Is SD-WAN Over-hyped?

David DohertyProduct Director Access and Digital Strategy

The main

questions

you should

be asking

How to ensure

you get the

most from your

investment

Will your next WAN be an SD-WAN?

Leading SD WAN services should give you the following when architected and deployed correctly

• An orchestration layer preferably delivered “as a service”

• Efficient, dynamic, intelligent and policy based load sharing across multiple links

• Simplified WAN configuration and management – “zero touch provisioning”

• Easily create VPNs and insert or “service chain” additional services – firewalls, cloud proxies, WAN optimisation, etc

• Secure, localised Internet breakout, optimised path to IaaS/SaaS – O365, SF, etc

DIY or

Managed Service?Is Internet

Killing MPLS?

Can SD WAN

save me

money?

What are the

security

implications

of SD-WAN?

The main questions you should be asking

Is Internet killing MPLS?

The simple answer is…

No… it offers increased capability but doesn't necessarily provide an immediate reduction to MPLS

Why do we need more Internet?

• Branch staff application use that is moving to public cloud

• Localised and optimised internet services at branch level globally

• Rich media – e.g. You Tube

• Cloud Platforms

Why do we still use MPLS?

• Hybrid needs

• Mission critical latency sensitive applications

• Need for consistent, high quality bandwidth

• Availability of robust alternatives

• SLAs

• Aversion/cultural considerations

Food for thought…..

Non-critical vs critical applications

Hybrid design is key – balanced topology

Site resilience and SLAs

Compliment or replace

More bandwidth not more control

Internet need is growing – MPLS isn’t always falling……now

Copper rip and fibre replace

Can SD-WAN save me money?

The simple answer is…

…probably,

but maybe not right away

Network costs and saving opportunities

Internet/MPLS services vary wildly in price, performance and availability across geographies

Savings are specific to each organisation, it’s locations, applications and user types and associated availability and performance requirements

20%

80%

Only 20% of enterprises that have adopted SD-WAN have completely replaced MPLS

Traditional WAN circuit elimination

Branch deployment

agility

Management and

configuration expense

Application deployment

agility

Application trouble

shooting improvement

Where can SD-WAN save money?

Food for thought…

Shifting budget towards internet connectivity over MPLS – will it actually save money?

Reducing what you spend today on your network v cost per Mb – topology driven

Its not just a bandwidth discussion

General savings claims rarely stack up – its all about you

Don’t expect an immediate ROI

What are the security implications of SD-WAN?

The simple answer is…

…it means you need to look at your security in a different way to traditional routing

Biggest change

Using embedded security functionality within SD-WAN products

Using separate products for SD-WAN and security at the branch

Using embedded SD-WAN functionality within security products

Using SD-WAN with a cloud-based security solution, such as Zscaler

Requirements at the edgeTypically less complex than in the data centre

DIY or Managed Service?

The simple answer is…

…that it all depends on you and your resource capability

DIY or Managed Service

4 key areas to consider – people, process, technology, strategy

These are key to determining your absorptive capacity

With 40 vendors to pick from do you have the time

Using a MSP for SD-WAN can increase/augment mature capabilities

Food for thought…

Closing thoughts

Leading SD WAN services should give you the following when architected and deployed correctly

• An orchestration layer preferably delivered “as a service”

• Efficient, dynamic, intelligent and policy based load sharing across multiple links

• Simplified WAN configuration and management – “zero touch provisioning”

• Easily create VPNs and insert or “service chain” additional services – firewalls, cloud proxies, WAN optimisation, etc

• Secure, localised Internet breakout, optimised path to IaaS/SaaS – O365, SF, etc

SD-WAN use cases

• Aggressively moving apps to the cloud - O365, G Suite

• Moving to Hybrid and deploying Internet to the branch

• Seeking to reduce traditional business-class carrier budgets

• Want to reduce complexity of WAN configuration

• Typically large number of branches (25+)

• Aggressively deploying video or other public high bandwidth apps

• Maintaining limited or no IT staff at the branch

Maybe next time…….

Summary risks

40 vendors some have overhyped their capabilities, using confusing language and claims

How to cope with traffic spikes and unforeseen traffic mixes

Its all in your use case not the vendors – discuss in detail

Beware the limitations –consolidated network functions may need to offload this functionality when moving to light weight SDWAN CPE – voice!

Market claims – what value does the feature actually deliver, don’t assume name

Vendor lock in as technology based on controllers – no vendor to vendor controller integration today

Talk to us about

arranging a

free SD-WAN audit

to assess

your readiness

Do you want a

solid business case

for SD-WAN and

agile WAN

Foundations?

What next?

Thank YouAny questions?

Stand P474