CV_Fall20_2

Faced with a sudden and dire need to improve agility, simplify change management and securely enable distributed workforces, IT departments are turning to software-defined wide- area networking (SD-WAN) to help ensure that employees stay connected and cloud applications work as expect- ed — all while keeping data safe. According to IDG, more than half (56 percent) of the survey respondents are piloting, installing or upgrading SD-WAN installations. That result reflects an upswing that continues from last year and is significantly more than as recently as 2017, when only 35 percent of the respondents reported investing in SD-WAN. “SD-WAN is now vital in today’s business climate, due to the need for consistent communications services,” said Watson. Respondents now place the great- est importance on specific SD-WAN capabilities including multi-cloud connectivity (cited as “very important” by 66 percent of the respondents) and support for a variety of data transport and access options for the network (“very important” to 64 percent of the respondents). Also important to IT leaders is SD-WAN’s ability to relieve teams of manual network monitor- ing and other day-to-day manage- ment tasks. This is where advanced solutions offering fully managed options, as well as co-managed options in which responsibilities can be shared between customers and provid- ers, become important. “Co-managed options can give IT departments access to the best of both worlds, providing total control over network services along with the backstop of an outside resource for keeping up with changing workloads,” said IDG analysts. So, it’s not a surprise that the latest survey showed that a combined 74 percent of enterprises prefer support from their providers, with nearly half (45 percent) opting for a fully managed SD-WAN approach and another 29 percent opting for a co-managed solution. Meanwhile, just a quarter of respondents preferred to fly solo in the SD-WAN management. “It seems clear that IT leaders value solution flexibility and managed servic - es more during times of uncertainty, when they may need to rapidly (or even unexpectedly) pivot network services or management strategies to face new challenges,” said the IDG report. “Managed services provide the flexibil - ity and ability to lean on a provider for scalable staffing when they need to navigate an ever-shifting terrain.” Top benefits of SD-WAN cited by respondents in the peak of the pandemic crisis included increased Managed Dominates Current SD-WAN Deployments Fully managed service maintained by the provider 46% Co-managed solution, where service is managed by both you and the provider 29% Standalone device that requires a do-it-yourself approach 25% Source: IDG, percent of enterprise respondents Are You Making 40%? Hosted PBX Video Conferencing 40% Residuals $19.99 A Seat With 35+ Features No Customer Contracts Required Video Conferencing Platform New Yealink or many other options Sales Engineer Quote to Deployment 100% Channel 100% Of The Time Always Connected 877-314-4080 GetPTC.com 57 September - October, 2020 | CHANNEL VISION