Gartner Research

SD-WAN Economics: Shift From Tactical to Strategic Thinking

Published: 27 February 2018

ID: G00345824

Analyst(s): Andrew Lerner , Ted Corbett , Mike Toussaint

Summary

The business benefits of software-defined WAN extend beyond optimizing WAN services expenses. I&O leaders should also quantify its impact on improving availability, lowering operations costs, increasing application performance and reducing enterprise risk when upgrading network infrastructure.

Table Of Contents
  • Key Challenges

Introduction

Analysis

  • Categorize Your Enterprise Sites Into Standardized Groups Based on Costs, Geography and Business Requirements
  • Choose the Access/Transport Mix for Each Standardized Group of Sites by Selecting Among the Assigned Site Classifications
  • Achieve Maximum Control Over the Last Mile by Strategically Deploying Multiple Connections, Including MPLS, Internet and Wireless/LTE
  • Calculate the TCO of SD-WAN Based on Combining Potential Business Benefits With Expense Reductions

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