ChannelVision Magazine

On one hand, the most recent figures indi- cate that SD-WAN adoption is skyrocketing. We are now looking at a maturing market that is on pace to reach $861 million in 2018, with no sign of slowing down. Despite this growth, though, enterprises can’t seem to shake their reliance on traditional MPLS services — and it’s important to remember this when speaking to customers about migrating to SD-WAN. According to IDG Connect, about 40 percent of businesses are now looking into hybrid models that use SD-WAN alongside MPLS connections. What’s more, in a new study from Cato Networks, 57 percent of respondents with SD-WAN imple- mentations said they expect MPLS investments to either increase or remain the same this year. “The persistence of MPLS stems from the un- derlying problem of relying on the public internet as an enterprise backbone,” Cato’s report states. “Whereas internet connectivity has improved and is often sufficient for regional connectivity, the internet continues to be too erratic, too unpredictable for the consistent, end-to-end connectivity required by loss- or-latency sensitive applications, such as voice.” WAN Simplification A ll we have been hearing about in the enterprise networking arena is how SD-WAN is on track to displace MPLS. But is this actually going to happen, or is it all hot air? More importantly, is this even the question or concern providers and partners should have on their minds? Not simply a replacement technology, the SD-WAN sell is simplicity Zettabytes By Gerald Baldino 24 Channel Vision | July - August, 2018