SD-WAN in the real world: A practical guide for your business

Any business considering a major network upgrade must ask one fundamental question: does it deliver in the real world?

The promises of SD-WAN — greater agility, better performance, lower costs — are compelling of course, but success depends on navigating the practical challenges of migration and ensuring that those promises become reality.

The problems that drive change

Most businesses don’t upgrade their network for the sake of it. The move to SD-WAN is typically driven by very real challenges. Often, these are the result of a traditional MPLS network struggling to keep up with the demands of a cloud-first world.

Common issues include:

• Performance bottlenecks: A centralised internet breakout can slow down performance for everyone, especially during high-traffic events like company-wide meetings or other bandwidth-intensive activities.
• Outdated connectivity: Many branch offices can be left struggling with slow, unreliable, and costly ADSL circuits, creating localised issues.
• Security and management headaches: Managing and applying updates to hundreds of individual branch routers can be a huge operational burden and a potential security risk.

For Zen customer SIG plc, a specialist construction supplier who found that their legacy network could no longer support a cloud-first strategy, these challenges were the catalyst for migration to SD-WAN.

Theory to reality: The benefits of a modern network

When implemented correctly, SD-WAN directly solves these legacy problems and unlocks new capabilities that have a real impact on day-to-day operations and user experience. And the key benefits aren’t just theoretical; they provide concrete improvements for modern businesses, including:

• A massive bandwidth boost: By enabling local internet breakout, SD-WAN eliminates the old central bottlenecks. For SIG, this dramatically improved the experience of staff across their 180 UK branches.
• Improved security: A modern SD-WAN architecture allows for granular security policies that restrict unnecessary traffic between branches, significantly improving security posture and reducing risk.
• Greater network visibility: The ability to gather data in real time is a huge improvement over older networks. This insight makes troubleshooting faster and more effective, transforming the role of IT teams.
• Real business agility: A flexible network is the foundation of a successful cloud-first strategy. SD-WAN allows for quick and secure integration of new applications and environments, ensuring that the network never holds business back.

A roadmap to success

Success is not guaranteed by the technology alone. For many businesses on this journey, our experience with customers like SIG highlights three crucial pieces of advice:

1. Focus on business outcomes: Begin by defining what you need to achieve. This fundamental first step will ensure you choose a solution that is fit for purpose.

2. Do your research: Leave preconceived ideas behind. Be clear on your requirements but be technology-agnostic in your search for the right partner.

3. Commit to partnership: The best results come from collaboration. So be prepared to engage with your chosen partner, share your knowledge of your business, and work together on the design and implementation. Remember, the more you put in, the more you’ll get out.

To hear a first-hand account of a real-world SD-WAN journey, with much more on the points raised in this article, and many more besides, watch our in-depth conversation with Steve Barnett from SIG plc. He shares the full story of SIG’s migration, the lessons learned, and the transformative impact of SD-WAN on his business.

To find out more or begin your SD-WAN journey, visit our site.