Around 92% of businesses are expected to adopt a software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) solution by 2026. If you aren’t yet one of them, it’s likely only a matter of time.
However, many business leaders aren’t sure if managed SD-WAN or a DIY solution would be best for their company.
Unmanaged SD-WAN can offer significant cost savings compared to managed services, especially in hybrid multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) environments. A managed SD-WAN service, on the other hand, is less operationally complex.
While an estimated 77% of organizations prefer to use a fully managed or co-managed SD-WAN solution, yours doesn’t necessarily fit into this larger percentage — the right option depends on your needs and expertise.
What is SD-WAN?
SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Network) is a transformative technology that allows businesses to manage and optimize their wide area networks (WANs) using software-defined networking principles. SD-WAN makes it easier to adapt to changing network conditions while also simplifying both network infrastructure and cost.
Solutions like Momentum SD-WAN provide a single dashboard with monitoring tools that provide visibility across the entire network.
Through a single pane of glass, organizations can seamlessly manage multiple WAN connections, prioritize traffic, and support critical applications. This results in not only enhanced network performance, but also reliability and flexibility.
What is managed SD-WAN?
With managed SD-WAN, a third-party managed service provider (MSP) maintains a company’s SD-WAN infrastructure.
Comprehensive SD WAN management typically includes networking hardware and software, including SD-WAN controllers and routers, to establish and manage the network. The MSP also configures and optimize the network, monitors for and resolves issues, and delivers regular reports on network performance.
The trade-off is that managed SD WAN pricing tends to be higher compared to unmanaged SD-WAN.
Managed SD-WAN services are especially useful for businesses without the internal IT resources to effectively manage their network. They can have their MSP handle day-to-day management, freeing their IT team to focus on other critical activities.
SD-WAN as a service vs. Managed SD-WAN
Businesses looking for SD WAN management can choose one of two options based on how much control they want over their SD-WAN network.
SD-WAN-as-a-Service (SDWaaS) is a cloud-based service model that encompasses hardware, software, and network management. Businesses subscribe to a cloud-based service offered by a third-party MSP, paying a monthly fee for complete network management.
With SDWaaS, a business does not retain control of their underlying network infrastructure. Instead, SD-WAN networks in SDWaaS are managed entirely by the service provider, which can limit customization and control.
Understanding SD-WAN costs
Evaluating an SD-WAN solution requires you to do more than look at vendor pricing. You must also account for the total cost of ownership (TCO), which encompasses hardware, software, and maintenance expenses. Other factors that influence cost include number of sites, bandwidth requirements, network size, security needs, and scalability requirements.
SD-WAN pricing models can also vary, with some service providers offering a subscription-based SD-WAN service while other vendors deliver licensing options.
Choosing the right SD-WAN solution
Here are some critical aspects to consider when choosing a SD-WAN solution:
Network Architecture: Options include hub-and-spoke, mesh, and hybrid configurations as well as specialized deployments like multi-VRF.
Security: For secure communication and connectivity, providers may offer features such as firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and encryption capabilities.
Scalability Requirements: Choose an SD-WAN solution that fulfills your current resource demands while also growing with your needs.
Management and Monitoring: Look for features such as real-time visibility, analytics, traffic shaping, and centralized control.
Service-Level Agreements (SLAs): Prioritize vendors with generous SLAs, as these are more likely to provide you with reliable connectivity.
By carefully considering the above, businesses can select a vendor with optimal pricing and a solution that delivers reliability, flexibility, and performance.
Pros and cons of SD-WAN managed services
Compared to unmanaged SD-WAN, managed SD-WAN services offer several benefits for businesses and their customers, including cost, IT resources, and reliability. However, there are also several drawbacks, such as limited customization and loss of control.
Whether the former outweighs the latter comes down to your use case and requirements.
Pros of Managed SD-WAN
The benefits of a managed SD-WAN service include:
Expertise
As with any managed service, experts will configure, manage, and monitor your solution for you. This frees up a good deal of internal resources to focus on other tasks that grow your business.
Cost Savings
A managed SD-WAN solution tends to cost less overall than other options, particularly traditional MPLs. SD-WAN pricing is predictable, taking the form of a monthly subscription fee with no upfront costs on networking infrastructure or hardware. SD-WAN cost savings reported by users include a lower initial investment and lower total cost of ownership.
Compared to MPLs, troubleshooting and maintenance represent another potential cost reduction, as these are handled by the MSP instead of internally.
Scalability
Managed SD-WAN can quickly and easily scale up or down to meet your business’s changing needs without requiring a significant investment or changes to the network infrastructure.
Security
With managed SD-WAN services, your MSP can protect your network services and data via measures such as intrusion detection and prevention systems, firewalls, and VPNs.
Performance
Managed SD-WAN services can optimize network performance, reduce latency, improve application response times, and increase network uptime, resulting in a better user experience.
Potential Cons of SD-WAN Managed Services
Possible drawbacks of managed SD-WAN include:
Loss of Control
While you retain more control over your network with managed SD-WAN than with SDWaaS, you’ll still have to relinquish some control over the network to your MSP.
Vendor Lock-In
Your business may end up tied to a single MSP, which can make it difficult to switch providers in the event of poor service or a price increase.
Limited Customization
Managed SD-WAN services may offer limited customization options, as the MSP typically manages the network configuration and policies.
Reliance on the Provider
Managed SD-WAN customers must rely on their MSP for network management, which can be a concern if they frequently experience downtime or other network reliability issues.
How does managed SD-WAN solve modern IT challenges?
Traditional WANs can be complex and difficult to manage, especially for multi-location businesses. Distributed enterprises are also increasingly dependent on cloud services and remote working models, making reliable and secure connectivity essential.
SD-WAN offers a way for remote workers to securely connect to corporate resources via the internet without impacting user performance.
The technology also simplifies network management by consolidating multiple connections into a single platform. IT teams can control everything from branch offices to data centers from a central location.
Network security
SD-WAN solutions offer enhanced network security features, such as firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and encryption. However, as with any connected technology, there’s the risk of unauthorized access and data breaches.
To protect their systems and data, businesses should regularly update their security and employ both multi-factor authentication and encryption. Integrating the SD-WAN solution with other security solutions such as next-generation firewalls and intrusion prevention systems can provide additional layers of protection.
Global connectivity
Global SD-WAN connectivity enables businesses to connect multiple locations worldwide using a single, unified network. By leveraging internet-based connections such as broadband and 4G/LTE, SD-WAN solutions provide a cost-effective and flexible way to enable remote collaboration.
Implementing measures such as such as WAN optimization and intelligent routing is essential to addressing challenges such as latency and packet loss and ensuring reliable, secure global connectivity.
What are popular SD-WAN technology tools and services?
SD-WAN technology is designed to be both flexible and responsive. As a result, there are a great many tools and services available to meet your business needs:
WAN management protocols
Several WAN management protocols enable an MSP to remotely oversee the network in real-time. Common services include performance management, automatic configuration, and software management.
Policy rules
Policy rules are used to manage network traffic and optimize performance through traffic routing. Managed SD-WAN providers can configure policy rules to ensure the applications employees need to stay productive always receive the necessary bandwidth and resources.
Public cloud support
Your MSP or SD-WAN vendor can connect your network to public cloud services such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform (GCP) for everything from application development to database hosting.
Centralized management
Most solutions provide a centralized management console, allowing network administrators or the MSP to handle policies, configurations, and performance across all locations.
WAN optimization
To improve application performance and reduce latency, managed SD-WAN services provide features such as WAN optimization, bandwidth aggregation, and elastic scaling.
Managed connectivity
Since managed SD-WAN solutions are delivered over the cloud, your vendor can provide an end-to-end connectivity solution that includes broadband internet, 4G/LTE, and private connections as needed.
Managed CPE
Managed customer premises equipment (CPE) sees the MSP take responsibility for installing, configuring, and maintaining your network equipment, including routers, switches, firewalls, and other network devices.
Analytics and reporting
Vendors may offer a range of analytics and reporting features to provide valuable insights into traffic patterns, application performance, and user behavior.
What is SASE?
SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) is a cloud-based networking and security model that provides secure network access from anywhere and on any device. It combines services such as SD-WAN, secure web gateway (SWG), cloud access security broker (CASB), and zero-trust network access (ZTNA) into a single platform, consolidating their benefits and features.
Get started with SD-WAN today
Modern networking environments are increasingly complex. Managed SD-WAN services leverage the expertise and resources of MSPs to:
Optimize performance
Reduce costs
Adapt to changing needs
Enhance productivity
Deliver a better experience to end users
If you’re ready to take your organization to the next level with an agile SD-WAN solution, Momentum can help. We designed our Momentum SD-WAN solution to help businesses streamline operations, simplify monitoring and reporting, automate troubleshooting, and ultimately make the most of their connectivity.
Contact us today to learn more about your option, pricing, and more. or discuss pricing.
