The SD-WAN market, although in its relatively early stages, is rapidly expanding. IDC predicts that it will grow at a 30.8 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2018 to 2023 to reach $5.25 billion. We see many businesses looking at the technology and considering alternative options available to them, including the choice of vendors available. However, we are also observing ongoing issues and obstacles with deployment. For businesses going through proof-of-concept models in particular, there are certain recurring problems that seem to crop up time and time again.
One hindrance to market growth is that while SD-WAN offers many benefits over its predecessor MPLS, businesses often seem happy to “make do” with MPLS for a little while longer. MPLS is a trusted technology, but it is 25 years old and has many limitations. SD-WAN is much faster, more secure and reliable, and is better suited to today’s cloud-first environment. But despite its obvious advantages and proven ROI, it can be tricky to secure senior-level buy-in for the upfront investment associated with SD-WAN, and there are often bigger business priorities.
Above all, businesses seem unsure of the best route of deployment, which centres around the DIY route versus co-managed or fully managed service (MSP) conundrum. Some businesses buy SD-WAN routing equipment and choose to install and configure it themselves at each site, embracing the DIY model. Others use a systems integrator or communication services provider for the set-up stage, then opt to manage the network themselves. Alternatively, they may engage a managed network service provider in one of several ways, from deployment and maintenance through to co-managed or fully managed network services.
DIY vs. Managed Service
The DIY SD-WAN is attractive to some due to the organisation’s ability to keep full control over network and application routing, which can also be centrally defined and administered. This can be important to businesses holding particularly sensitive data. The prospect of eliminating managed serviced costs is also appealing to businesses with limited budgets. However, the DIY route also faces many drawbacks, namely the skillsets required to ensure quick and successful deployment, which in this industry are often in short supply. SD-WAN can also be a very technical sale involving service level agreements (SLAs), vendor interoperability issues, a long sales cycle, and proof-of-concept testing. It is a route that shouldn’t be taken lightly.
The managed service route, by comparison, comes at a slightly higher cost, but this can be justified through the longer-term ROI gained, while fixed monthly pricing and the OPEX model buying is also increasingly sought after by businesses. Businesses choosing this option will also be protected by SLAs, and service providers will be able to troubleshoot and restore services more quickly than an internal team. A managed SD-WAN provider can also aggregate and manage multiple network providers, and there will be no need for lengthy proof-of-concept testing since vendors will already have been vetted.
SD-WAN: Flexibility, Agility, Efficiency, and a Better UX
Ultimately, businesses looking to take the DIY SD-WAN route should think carefully because it becomes an extremely technical conversation very quickly. The lack of any industry standard for SD-WAN is a further concern because all vendors will have their own USPs and nuances, which businesses must validate and judge themselves. It is critical that they use strict test criteria, avoiding test and success criteria written by proprietary vendors, to ensure a fair comparison between different vendor solutions is made.
While it is understandable that some businesses are stalling over SD-WAN and sticking with what they already know and trust (in the shape of MPLS), when it comes to the enhanced functionality of SD-WAN, there is no comparison. In the way that smart motorways use traffic management methods to increase capacity and reduce congestion, SD-WAN technology provides the flexibility, agility, efficiency, and enhanced user experience that modern business demands. But as with anything new, it is just a change of mindset that is needed in order to make the leap!
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