The underlying technologies that support a cutting-edge enterprise telecom solution like software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) are indeed complex. But that doesn’t mean your deployment of the networking solution in itself has to be labyrinthine and unmanageable.

By working alongside a versatile managed services provider (MSP) and with proven third-party vendors, you can ensure that your organization enjoys all of the advantages of SD-WAN’s major network performance enhancements. Simultaneously, observing industry-recommended best practices will keep you from getting bogged down in any of the potential quagmires that can emerge when SD-WAN implementation isn’t properly managed.

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As enterprises endeavor to expand domestic and global footprints, agile network infrastructure connectivity across geographies continues to prove an ongoing challenge. In particular, ensuring that data shared over these networks is protected from unauthorized access is a primary directive in today’s evolving cyber threat landscape. These often-contradictory demands call for IT decision makers to invest in innovation that will facilitate network flexibility and agility without compromising security, productivity or performance.

This challenge begs a simple question. How can a WAN deliver the flexibility and agility necessary to help an organization grow without increasing exposure to data breaches and other security problems? After all, if the cost of convenience is increased network vulnerabilities, can it be considered a sound approach?

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I recently had the pleasure of speaking as a panelist at an event break-out session discussing the benefits of SD-WAN. The session, “Catch the Next Wave of Cost Savings,” mirrored much of the current SD-WAN hype, and the abstract further stimulated excitement:

“With the promise of savings as high as 90%, are you ready to make the leap from MPLS?”

While the benefits of hybrid networks with SD-WAN are already proven and groundbreaking for many companies, the claims of totally replacing MPLS with SD-WAN are becoming bold and perpetuating unrealistic expectations. And it’s not just at events; I have seen white papers lately advertising 10X savings with pure SD-WAN. The issue: enterprises need help clarifying the line between hype and reality.

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