Why the Enterprise WAN Needs Disruption

Global enterprises can no longer depend on legacy networks like MPLS to achieve the same results that they saw even five years ago. Cloud platforms and SaaS applications are becoming standard for the enterprise, which is leaving the capabilities and usefulness of MPLS to diminish.

This is why master agents, VARs, technology consultants, and systems integrators need to present new and innovative network solutions outside of their regular portfolio.

The Trouble with MPLS
MPLS is a legacy technology. Global business needs have evolved beyond deploying secure private connections between data centers and regional branch offices. They now have to consider connecting mobile users, multiple geographies, and third-party cloud and SaaS. Not to mention, they have to do it all while maintaining a consistent user experience for all employees worldwide.

MPLS was not built for the cloud. It is unwieldy and takes time to deploy and scale. It requires WAN Optimization and an investment of human resources to maintain the network. While it does provide more reliability and security than the public Internet, it is no longer able to keep up with the rest of the enterprise’s demands.

What is Disrupting Today’s Enterprise WAN
SD-WAN is a relatively new in the enterprise network space, but it has already impacted the ways businesses now connect their users to mission-critical data.

This has caused huge disruption in the WAN space, as more and more CIOs are recognizing the business case for moving, at least partially, away from MPLS. This “disruption,” in many cases, is allowing enterprises to use SD-WAN as a way to alleviate some of the burden of traffic off MPLS and develop hybrid WAN models to enable end user connectivity to cloud-based data, platforms, and applications.

However, a majority of SD-WAN vendors do not take the disruption far enough, especially for global enterprises.

Most SD-WAN vendors offer an edge-based solution to provide better path selection over MPLS and/or the public Internet. However, they do not provide a private network that solves for the middle mile and presents a logical replacement for MPLS.

Edge-based SD-WANs work well enough for regional deployments. However when it comes time for data to traverse oceans or continents, SD-WAN relies on the public Internet. This adds latency, packet loss, and jitter to the equation.

Why Global Customers Need a Global SD-WAN

The solution to this problem, of course, is to software define private networking.

In other words, create an MPLS-grade private network out of points of presence (POPs) distributed around the globe and use SD-WAN as a way to onramp users to that private network.

This “SD-WAN with a WAN” model is what global enterprises need to be truly successful with software-defined wide-area-networking across geographies, because it’s not just the access to cloud and SaaS applications that defines the disruption – it’s access to those applications without re-introducing the problems that MPLS was meant to solve in the first place.

A global SD-WAN with a private WAN, like Aryaka, solves for the middle mile, while providing built-in SD-WAN technology and WAN Optimization as integral features of the solution. A solution like this will actually address the customer’s pain points without creating more inefficiencies and problems for them to solve.

Why Partners Need to Provide a Global SD-WAN

I mentioned in an interview with Channel Partners Online recently that partnering with your customers by selling SD-WAN can be mutually beneficial for both parties. This is especially true of a global SD-WAN.

There’s a shortage of IT talent out there, which can put businesses at a disadvantage. So, when you present your knowledge of the newest trends in SD-WAN, for example, you also present yourself as an advisor with valuable insights for your customers to implement.

When your customers succeed in addressing their networking pain points because of your advice, knowledge, and ability to help instigate the follow through, you build trust and deepen the relationship. And, of course, when you show up and challenge your customers’ old patterns of thinking and ingrained ideas about SD-WAN, you ultimately set them up for that success.

No matter if you are a master agent, VAR, systems integrator, or consultant, you benefit from adding a global SD-WAN to your portfolio. It’s a healthy recurring revenue model, and gives you another tool for approaching your existing customer base instead of having to wait for a new opportunity to qualify.

The time is now to shift your thinking away from MPLS and start offering global SD-WAN to businesses with a worldwide presence. It will position you as someone with an understanding of the modern technologies that will support your customers today and tomorrow, and ultimately increase your success.

To learn more about becoming an Aryaka global SD-WAN partner, check out our Partners page here.

About the author

Nate Grinnell

Nate Grinnell is the Director of Channel Sales with Aryaka, and is responsible for overseeing the growth and development of the channel through partner enablement. He has been involved in the channel since 2008 through various sales and leadership positions.