SD-WAN: ready to bust some myths?

In simple terms, SD-WAN has one main objective: to securely and efficiently direct traffic across the WAN, connecting users to the applications. To that end, this virtual WAN architecture allows businesses and organizations to leverage any combination of transport services, including MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching), LTE and broadband Internet services.

SD-WAN offers many undeniable benefits. How many, exactly? The list goes on: centralized visibility and control, configuration consistency, global policy application, advanced security and traffic segmentation and prioritization options, increased application performance, a higher quality user experience, enhanced business productivity, the ability to scale up as business needs grow, reduced IT costs, among others.

Too good to be true? Well, just like there is a grain of truth in every fairy tale, nothing is ever that straightforward – especially in the world of technology. So here are some of the most common myths and misconceptions surrounding SD-WAN solutions today.

Businesses can optimize their Wide Area Networks to make the most out of their bandwidth. A combination of data compression and deduplication technologies can address latency, packet loss, and congestion issues – a common sight in the WAN. In most cases, in order to achieve complete network and application optimization, customer premise equipment (CPE) needs to be deployed at both ends of the network and managed by IT departments. SD-WAN solutions, on the other hand, are designed to deploy and manage a network from a central location, and that is a major difference.

Compared to Multiprotocol Label Switching, SD-WANs are generally less expensive to maintain. MPLS pricing is impacted by several factors, including international bandwidth fees (which tend to pretty steep!), port speed and type, as well as local loops – the solution becomes even more costly when traffic is backhauled. As a result, MPLS services are typically more expensive than regular Internet.

But the important thing here is, life can rarely be boiled down to such simple notions. Nowadays businesses tend to use hybrid WANs to shift low-priority traffic to cheap Internet links, and continue with scaled-down MPLS for mission-critical traffic. The key to saving money with SD-WAN, however, is to get what you pay for and, conversely, to pay for what you use. The inefficiency of the MPLS networks mainly stems from the fact that they don’t allow you to easily scale bandwidth. Instead, you’re expected to buy enough bandwidth for worst-case contingencies and “eat” the cost the rest of the time.

SD-WAN solutions sometimes do the same thing by making you pay for more licenses than you really need. And we don’t think that’s right. That is why we offer our customers consumption-based licensing that only charges you for the licenses you use. With Extreme, you have several options, including pay-as-you-go pricing models, flex up/down licensing, and multiple service tiers – all without having to lock into long-term contracts to find the right fit!

The fact that mission-critical network traffic could be pushed down to poorer links during times of heavy traffic should be a matter of concern. At first glance, Software-Defined Wide Area Networks offer better economies of scale than a traditional MPLS network. That doesn’t mean, however, that companies should try to build the cheapest SD-WAN they can.

Instead, SD-WAN should be perceived as an opportunity to cost-effectively increase bandwidth to branch offices, improve the quality of experience (QoE) for your users, and get more value from cloud-based services. Sure, using SD-WAN technology can keep some money in your pocket, but it can do something even better: drive top-line revenue through enhanced productivity and more satisfied customers and/or employees. Sometimes the best way to save money is to spend some, rather than focusing entirely on cutting costs.

The aforementioned performance and productivity benefits are at your fingertips, but it’s not like they’ll just happen in the snap of a finger once you buy any SD-WAN technology. Instead, look for a solution that’ll allow you to look beyond bits and bytes to analyze network traffic and see what’s actually running on the network. Only based on these insights can we prioritize traffic, create policies around latency and security, and ensure that critical applications get the critical attention they require. Needless to say, not all SD-WAN solutions are application aware. On average, only one in five companies see improved application performance and QoE after installing a basic Software-Defined Wide Area Networking solution.

SD-WAN will provide the most opportunities to innovative businesses looking for growth opportunities. Consider what your objectives are before you invest!

As the employees increasingly bypass formal IT channels to become direct consumers of cloud applications, their shadow IT applications create both security risks and performance bottlenecks. These issues come to light especially after a company has connected an SD-WAN solution to the Internet with the hopes of better cloud application performance and security – only to face more problems.

Again, awareness is the key to improving cloud application performance with an SD-WAN solution. In order to drive better outcomes, IT teams need to be able to identify traffic at the user and session level. Unfortunately, most SD-WAN solutions available on the market don’t provide that kind of granular visibility. In other words: opt for a technology that helps you make enlightened choices for cloud application connectivity – like, for example, the ExtremeCloud SD-WAN!

As you can see, moving to an SD-WAN can transform your network performance, productivity, security, and save you some money, too. But it doesn’t happen all by itself – the best way of truly gaining the benefits of software-defined networking and making the most out of your investment is by choosing the right solution, the right partner, and the right moment to start your journey towards SD-WAN. And for all that, you can on the support of Extreme Networks!