PART 3: HOW WE TAILOR SD-WAN TO YOUR EXACT NEEDS
Choosing The Right SD-WAN Solution Is the Most Important Business Decision You Will Make
We might have mentioned before that not all SD-WAN’s are created equal. That makes choosing the right solution for your business a tricky project unless you’re an expert in several different SD-WAN technologies. Not getting the solution that you need 1st time round could cost you dearly – delayed project, extra budget and unhappy users.
Equally important is having a network solution that delivers exactly what you need it to, offers the correct application performance, the resilience and type of redundancy your business needs, is easy to manage and within budget.
Critical SD-WAN Design Components
SD-WAN VENDOR: With over 60 SD-WAN vendors to choose from, selecting the right one for your business may seem like a monumental challenge. There are feature rich SD-WAN products at the top of the chain, but unfortunately also products that are SD-WAN in name only. Each SD-WAN vendor technology offers unique benefits & addresses different customer requirements. Costs vary to as much as double for some vendors, sometimes the true cost are not clear with hidden extras ramping up the costs. SDWAN SOLUTIONS have over 35 vendor certifications and are experienced & trusted experts in all things SD-WAN
SOLUTION PROVIDERS: Buying SD-WAN from your existing network provider or any traditional telco may seem like a good idea at first but,could limit the options for you. Most telco operators resell a single SD-WAN vendor’s product coupled with connectivity provided by their own network. This ‘single flavour’ SD-WAN may not be the best fit for your business, and you could find better suited connectivity options by looking at at the entire market. SDWAN SOLUTIONS works with 1952 connectivity providers across the globe
SOLUTION TYPE: The type of service offered differs too – From buy-the-software-as-a-standalone product to complete SD-WAN-As-A-Service solutions that include all connectivity and perhaps services like remote user access and cloud access. Are you looking to self-install and self-manage, a fully installed and managed version or something in-between? You also need the change to SD-WAN to be as non-disruptive to your users and business as possible, in fact zero disruption would be great and is achievable! SDWAN SOLUTIONS delivers bespoke networks designed to your requirements with zero touch deployment
EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE: Finally, you need to consider any contractual obligations for your existing WAN, any circuits that you would like to be used in your new solution and, most importantly, that the solution is compatible with your LAN infrastructure and any external appliances required. You should insist on a Proof-of-Concept trial to test these elements, before any contractual commitments are made. SDWAN SOLUTIONS configures and installs POC trials for all customers
Working With SDWAN SOLUTIONS Could Save You Months of Investigation and Prevent Costly Mistakes
While we equip you with the best chance of GETTING YOUR IT PROJECT RIGHT FIRST TIME, you can of course use these pointers in a DIY type design.
Once skilled in the necessary requirements and confident that you have successfully narrowed down the prospects, you need to ensure that the final solution achieves your set SD-WAN project goals (performance, reduced staff overhead, cost, time-scales etc).
To guarantee that the solution delivers as expected, it is essential that the SD-WAN solution under consideration satisfies these 5 key requirements below:
1
The solution has been designed to match your business requirements
2
The technology meets or exceeds MEF 70 SD-WAN criteria guidelines
3
Connectivity is sourced from all available providers & technologies
4
The solution includes or supports 3rd party security & cloud services
5
Support and management levels are acceptable and flexible