SD-WAN: Forging a Path into the Future
Organizations across the business spectrum are undergoing digital transformation to adopt new technologies and prepare for a data-driven future. No digital transformation project is complete, however, without addressing the network: Most legacy networks cannot adequately support technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G. That’s why an increasing number of organizations are turning to SD-WAN for network transformation.
While SD-WAN (software-defined wide area networking) isn’t as celebrated as some other advances, no other network technology offers as much potential to revolutionize enterprise productivity, efficiency, agility and resiliency. Operating quietly in the background to provide the foundational infrastructure for transformation, SD-WAN has the potential to profoundly change how networks are implemented, managed and scaled to meet evolving demands, especially when paired with AI for automation, self-healing, disaster recovery and other functions.
SD-WAN is expected to pick up momentum, with implementations on pace to grow from one third of the market to two thirds vs. traditional hardware networks by the end of 2023, according to Gartner. Here’s how this unsung hero of transformation is opening new opportunities for MSPs to support their clients well into the future.
sponsored by
Why SD-WAN?
Resources
LEARN MORE
LEARN MORE
Enabling a New Digital Future with SD-WAN [Blog]
LEARN MORE
LEARN MORE
MetTel Customer Story: Signet Jewelers [Video]
LEARN MORE
LEARN MORE
Gartner Managed SD-WAN Market Guide Summary
For More on MetTel’s Approach
Contact MetTel
MetTel has made a significant impact on the SD-WAN market, having been named a preferred market choice by Gartner for three years since 2017. The company has three of the largest commercial SD-WAN installations with the world’s leading fintech provider, the largest jewelry retailer in North America and the top auto parts supplier in the US. MetTel has also made inroads both in the government and public sectors, and many of its customers are pioneering SD-WAN technology to adopt advanced applications now and in the future.
With more than 200,000 network devices under management.
Learn More
Legacy networks are highly customized and complex, as well as heavily dependent on proprietary, purpose-built firmware, which makes them harder to manage and secure. When controlled by software, networks gain flexibility, elasticity and efficiency; administrators have better control of the network, because they can make changes faster and cheaper from a central console.
SD-WAN enables organizations to achieve levels of orchestration and automation not possible with legacy networks. Security becomes easier to manage, thanks in large part to centralization and monitoring, and with the right SD-WAN solution in place, administrators gain clear, round-the-clock visibility of all events across the network.
Anticipating New Technologies
The network of the future will be intelligent, making autonomous decisions on traffic routing and application prioritization, and fixing itself when issues occur. It will adapt to demand created by lightning-fast 5G transmissions, and blend IoT, AI and cloud services to drive functionality remotely and on premise.
But before this becomes possible, obstacles must be overcome. Uncertainty in the enterprise around IoT, AI and 5G can delay implementation, as well as the benefits these technologies deliver. It falls to experts, such as MSPs and network integrators, to address these uncertainties by educating clients on how SD-WAN solutions support the technologies carving a path to the future.
For instance, SD-WAN enables seamless transitions to cloud-based solutions and other breakthroughs that allow manufacturers to eliminate efficiencies in the production process; retailers to support omnichannel strategies; and healthcare providers to offer telemedicine cost-effectively.
For MSPs, managed SD-WAN services create a tangible, immediate opportunity to help organizations lay the foundation for advanced technologies, regardless of what the "next big thing” may be.
Network Transformation
SD-WAN makes it easier to manage the network across distributed sites, plug into multiple clouds and uniformly implement network-wide security policies.
Key attributes include:
Contact MetTel
The MetTel Advantage
The newest version of the MetTel SD-WAN platform incorporates advanced AI-driven automation to support digital transformation projects and integrate new, advanced technologies.
These advanced AI capabilities open a window into the future of network management, placing MetTel’s solution on the cutting edge with an intelligent, adaptable network featuring resilient capabilities that allow the network to:
MetTel also helps businesses forge a path to the future with its newly introduced SD-M product, which extends SD-WAN capabilities to mobile environments and helps companies leverage mobile and 5G capabilities. Organizations that embrace these advances start to crack open the universe of possibilities that SD-WAN can deliver to help them innovate, compete and thrive in the digital future.
MetTel Benefits
As organizations of all shapes and sizes undergo digital transformation, many are turning to MSPs for expertise in delivering technology and services, as well as network planning and management.
Improving network performance and voice and video quality with MetTel’s distributed gateways and unique network design
Delivering consistent performance and user experience, regardless of carrier or where network traffic originates and terminates
Boosting application performance
Managing application steering to prioritize apps and maximize performance, regardless of connection type
Accelerating issue resolution via trouble identification and self-healing capabilities enabled by AI and RPA
MetTel Resources
MetTel Resources
1. Notifies technicians of the issue and recommends remedial steps
2. Performs the remedial action on its own
It removes the network’s dependence on hardware and centralizes management of all edge devices. SD-WAN adds bandwidth in a cost-affordable way to deliver the enterprise-grade performance required for the most critical and demanding applications.
MSPs working with clients on digital transformation can use managed SD-WAN to add value and future-proof networks. Because SD-WAN empowers organizations to leverage AI, IoT, 5G and other technologies shaping a new era of innovation, businesses can create the conditions to deploy advanced applications that haven’t yet been developed or even yet imagined.
The appeal of SD-WAN is primarily this:
+
Geographical
Reach
Legacy networks pose limitations to managing multiple locations. Disparate systems from different regional vendors often introduce complexity, creating interoperability and security challenges. SD-WAN’s no-touch provisioning and flexible, software-defined controls make it easy to deploy applications and services without replacing existing infrastructure. And since provisioning, management and maintenance are centralized, organizations don’t need network management staff at every site.
Geographical Reach
Network Resilience
Cloud
Support
Secure Connectivity
Organizations are leveraging diverse circuits such as MPLS, Ethernet, Broadband, Line of Sight and 4G in SD-WAN environments. SD-WAN lets them aggregate bandwidth and apply QoS (quality of service) to optimize application performance.
Network Resilience
Although early solutions were limited, SD-WAN now can connect multiple clouds and premise-based sites. This is a game changer. Organizations on average use five clouds to run applications, services, storage and security. Multi-cloud support gives MSPs more ammunition to make the case that SD-WAN supports current and future network needs.
Cloud Support
SD-WAN enables the layered approach to security that modern enterprises require to fully address the attack surface. Network-wide visibility and monitoring capabilities are vital to implementing comprehensive security strategies.
Secure Connectivity
And when an issue occurs, the AI engine either:
34%
Resolve of Incidents Without
Human Intervention
73%
Identify of
Network Incidents
Address of Incidents Identified
100%
+
+
+
This gives channel partners, integrators, and MSPs the opportunity to discuss core benefits of the MetTel SD-WAN platform,
Accelerating issue resolution via trouble identification and self-healing capabilities enabled by AI and RPA
Managing application steering to prioritize apps and maximize performance, regardless of connection type
Boosting application performance
Delivering consistent performance and user experience, regardless of carrier or where network traffic originates and terminates
Improving network performance and voice and video quality with MetTel’s distributed gateways and unique network design
While SD-WAN (software-defined wide area networking) isn’t as celebrated as some other advances, no other network technology offers as much potential to revolutionize enterprise productivity, efficiency, agility and resiliency.
Operating quietly in the background to provide the foundational infrastructure for transformation, SD-WAN has the potential to profoundly change how networks are implemented, managed and scaled to meet evolving demands, especially when paired with AI for automation, resiliency, and the ability to remediate issues quickly through Intelligent Automation.
SD-WAN is expected to pick up momentum, with implementations on pace to grow from one third of the market to two thirds vs. traditional hardware networks by the end of 2023, according to Gartner. Here’s how this unsung hero of transformation is opening new opportunities for MSPs to support their clients well into the future.
Organizations across the business spectrum are undergoing digital transformation.
sponsored by
SD-WAN: Forging a Path into the Future
No digital transformation project is complete, however, without addressing the network. Most legacy networks cannot adequately support technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT) and 5G. That’s why an increasing number of organizations are turning to MetTel’s award-winning SD-WAN for network transformation.
Infused with MetTel Intelligent Automation, the platform introduces AI and robotic process automation (RPA) to identify, report and address network incidents, events and trouble tickets.
The MetTel platform combines MPLS, broadband internet circuits and 4G-LTE into one SD-WAN-controlled network for optimal performance of applications such as real-time voice and video.
MetTel delivers a private, dedicated network that is easier and faster to install and upgrade — not to mention less complex to manage than MPLS.
The MetTel platform boosts bandwidth and delivers resilience with multiple circuits, including 4G backup to assure uptime and disaster recovery. Resilience is especially critical in competitive environments with little tolerance for downtime (and in today’s market, that’s most environments).
MetTel offers a fully featured managed SD-WAN platform with centralized management, in-depth analytics and secure access to your network, regardless of location.
The MetTel Approach
Boosts Bandwidth
SD-WAN Networking
Dedicated Network
+
+
+
+
SD-WAN accounts for more than 30% of MetTel’s Managed Network Services.
It’s a track record MSPs can leverage to promote SD-WAN to clients looking to transform their networks.
For MSPs, managed SD-WAN services create a tangible, immediate opportunity to help organizations lay the foundation for advanced technologies, regardless of what the "next big thing” may be.
Anticipating New Technologies
It will adapt to demand created by lightning-fast 5G transmissions, and blend IoT, AI and cloud services to drive functionality remotely and on premise. But before this becomes possible, obstacles must be overcome. Uncertainty in the enterprise around IoT, AI and 5G can delay implementation, as well as the benefits these technologies deliver. It falls to experts, such as MSPs and network integrators, to address these uncertainties by educating clients on how SD-WAN solutions support the technologies carving a path to the future.
For instance, SD-WAN enables seamless transitions to cloud-based solutions and other breakthroughs that allow manufacturers to eliminate inefficiencies in the production process; retailers to support omnichannel strategies; and healthcare providers to offer telemedicine cost-effectively.
The network of the future will be intelligent, making autonomous decisions on traffic routing and application prioritization, and fixing itself when issues occur.
It will adapt to demand created by lightning-fast 5G transmissions, and blend IoT, AI and cloud services to drive functionality remotely and on premise.
Real time QoS (Quality of Service) leveraging dynamic path selection (of multiple circuits with packet duplication and forward error correction) drastically improves performance of real time applications for voice, video and other real time sensitive applications.
Seamless integration with customer’s existing MPLS circuits leveraging MetTel’s extensive NNIs
Share This Content