Why You Need to Stop Buying MPLS Now

Every contract ends sometime, and it’s possible that one of your MPLS contracts is ending soon. Before you settle for spending another several months or years on a “good enough” legacy solution, consider phasing out your network for a better option.

What’s Wrong with MPLS

MPLS is a dated technology that was created for an entirely different global connectivity architecture. When MPLS was new, cloud platforms and SaaS applications were at least a decade — if not more — away from creation and widespread adoption.

So when MPLS was new, and it was the only solution on the market that addressed the issues of packet loss and jitter while creating a more secure framework for the enterprise WAN, there was no question that MPLS should be the dominant connectivity solution.

Over time, organizations have come to know MPLS as the best option because it’s the most familiar option. Yet the times have changed along with our technology, and MPLS has not kept up with the demands of today’s enterprises.

Rather than coming up with a good replacement for MPLS, some vendors have focused on building third party options to layer on top of the MPLS network, such as SD-WAN at the edge or

Controllers. This keeps the status quo in place and instead forces you to invest in additional products and services, as opposed to consolidating your costs into an all-in-one solution.

The Business Case for a Next-Generation WAN

The current “hybrid WAN” model is the addition of more hardware – boxes and controllers – to create an overlay for your MPLS network. Following this model, you’re not only responsible for building and maintaining the WAN across multiple vendors worldwide, you’re also responsible for adding and maintaining the Internet connection through SD-WAN boxes. And you’re still on the hook for optimizing the network to prevent latency, packet loss, and jitter with WAN Optimization controllers.

“Hybrid WAN,” under this model is complex and resource intensive – and, though it extends the life of your initial investment in MPLS, it is not particularly cost-effective.

It is, however, what the industry considers the “best option” for dealing with this crisis of network traffic control, under the burgeoning of the cloud and SaaS model of application and data delivery.

That’s why it’s time for the next generation of hybrid WAN – where the WAN is no longer bits and pieces cobbled together to make an old investment last a few more years, but a targeted phasing out of that investment for a better, more effective one.

Hybrid WAN before MPLS Replacement

Suggesting flat out MPLS replacement is often a deal breaker for IT administrators when you consider the fact that we often have multiple contracts out with different renewal dates and large and diverse groups of people whom we must serve with our networks.

To pull it all out and start from scratch right away can appear impossible – hence the layering of WAN Optimization and SD-WAN at the edge over our existing networks.

However, if you can find a new way to hybridize – replace the MPLS that is expiring with an new connectivity option while continuing to leverage your MPLS in the areas that remain under contract – then you and your end users will be well-served in the long run.

Break the Cycle

The only way to break the cycle of sup-par performance or expensive compensation is to stop buying MPLS now. If your contract is coming up for renewal, take the time to set up a proof of concept with Aryaka so we can demonstrate how a WAN should really perform for you. We can take you from hybrid to whole in the time it takes for your legacy contracts to expire.

Do any of the following apply to your IT organization?

• You currently have multiple contracts out with different MPLS vendors, and only one of them is up for renewal.
• Your organization has already invested so much time and money into building MPLS links and adding WAN Optimization, that you’re not sure it’s worth it to make a change.
• Things work “well enough” that you’re not convinced that it’s time to let a contract go.

The fact of the matter is, it’s possible that venturing into unfamiliar territory with your WAN could be risky – but it’s also possible that the returns you’ll receive on your investment will be worth the risk.

How can you make the business case to stop buying MPLS?

Watch our on-demand webinar with Forrester Research’s Andre Kindness, featuring a case study with Mark Baker of JAS Forwarding Worldwide, to discover why MPLS no longer serves global enterprises.

And if you’re ready to stop buying MPLS now, contact us to try a proof of concept today.