The Big Network App: The OOB Superpower VNOs Don’t Know About

‍Key Takeaways for Virtual Network Operators:

• Out-of-band networking built in, not a bolt-on: The Big Network App, when paired with Big Edge deployments, provides a modern out-of-band (OOB) platform directly into the customer premise.
• Multipath and Multi-WAN Enabled: The Big Network App is designed to intelligently discover any and all available WAN paths into the customer premise, whether through primary dedicated Internet access or backup LTE.
• Identity-driven access: Users in your NOC authenticate with credentials; the platform provisions them automatically into the correct networks. No manual certificate distribution, no static hostnames like most Virtual Private Network (VPN) offerings.
• Security by design: Simple micro-segmentation limits each user to only the networks they’re entitled to, shrinking the attack surface and reducing the risk of accidental management network exposure.
• Operational efficiency: Unified network management from service delivery to out-of-band means fewer support tickets, less troubleshooting, and simpler scaling when hundreds or thousands of remote users come online.
• Unified experience: Big Network App runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android, so that your technology team always has remote access no matter their preference for a workstation.
• Service opportunity: Enables VNOs and MSPs to bundle superior network management capabilities without additional connectivity or service elements.

Out-of-band access has traditionally been treated as an afterthought. Operators bolted on a VPN, distributed certificate bundles, and hoped the NOC could get itself connected. It was clunky, but tolerable — until the scale of accounts, locations, and services exploded. 

That shift exposed the weakness of “good enough” solutions. VPNs collapsed under scale. Manual certificate distribution became unmanageable. Internal support tickets spiked. Operators needed a way to extend the same orchestration, resilience, and visibility they have for primary circuits into their OOB networks. 

That’s precisely the advantage that the Big Network App provides. Instead of being a bolt-on, the Big Network App is an extension of the Big Network ecosystem — a client that runs on laptops, desktops, and mobile devices, arming your NOC and its agents as first-class peers in the same cloud-managed fabric used to deliver Unbreakable Internet and Static IP Anywhere to your client’s sites. 

It’s not about replacing VPNs for the sake of it. It’s about aligning OOB access with the same model operators already use for site-to-site connectivity:

• Identity-driven — users log in, not devices.
  
  
• Consistent backend — the same networking engine that powers the Big Network Edge also runs in the Big Network App.
  
  
• Unified orchestration — Manage OOB access in the same platform as Unbreakable Internet and Static IP Anywhere.

For VNOs and MSPs, the significance is straightforward: The Big Network App reduces operational overhead, strengthens security posture, and allows you to bundle OOB and network management as part of the same service you’re already delivering — without standing up a separate stack.

“The Big Network App isn’t a bolt-on. It’s part of the same platform. That’s why it scales differently — because it was designed from day one to be another node in the fabric, not an add-on VPN.” — Andrej Binder, CTO, Big Network.

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What is the Big Network App?

At its simplest, the Big Network App is client software that extends Big Network’s cloud-managed platform directly to desktops, laptops, and mobile devices. It’s available across Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android, and it turns any device into a first-class peer in a Big Network Cloud Network.

The app does three things exceptionally well:

1. Provides identity-driven access to remote networks — Users log in with their credentials, and the system automatically provisions them into the networks they’re entitled to: no manual certificate distribution, no static hostnames, no VPN gymnastics.
   
   
2. Runs the same networking engine as Big Network’s gateways — The backend code is consistent across Edge Lite, Edge Pro, Edge Virtual, and Big Apps. That means a laptop at a NOC agent’s home office behaves just like a branch site gateway. 

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3. Multipath and Multi-WAN Enabled - The Big Network App discovers any and all paths into client networks - from primary DIA to backup LTE, and everything in between. This means your NOC and agents can ALWAYS have access to network elements and management, so long as there is one active connection. And that happens without searching through a list of primary, secondary, or tertiary endpoints - dynamic discovery gets you connected.

From a user’s perspective, the Big Network App is dead simple: download, log in, and go. From an operator’s perspective, it’s the missing link that makes OOB access part of the same fabric as primary service delivery.

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Why Operators Should Care

OOB access has historically been a pain point. Setting up parallel WAN circuits, adding security complexity, and deploying additional hardware that is rarely used, tested, or credited in adding business value, just means more cost to the operator.  Yet, when things go wrong in networks, OOB is the insurance policy you have, or you wish you had. Period.

• Customer Experience. Seamless connections mean operators do not drown in tickets. Having eyes on both ends of a connection means quicker diagnostics and troubleshooting when things go wrong.
  
  
• Brand Trust and Value: Robust OOB means having answers at your fingertips - you will always know the state of the network at the client site, building trust and value.
  
  
• Revenue Potential. With the Big Network App, operators can deliver end-to-end connectivity as a managed service with superior management capabilities.

As CTO Andrej Binder puts it:

“The Big Network App is not a sidecar to the network. It is part of the network. If you care about resilience, visibility, and control, then you have to care about remote access at the same level.”

Why Not Just Use a VPN?

It is tempting to ask: why not just keep running VPNs?

The answer is simple: VPNs were built for a different era. They drop a user into the entire network, regardless of what they actually need. That is a security nightmare in a zero-trust world. No parallel and dedicated OOB infrastructure - built in to reach the premise.

The Big Network App flips the model: users only see the networks to which they are entitled. No broad tunnels. No sprawling firewall exceptions. No static certificate bundles to distribute.

Operators save time. End-users get a clean, consistent experience. Everyone wins.

Conclusion

OOB access is no longer optional. It is the baseline. But most solutions treat it as an afterthought.

The Big Network App changes that. It brings the same resilience, orchestration, and policy-driven connectivity that operators deliver in the primary network and delivers it to the NOC and its agents.

For operators, that means:

• Happier customers
  
  
• Stronger security
  
  
• New revenue streams
  
  

And for NOC and agents, it means something refreshingly simple: download, log in, and get to work.

Further Reading

1. Why Big Network? A Modern Networking Platform That Unbreaks Connectivity for VNOs
   Explores how Big Network redefines reliability and visibility for modern operators through a unified cloud architecture.
2. Static IP Anywhere: Unbreakable Internet for Multi-WAN Deployments
   Deep dive into how Big Network’s multipath approach keeps static IPs persistent across any mix of ISPs, LTE, or Starlink.
3. Firewall Failover: How to Ensure Security During an Outage
   A practical guide for maintaining security continuity and visibility during ISP disruptions.
4. Core Transit Partners with Big Network: Static IP Anywhere in Action
   A real-world example of Big Network technology powering resilient, multi-ISP connectivity for service providers.
5. Unbreakable Internet: The Next Evolution of Failover
   Explains how Big Network’s multipath tunneling model delivers truly seamless connectivity without downtime.

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