP address of vBond
  
  
• Confirm control connections to vManage and vSmart

While more labor-intensive, manual provisioning gives administrators fine-grained control over device configuration and behavior, making it suitable for high-security or custom deployment scenarios.

Creating and Applying Device Templates in vManage

One of the key strengths of vManage lies in its use of configuration templates. These templates allow administrators to define reusable configurations that can be applied across multiple devices consistently.

Templates in vManage are divided into:

• Feature templates: Define individual services like VPNs, routing protocols, or security settings
  
  
• Device templates: Combine feature templates into a complete configuration package for a specific platform or role

Creating a device template involves selecting the platform (e.g., virtual router or physical appliance), attaching the relevant feature templates, and specifying variable values such as IP addresses or hostnames.

Benefits of Template-Based Configuration

Using templates simplifies network operations and offers numerous benefits:

• Standardization: Ensures all devices follow the same configuration structure
  
  
• Scalability: Allows for rapid deployment of new devices without repetitive manual input
  
  
• Accuracy: Reduces human error through predefined variables and automation
  
  
• Auditing: Provides visibility into what changes were made, when, and by whom
  
  

Templates can be cloned, updated, and reapplied as business needs evolve, making them a cornerstone of agile SD-WAN management.

Assigning Templates to Devices

Once a template is ready, it can be attached to one or more devices registered in the vManage inventory. The assignment process includes:

• Selecting the device and associating it with the correct device template
  
  
• Filling in any required variables, such as tunnel IPs or interface names
  
  
• Pushing the configuration to the device for immediate application

vManage provides a preview function that shows the full configuration before it is sent to the device, allowing administrators to verify settings before committing changes.

Monitoring Template Application and Device Status

After templates are applied, it is important to monitor whether the device successfully received and implemented the configuration. vManage offers real-time feedback including:

• Deployment success or failure notifications
  
  
• Log messages indicating errors or inconsistencies
  
  
• Device status indicators showing connectivity, performance, and alarms

Any issues can be quickly resolved by editing the template, correcting variable values, or reapplying the configuration. This level of oversight ensures rapid troubleshooting and minimal downtime during rollout.

Using Policy Templates for Advanced Configuration

In addition to device configurations, vManage supports policy templates that control how traffic flows across the SD-WAN. Policies are created using a rule-based engine that defines:

• Which applications receive priority treatment
  
  
• Which tunnels are used for certain types of traffic
  
  
• How traffic is encrypted or filtered at various locations

These policies can be local (affecting specific sites) or centralized (applying across the entire network), and they are deployed through vManage in a similar template-based manner.

Testing Device Connectivity and Tunnel Health

With devices onboarded and configured, the final stage involves testing their connectivity and tunnel formation. Control and data plane tunnels should be established between WAN edge devices and controllers, as well as between peer sites.

Key validation steps include:

• Checking tunnel status using real-time topology maps in vManage
  
  
• Verifying control plane reachability to vSmart and vManage
  
  
• Confirming data plane tunnel creation between remote sites
  
  
• Monitoring latency, packet loss, and throughput statistics

These tests ensure that the overlay network is operational and that policy enforcement behaves as expected under real-world traffic conditions.

Logging and Alerting During Deployment

Throughout the onboarding and configuration process, vManage logs every action taken by administrators and each system event generated by devices. These logs are critical for compliance, troubleshooting, and auditing.

Administrators can configure alert thresholds to notify them about:

• Tunnel failures or control connection drops
  
  
• Configuration mismatches
  
  
• Policy violations or unauthorized access attempts
  
  
• High CPU or memory usage on devices

This alerting system helps maintain visibility during and after deployment, reducing the time required to detect and resolve issues.

Scaling SD-WAN with Template Automation

As organizations grow, scaling the SD-WAN infrastructure becomes essential. Thanks to the template-driven model, vManage enables seamless addition of new sites, devices, and services without starting from scratch.

You can clone existing templates, modify variables, and apply them to newly provisioned devices, making expansion projects far more efficient and less error-prone.

Even firmware upgrades can be automated using device groups and scheduled rollout windows, ensuring minimal disruption during system updates.

Preparing for Full Production Readiness

Once all controllers are integrated, WAN edge devices onboarded, and templates applied, your SD-WAN is nearly ready for full production use. A final review should be conducted to confirm:

• All controllers are reachable and synchronized
  
  
• Devices are operating with the correct templates
  
  
• Control and data plane tunnels are stable
  
  
• Monitoring and alerting systems are functional
  
  
• Backup and recovery procedures are in place

This final verification phase ensures that your SD-WAN deployment is robust, secure, and capable of supporting critical business applications and services.

Operational Visibility and Monitoring in vManage

Once your SD-WAN environment is deployed and configured, operational visibility becomes essential. vManage provides a comprehensive dashboard that allows administrators to monitor device status, tunnel health, application performance, and network-wide analytics from a centralized interface.

This visibility is critical for proactively identifying performance issues, ensuring policy compliance, and maintaining overall network health. Real-time and historical data help IT teams respond quickly to outages or degradation before they impact users or critical services.

The vManage dashboard includes graphs, color-coded alerts, and status indicators that show the current state of controllers, edge devices, control tunnels, and overlay links. Administrators can drill down into specific devices or locations for deeper insight.

Using Real-Time Data for Network Health Monitoring

One of the standout features of vManage is its ability to stream real-time telemetry from all connected devices. This includes:

• Interface statistics such as throughput, drops, and errors
  
  
• Control plane health including uptime and tunnel status
  
  
• Application performance metrics and link quality indicators
  
  
• CPU and memory usage on each device

This granular level of detail allows for immediate detection of anomalies. For example, if a tunnel begins to experience increased latency or packet loss, vManage can alert the administrator and display alternate available paths.

Custom thresholds can also be set to trigger alerts when certain metrics exceed predefined limits. This supports a proactive approach to network maintenance.

Performance Analytics and Application Visibility

Beyond monitoring devices and links, vManage provides in-depth visibility into application-level traffic. This is especially useful for ensuring critical services like voice, video, and cloud applications receive the performance they require.

vManage can categorize traffic into applications, monitor their behavior, and display analytics such as:

• Bandwidth usage per application
  
  
• Application response times and round-trip delays
  
  
• Application paths across the network
  
  
• Usage trends over time
  
  

This insight helps network teams understand how applications impact bandwidth and link usage. It also provides evidence for bandwidth upgrades or policy changes when certain applications are identified as high priority or high bandwidth consumers.

Policy Verification and Enforcement Status

Monitoring isn’t limited to physical metrics. vManage also tracks the deployment and enforcement status of security and routing policies across the network. This ensures that intended policies are being applied correctly and consistently.

Administrators can view:

• The list of active policies on each device
  
  
• Centralized vs localized policies and their scope
  
  
• Timestamps for the last policy update or change
  
  
• Success or failure logs related to policy application

This transparency is essential for security audits and for ensuring compliance with internal governance or external regulations. If policies fail to deploy or conflict with existing configurations, vManage logs the error and highlights the affected devices.

Software and Firmware Lifecycle Management

Maintaining consistent software versions across an SD-WAN deployment is crucial for stability, security, and support. vManage includes a software management module that allows administrators to:

• Upload firmware images for controllers and edge devices
  
  
• Verify compatibility with target platforms
  
  
• Schedule upgrades during maintenance windows
  
  
• Monitor upgrade progress and validate completion

With the ability to group devices by site, role, or version, upgrades can be staged and rolled out gradually to reduce impact. Pre-checks can be run to ensure devices have sufficient resources and compatibility before applying any changes.

In case of failed upgrades, rollback procedures can be triggered to restore the previous software version.

Audit Trails and Configuration History

Change tracking is another critical component of network operations. vManage automatically maintains detailed logs of every configuration change, including:

• Who made the change
  
  
• What values were changed
  
  
• When the change was applied
  
  
• Which devices were affected

This audit trail supports compliance, troubleshooting, and accountability. It also allows administrators to quickly revert to a previous configuration if a new change introduces instability or unintended behavior.

The system also provides visual diffs between old and new configurations, making it easier to identify exactly what was modified.

Alerting and Notifications

To ensure that network teams remain informed of significant events, vManage includes an alerting engine that can notify administrators based on:

• Device connectivity loss
  
  
• Tunnel degradation or failures
  
  
• Certificate expiration warnings
  
  
• High CPU, memory, or interface errors
  
  
• Unsuccessful policy or template deployments

Alerts can be delivered via the GUI, email, syslog, or SNMP traps, allowing for integration with third-party network operations tools.

This alerting framework ensures that administrators do not have to constantly monitor dashboards and can instead focus on high-impact actions when needed.

Troubleshooting Tools and Diagnostic Capabilities

Despite automation and visibility, issues can still arise in complex SD-WAN environments. vManage includes built-in troubleshooting tools that simplify the identification and resolution of such problems.

Administrators can run diagnostics such as:

• Ping and traceroute tests between devices
  
  
• Control connection trace for tunnel issues
  
  
• Real-time logs of device status
  
  
• Packet capture sessions from remote devices
  
  
• Overlay connectivity simulation

These tools help isolate issues at different layers—from physical connectivity to application behavior. With centralized access, network engineers can investigate and resolve problems without needing direct access to the devices themselves.

Device Recovery and Redeployment

In the event of device failure or corruption, vManage allows for quick recovery using stored configurations and templates. If a replacement router is needed, the existing template can be reassigned to a new device, dramatically speeding up recovery.

The administrator simply:

• Replaces the device with a new unit
  
  
• Assigns the original template and variables
  
  
• Initiates a re-onboarding process

This minimizes downtime and ensures that the replacement device functions identically to the one it replaced.

Scaling the SD-WAN Environment

As business needs grow, new branch offices, data centers, or cloud regions may be added to the SD-WAN topology. vManage makes scaling simple by supporting:

• Cloning existing templates for new sites
  
  
• Onboarding multiple devices simultaneously
  
  
• Group-based policy and configuration application
  
  
• Staged rollout of software upgrades and changes

These scaling capabilities allow network administrators to expand operations while maintaining consistency, performance, and policy alignment.

Whether it’s adding 10 devices or 100, the same automation and visibility features apply, reducing the overhead typically associated with network expansion.

Using APIs for Automation and Integration

To further improve efficiency, vManage offers a full-featured REST API that allows external systems and scripts to interact with the SD-WAN fabric. Through APIs, administrators can automate tasks such as:

• Device provisioning
  
  
• Template updates
  
  
• Policy application
  
  
• Report generation
  
  
• Real-time status queries

This API access enables integration with CI/CD pipelines, DevOps tools, and enterprise monitoring systems, turning SD-WAN operations into a programmable, agile infrastructure.

Automation becomes especially useful in large environments where manual interaction with the GUI would be too slow or cumbersome.

Optimizing Performance Through Analytics

In addition to reactive monitoring, vManage provides predictive analytics based on historical data. These analytics help organizations:

• Identify traffic patterns and peak usage times
  
  
• Forecast bandwidth requirements
  
  
• Evaluate link performance over time
  
  
• Optimize policy settings based on observed behavior

These insights help organizations make informed decisions about adding new circuits, upgrading service providers, or reallocating bandwidth between applications or regions.

Predictive insights also assist with capacity planning, budget forecasting, and long-term IT strategy.

Security and Access Management

Security in SD-WAN extends beyond traffic encryption. vManage includes tools to help secure administrative access and enforce role-based access control.

Access controls include:

• Multi-factor authentication
  
  
• Integration with LDAP or RADIUS
  
  
• User group permissions
  
  
• Command auditing and session logging

By restricting access based on user roles, organizations can ensure that only authorized personnel can make configuration changes, apply policies, or view sensitive data.

These security features help enforce internal policies and regulatory compliance.

Planning for Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery

A robust SD-WAN deployment must include a plan for disaster recovery. vManage supports this through:

• Regular backups of configuration and telemetry data
  
  
• High availability clustering
  
  
• Redundant controller deployments across regions
  
  
• Scheduled data exports to secure storage
  
  

In the event of a controller failure, these mechanisms allow for quick recovery without significant disruption to network operations. Backup controllers can take over, and data can be restored to keep policies and configurations intact.

Disaster recovery testing should also be part of regular maintenance routines to ensure all procedures work as expected.

Preparing for Continuous Improvement

The final phase of operating an SD-WAN environment is continuous improvement. Network conditions, application demands, and security threats constantly evolve. vManage enables organizations to:

• Periodically review policy effectiveness
  
  
• Optimize routing paths based on updated performance data
  
  
• Refine templates as business needs change
  
  
• Review historical trends to identify areas of improvement

This proactive stance ensures that the SD-WAN remains agile, secure, and aligned with business objectives.

Regular training for IT teams, review of best practices, and engagement with vendor updates help keep the deployment at peak performance.

Conclusion

Managing a complex, distributed SD-WAN environment becomes much more approachable with the right tools and processes. vManage serves as the hub for orchestration, monitoring, security, and optimization. From initialization to full-scale operation, it transforms how networks are configured and maintained.

With real-time insights, template-based automation, and strong integration capabilities, vManage enables IT teams to not only manage their networks more efficiently but to continuously adapt and improve in a rapidly changing digital world.

Whether your organization has a few sites or hundreds across the globe, the centralized power of vManage makes SD-WAN scalable, reliable, and future-ready.