Why do companies still use MPLS?

For years, Aryaka has helped hundreds of companies successfully transition from MPLS to a more agile cloud-friendly SD-WAN architecture. Many of us have had decade+ careers selling MPLS networks where we all knew it was 100% the right network topology that made the most sense for nearly every multi-site organization. Benefits like eliminating public gateways at branch locations, centralizing internet egress in data centers, SLA’s, QoS/CoS, etc…. All reasons why MPLS made telcos billions. In the pre-cloud era 10+ years ago when 90% of application flows were to corporate data centers and internet traffic was minimal, MPLS was THE answer. But we all know the reality today. We live in the Cloud Now era. Internet utilization has skyrocketed. Do you remember when we helped customers design their MPLS class of service policy when internet traffic was deemed best effort over every other application? Certain SaaS applications are as critical to the business as an ERP system still sitting in the data center. So with all of this digital transformation, it begs the question…. Why do companies still use MPLS?

Perhaps these companies do not see what I see. Perhaps they believe MPLS is still faster than any other solution? Perhaps I should put our customers in touch with them, so they can talk about their experience. 6X faster than MPLS, 10X faster than MPLS ….in Gartner Peer Insights customer quotes include …’Best SD WAN Solution’ and ‘Aryaka is superior to competitors’.

Maybe it is not all about performance. Perhaps the risk of change concerns them? With the IT resources already stressed, do they have the time for a network overhaul? Any impact to the network can cause immediate friction in the business. So the risk of change takes precedent over the risk of better! We all know what happens to species that don’t adapt. In the animal world, if you don’t adapt, you die. In the business world if you don’t adapt, you lose to your competition and then you die. So I understand the decision to move away from MPLS should not be made lightly but when you have companies like Aryaka offering SLAs with 99.999% core uptime guarantees, 99.99% end to end availability, and managed services to assist strained IT teams, there are risk free options for organizations to transform and modernize the WAN to a more agile and better performing architecture.

Let me give you a real-world situation. A CIO decided 18 months ago that MPLS was holding them back. In fact, there were three problems:

1. The cost to value ratio for MPLS was no longer valid. It was the right technology years ago but there are better, lower cost solutions today.
2. Wanted to lift the burden of managing the network away from his valuable IT staff, so they could focus their time on activities which were of greater business value.
3. They wanted to advance their cloud strategy. The company had an aggressive cloud first strategy and MPLS was going to hold them back on cloud adoption.

For these three reasons, the CIO decided to act or should I say adapt. After a very detailed analysis of the marketplace, he and his team selected Aryaka and they experienced 10X performance improvements and better reliability at the same time. Moving away from MPLS enabled this company to deliver on their vision. This is just one of many successes and so why don’t more companies adapt?

I believe there exists a misconception among some businesses that believe MPLS is still the fastest and most reliable option available. This misconception may stem from a lack of awareness or outdated information regarding the capabilities of alternative networking options. In reality, SD-WAN solutions like Aryaka’s offer significant improvements over traditional MPLS networks, as evidenced by customer testimonials. If you still rely on this old, outdated network technology and want to understand all of the benefits of moving, then come talk to a company who is known as having the ‘Best SD WAN solution’ in the marketplace. Customers who have moved to us save 30% on their OpEx, experience 10X better performance and many other business benefits on top. In fact, let me close with a recent quote I saw on Garter Peer insights. We consistently get 5 Star reviews, and one customer wrote – ‘GET ARYAKA – YOU WON’T REGRET IT’

About the author

Ryan Livesay

Ryan Livesay stands at the intersection of technology and sales, driving results as the Senior Vice President (SVP) of Solution Engineering at Aryaka. Known for seamlessly blending technical depth with savvy sales insights, Ryan's impact was particularly evident during his three-year tenure as Aryaka's SVP of Sales. At the core of his leadership style is a genuine dedication to empowering global teams. These teams, under his guidance, consistently prioritize the evolving needs of customers and partners, delivering solutions that are both innovative and efficient. Before his time at Aryaka, Ryan held key leadership positions at Interface Security and Earthlink, further cementing his reputation in the industry.