Depending on the size of your company, you may prefer to handle SD-WAN deployment and management in-house or opt for a managed service. In either case, you should choose a provider that offers a dedicated team of certified technicians to support your network.
Understand Your Needs
Before you start shopping around for SD-WAN solutions, it’s crucial to understand what your business needs are. For instance, if your company relies on cloud-based applications, you’ll want to look for an option that provides flexibility and centralized management. Additionally, it’s critical to look for the best SD WAN solutions that offer automation and scalability if you need to link branch offices to your data center.
A good solution should also offer a single pane of glass dashboard that offers complete visibility and control of connectivity status and quality across all locations. It should include the enterprise network and all public or private cloud infrastructure.
Businesses with a large number of locations that are often remote need flexible and reliable WAN connectivity. They also need to be able to access data and applications remotely. It is where SD-WAN comes in, providing a cost-effective way to connect remote sites and offices with the data center using the Internet. It also ensures that employees can access data and applications securely, regardless of where they are.
Evaluate the Provider’s Reputation
When choosing an SD-WAN solution, you want to look for one backed by a solid reputation. Many different providers offer SD-WAN solutions, and each of them has their strengths and weaknesses. It’s essential to take the time to evaluate each provider’s capabilities and see which is the best fit for your business.
You want to find an SD-WAN provider that can provide many services. For example, some providers may offer WAN optimization, caching, and other services that will help your business improve its performance. Others might provide network segmentation, which ensures that only the most critical data gets prioritized.
It’s also essential to look for a provider that offers customer service. If you have any issues with your SD-WAN, contacting a representative who can resolve the problem quickly is crucial. Looking for a managed services provider offering local technicians to assist with on-site support would be best. It will ensure you can get the help you need without dealing with a call center or going through multiple escalations.
Look for Cost-Effectiveness
When choosing SD-WAN solutions for your business, you should look for one that is cost-effective. That is because implementing and maintaining SD-WAN can be a costly endeavor. Selecting a solution that provides significant cost savings, such as reducing the number of MPLS circuits your organization needs or allowing you to use low-cost Internet connections instead, is best.
In addition, your SD-WAN solutions should offer a wide range of network services, including application acceleration, path optimization, security, and zero-touch provisioning. It will enable you to get a full-service offering from a single vendor and reduce costs by eliminating the need for multiple separate vendors.
Choosing an SD-WAN solution equipped with a comprehensive console is essential to ensure you get the most value for your investment. This console should provide you with complete visibility, control, and analysis of your network connectivity, quality, and performance, all at the branch level. Moreover, it should be able to integrate seamlessly with your existing networking and security investments, allowing you to leverage them better. Lastly, opt for a service that supports NFV to replace your hardware appliances with virtual network functions, making your operations more efficient and cost-effective.
Check the Platform’s Usability
Choosing the best SD-WAN solution requires thoroughly understanding the platform’s features and capabilities. Choose one with easy deployment, centralized management, and comprehensive security features. It will help you minimize human error and increase the reliability of your network.
This managed service lets you connect your branches to a central hub, providing always-on VPN services with advanced scalability and performance. In addition to this, it includes features such as a next-generation firewall and secure web gateway.
The solution also supports a hybrid connectivity strategy that combines public Internet and private network services to improve reliability and cost efficiency. It will allow you to offload traffic from your networks and free up bandwidth for applications with higher latency requirements. It will help you save money while increasing the performance and agility of your branch offices. The platform also provides a dynamic multi-path routing to ensure your connections remain active and you don’t experience any failures. It is possible thanks to the use of a session-based routing standard.
Look for Customer Service
For many businesses, deploying SD-WAN requires significant resources and time. If you opt for a fully managed solution, look for an SD-WAN provider with support staff who can help you resolve problems or questions quickly and efficiently.
The ability to provide a unified platform to manage multiple network functions is another crucial feature to look for. A consolidated SD-WAN platform can reduce complexity and increase the efficiency of your IT infrastructure. It can improve the overall user experience, allowing you to support more advanced applications.
When looking for an SD-WAN provider, you should also consider the quality of their security features. For example, the provider should offer a service-level agreement (SLA) that guarantees minimum performance levels. It will help ensure that your networks are always up and running. In addition, look for providers that provide continuous monitoring and alerting to inform you of any performance issues. It is a crucial step to prevent network issues from impacting your business’s productivity. Lastly, choose a provider that offers various services to meet your unique needs.