The SDWAN market is hot right now. IDC’s worldwide SDWAN forecast from 2017 to 2021 predicts SDWAN network sales to reach over $8 billion. This is a titanic jump from $225 million back in 2015. Why is the SDWAN market blowing up like this? Because SDWAN provides benefits too attractive for any organization seeking to remain a competitive to turn down.
BCM One has identified several technical and business benefits of SDWAN solutions:
- Connectivity Independence: SDWAN allows you to use any method of connectivity you like, be it MPLS, 4G/LTE or a standard Internet connection.
- Carrier Agnosticism: No longer will you have to rely upon a single MPLS provider for connectivity at your location. You have total control over who and how you connect back to headquarters.
- Increased Availability: One direct benefit of connectivity independence is increased availability. Broader connectivity options means you spend less time disconnected.
- Secure Connectivity: SDWAN provides access to greater security options, an attractive option for organizations with high compliance burdens. In some cases, this can replace your current firewall, but in every case, SDWAN adds another layer of defense.
- Intelligent Path Selection: You’re used to a secondary circuit kicking in when the primary circuit goes completely down… and dealing with brownouts in the meantime. SDWAN allows for active/active connectivity, always switching traffic to the optimal channel. Business-critical applications are always routed through the optimal channels.
- Intelligent Routing: In addition to intelligent path selection, you can prioritize certain kinds of traffic. For example, your VoIP could get routed through your fastest connection while company email uses a lower priority connection.
- Network Visibility: Every edge device is managed from a single SDWAN control panel, rather than multiple control panels, one for each. Not only does this make configuration changes easier, it also offers increased visibility, making it easier for you to hold your providers to their SLAs.
- Reduced Costs: All of the above add up to lowered costs for your organization. Less expensive carrier costs, increased security to control costs and deeper visibility into your solutions.
- Greater Agility: An MPLS connection takes months to ramp up. However, SDWAN allows you to quickly open new locations leveraging other connectivity options, meaning you can scale up and down more quickly. Configuration is automatically downloaded straight out of the box.
- Smaller Footprint: A single box handles all of your needs. This is especially attractive for organizations seeking a reduced footprint.
The benefits of SDWAN are myriad, but there are also challenges. Without the right managed services partner you could end up with a one-size-fits-all SDWAN solution right out of the box. Listen to our podcast series on SDWAN. Then talk to a BCM One representative about how to best meet your organization’s telecommunication needs leveraging SDWAN among other solutions.
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