The modern business landscape increasingly relies on robust, flexible networking solutions supporting critical operations and ensuring seamless connectivity across multiple locations. Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) technology has emerged as a cornerstone for businesses looking to enhance network performance, security, and scalability. Managed solutions, in particular, offer a streamlined approach to deploying and maintaining these networks.
Here are the key factors to consider when comparing versions of a managed SD WAN solution, and provide a checklist to help make the selection process easier.
Know the Basics
The technology allows businesses to manage and optimise their network traffic across wide-area networks (WANs) using software-defined networking principles. Managed solutions take this a step further by outsourcing the management of the SD-WAN infrastructure to a third-party provider. This approach can reduce the complexity and resource requirements of managing a WAN, making it an attractive option for many businesses.
Benefits of Managed SD-WAN
- Enhanced Performance: Managed solutions optimise network traffic to ensure high performance for critical applications, regardless of the underlying transport services (MPLS, broadband, LTE, etc.).
- Improved Reliability: By dynamically routing traffic across the best available links, managed SD-WAN can enhance network reliability and reduce downtime.
- Increased Agility: With managed SD-WAN, businesses can quickly adapt their network infrastructure to meet changing needs without significant capital investment or technical challenges.
- Better Security: Many managed SD-WAN providers offer advanced security features, including encryption, intrusion detection, and secure gateways, as part of their service.
Key Considerations When Comparing Managed Solutions
To choose the right managed solution for your business, consider the following factors:
Network Performance and Reliability
Evaluate how each solution manages and optimises network traffic. Look for features that ensure high performance and reliability, such as:
- Quality of Service (QoS): Prioritising critical applications to ensure consistent performance.
- Path Selection: Dynamic routing of traffic based on current network conditions.
- Failover Capabilities: Automatic switching to backup connections in case of a link failure.
Security Features
Compare the security features provided by each managed solution, including:
- Encryption: Ensuring data privacy across the network.
- Firewall and Intrusion Prevention: Protecting the network from external threats.
- Segmentation: Isolating network segments to contain potential breaches.
Scalability and Flexibility
Your network needs will evolve, so it’s essential that your managed solution can scale and adapt. Consider:
- Scalability: Ability to increase capacity or add new locations without significant disruptions.
- Configuration and Customisation: Ease of making changes to the network setup.
- Integration Capabilities: Support for integrating with existing network infrastructure and cloud services.
Service Level Agreements (SLAs)
SLAs are crucial for ensuring that the managed provider meets your expectations. Critical aspects of SLAs to compare include:
- Availability Guarantees: Uptime commitments and how they are enforced.
- Performance Metrics: Specific guarantees around latency, jitter, and packet loss.
- Support Responsiveness: Commitments regarding response and resolution times for issues.
Management and Support
The level of management and support offered can significantly influence the effectiveness of your solution. Look for:
- Monitoring and Reporting: Access to real-time performance data and regular reports.
- Customer Support: Availability of expert assistance and the quality of the support services.
- Managed Services: Extent of the management services provided, such as configuration updates and network optimisation.
Cost Considerations
Finally, the cost structure of each managed solution will be evaluated. Key cost-related factors include:
- Initial Setup Costs: Expenses associated with deploying the SD-WAN.
- Monthly Fees: Ongoing costs for using the service.
- Additional Costs: Charges for extra services, support, or scalability options.
Checklist for Comparing Managed Solutions
To streamline the comparison process, use the following checklist:
Performance and Reliability
- Quality of Service (QoS) features.
- Dynamic path selection capabilities.
- Automatic failover and redundancy options.
Security
- Data encryption methods.
- Firewall and intrusion prevention features.
- Network segmentation support.
Scalability and Flexibility
- Ease of scaling up or down.
- Customisation options for network configuration.
- Integration with other network and cloud services.
By meticulously assessing these criteria, businesses can make a well-informed choice in selecting a managed SD WAN solution that aligns perfectly with their specific needs and fosters their long-term growth and connectivity objectives.
