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10 considerations when sourcing an SD-WAN provider

Ron Budden

Product Manager SD WAN/SASE

The SD-WAN market is growing at a rapid rate. This growth has been propelled by the number of benefits offered by the technology, including improved application performance, enhanced security, and higher levels of agility. But this growth has also resulted in the emergence of a complex SD-WAN provider landscape.

As Product Manager SD WAN/SASE at Expereo, I’ve seen a lot of good and bad SD-WAN providers and know the warning signs to watch out for when choosing the best SD-WAN provider.

One of the first decisions that a business switching to SD-WAN will have to make is whether they want a DIY approach or a managed offering.

The advantages of a fully-managed SD-WAN solution are that it should provide intelligent routing as standard and make fewer demands of your staff. Going with a managed SD-WAN provider means you don’t have to manage and monitor your own network, your provider handles everything for you.

Finding the right SD-WAN provider is highly dependent on the level of performance they can offer. A good provider will improve your application performance, particularly for essential tools, which can deliver significant productivity benefits. SD-WAN can optimize your traffic flow by monitoring application and network performance, identifying opportunities for improvement wherever they arise.

To adapt and evolve with ongoing market developments, automation often plays a major role in SD-WAN performance. In addition to monitoring performance, SD-WAN providers can provide optimized connectivity to SaaS solutions.

SD-WAN is still a relatively new technology, so shop around to ensure that you go with a provider that has a deep level of expertise in the field. Talk extensively with your proposed provider before you commit to a contract, working collaboratively on the next steps. Providers should be able to optimally support you in the RUN phase of the SaaS lifecycle, with regular service meetings, network performance and security analysis, and suggestions for improvements.

In addition, working with any SD-WAN provider should start with an assessment of your current needs and how they can be met. Make sure that, as well as expertise, your provider also understands what your company wants from the SD-WAN solution.

The number of network security threats that exist today, from malware to DDoS attacks, means that robust cyber defenses are a key part of any SD-WAN deployment.

But while SD-WAN is designed to enhance network control and security, that’s only if your provider prioritizes it. While SD-WAN normally comes with features like data encryption, to provide additional safeguards that not only protect your network today but future-proof it against the likely threats to come, be sure that your provider can integrate other tools like:

When assessing different SD-WAN provider, consider whether they have the capability to match your own growth plans - and go beyond them. Innovation can strike at any point, so your SD-WAN provider needs to have the ability to add capabilities that allow you to make the most of new opportunities. Don’t allow your SD-WAN provider to be the thing that holds you back.

When choosing an SD-WAN provider, make sure you look for one that can also provide the underlay network that will underpin your SD-WAN infrastructure. Whether it includes MPLS, fiber, or wireless broadband, the physical underlay network is ultimately responsible for delivering packets of data across your network. SD-WAN providers need to be able to manage the underlay if they want to unlock the full potential of SD-WAN.

As the SD-WAN market has grown, so has the number of solutions integrating with it. From security tools to cloud-based SaaS applications, the best SD-WAN providers have a rich ecosystem of partners that they can leverage to source complementary solutions for your network such as the first mile, global backbone, and professional services.

The right partner ecosystem can also prove valuable when SD-WAN providers are helping businesses to migrate from WAN to SD-WAN for the first time. Technology partners can enable SD-WAN providers to offer flexible migration options and a deployment plan that suits your needs.

SD-WAN technology is set for continued evolution over the coming years, so choose a provider that has a future-ready mindset. Consider how your chosen SD-WAN provider has optimized cloud connectivity in the past, how they have mitigated network issues like bottlenecks and latency, and their plans for ongoing digital innovation.

SD-WAN orchestration and management are likely to be handled remotely in the majority of cases, but when on-site support is required, you’ll be glad to be working with a provider that has the capability or partner ecosystem able to provide in-person support wherever you are.

SD-WAN provides several cost benefits by eliminating legacy hardware and helping significantly reduce your capital expenditure. However, SD-WAN costs do vary by provider, so be sure to factor this into your IT budget carefully.

Expereo is an SD-WAN Managed Service Provider who offers fully managed SD-WAN that connects all your people, workloads and things seamlessly with a unified cloud delivered network and security solution.

Our expertise and vendor-agnostic approach mean you can cut through the noise and simplify your operations with a single partner, operating under a single engagement, offering best-of-breed technology designed to your exact needs.

Get in touch today to discuss your needs.