By: Todd Miller

Wide area networking (WAN) has evolved over the years to its latest iteration: software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN). For a number of sound business reasons, each step in the evolution has become more integrated with the Local Area Network (LAN) and the broader technology environment of the enterprise.

As a result of this evolution, many enterprises are deciding they need SD-WAN (or are at least exploring it as an option). This is because SD-WANs can offer many benefits for the enterprise including cost savings, improved uptime, better security, and greater network performance.

A recent study by Ovum, the leading network and telecommunications industry analyst organization (now part of Omdia), shows that 34 percent of customers in the study have deployed SD-WAN and 46 percent plan to deploy SD-WAN in the next two years. Larger enterprise customers are much more likely to have experience with SD-WAN and have major deployments to date. Global companies are more likely to have adopted SD-WAN but Ovum sees growing interest in the mid-market segment. The study also showed that the top reasons to choose a service provider for SD-WAN are service guarantees, security protection, analytics insights, and help with migration.

Those responsible for implementing SD-WAN environments in enterprises need to consider a number of things when guiding the planning process for choosing and implementing the best solution operationally for the organization.

Consider the Problem Being Solved

An SD-WAN is a WAN that uses software-defined network (SDN) technology to simplify the management and operation of a WAN by decoupling the networking hardware from its control mechanism. This concept is similar to how software-defined networking implements virtualization technology to improve data center management and operation. 

A key application of SD-WAN is to allow companies to build higher-performance enterprise networks by replacing more expensive private WAN connection technologies, such as MPLS, with lower-cost and more commercially available Internet access solutions. Because of the SD-WAN’s ability to redirect traffic instantly in the event of a connectivity issue, customers can deploy multiple lower-cost connections without affecting network uptime.

That said, some SD-WAN platforms are good for some situations but maybe not for others. It may sound too simplistic, but it is important to ask the right questions upfront to understand this issue:

• Are the network requirements nationwide or worldwide?
• Do different groups within your organization require varying degrees of security?
• Are multiple Internet egress points required?
• Are applications moving from a data center or customer site to a cloud provider?