The connected era and cloud-based environment have created a need to redesign network operations. In addition, businesses find it operationally draining to utilize resources on ensuring a connected ecosystem rather than focusing on critical business issues. Software-defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) helps enterprises build an agile and automated environment, which is streamlined to support new-age cloud environments and traditional Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) systems in a cost-efficient manner.
To understand enterprise perceptions and activities with regard to SD-WAN, an end-user survey was conducted in April 2018. The net result is a set of data and conclusions drawn from that data, which provides directional insights into the SD-WAN market in Australia. A web-based survey was administered to Australia-based IT decision-makers and obtained responses from 89 companies.
Research Highlights
The 2018 SD-WAN survey confirms a growth trend and provides insights into enterprise IT decision-makers’ perceptions about SD-WAN.
The highlights of the survey results are as follows:
- Market adoption is picking up pace in Australia, with 33.7% of the respondents having deployed/deploying SD-WAN, and 51.7% considering to deploy in the next 2 years.
- 46.2% of the enterprise respondents are delaying the adoption, as they are waiting either for SD-WAN vendor solutions to mature or service providers to start offering managed SD-WAN services.
- Respondents have recognized and are appreciating the deeper and broader benefits of SD-WAN. Interestingly, speed to deploy new branch sites, granular security policies, and superior WAN and application performance are the top-rated benefits, ranking much higher than cost savings from using alternative network links.
- Enterprises are actively looking at network choices in combination with internet links to support their growing WAN bandwidth requirements. Dual Internet is the most preferred choice among the survey respondents, followed by Ethernet + Internet and MPLS + Internet.
- In terms of vertical adoption, technology leads the current SD-WAN deployment cycle, followed by manufacturing and healthcare.
- Fully-managed service is the most preferred choice of SD-WAN, with almost 53.9%, while the DIY approach is popular with 30.3% of the respondents-primarily constituting large and distributed enterprises.
Key Issues Addressed
- What are the top technology and business drivers for SD-WAN adoption?
- What are the key SD-WAN adoption trends? How do they differ based on verticals and the number of company sites?
- What are the various perceived benefits of SD-WAN?
- What are the various router, security, and firewall strategies preferred by enterprises when deploying SD-WAN?
- What are the criteria used by enterprises when selecting vendors to buy SD-WAN?
