Jul/Aug 19 - ChannelVision Magazine

virtual reality tures. The latter benefit was particularly appealing to those with titles of vice president and above (named by 52 per- cent compared to 29 among all others). The top business benefits found by IDG included increased efficiency of networks and increased security, both selected by about six in 10 respon- dents. Increased agility, incidentally, was as popular a response among larg- er enterprises (5,000 employees and above), again suggesting business us- ers understand the inherent capabilities of SD-WAN technology. Cost savings, in the meantime, came in as the third most popular business benefit overall. As the market grows more familiar with SD-WAN, there have been some shifts in how organizations leverage the technology. Survey respondents in 2019 place less importance on centralized policy and configura- tion management and increasing importance on secure local connec- tivity and cloud access, showed the Masergy/IDG study. Cloud service- level agreements saw the most dra- matic rise as an evaluation factor, more than doubling from 12 percent in 2017 to 26 percent in 2019. The “flexibility of a solution” also moved toward universal importance, with 91 percent now viewing it as a key factor when choosing a solution. Far and away, security is the big- gest overall issue surrounding the SD-WAN purchase decision. Whether talking expected benefits, factors for selecting a solution or desired capa- bilities, security is first or second on the list. Security also is the number one overall WAN challenge, show IDG figures. In other words, conversations about SD-WAN should often start with security considerations. The ability to integrate with exist- ing MPLS and WAN solutions also is increasingly important to end users, showed the Masergy/IDG survey. Unlike what sales partners expressed above, end users say SD-WAN is deployed alongside MPLS and other WAN technologies on the vast major- ity of deployments. About one in 10 deployments was a “rip and replace” in the IDG study. The rest were augmen- tations and/or complements to existing infrastructure, said respondents. Of course, partner providers can’t be too quick to cast aside cost consid- erations from the sales conversation. After all, the cost of SD-WAN is the top perceived barrier to adoption among those surveyed by IDG. Close behind, and possibly good news for channel partners, 46 percent see their own skills gap as a top barrier to adoption. “Most organizations,” concluded the IDG report, “recognize that they will need to partner with the right service provider to ensure success.” Partners looking to win in the space, therefore, must deliver the tools and support required to work effectively with internal IT and network staffs. o Serving more than 20,000 locations. Our redundant fiber network is connected to multiple Tier 1 internet providers. Contact us today to learn more! 866-541-5000 Blackfoot.com/Carrier 35 July - August, 2019 | Channel Vision