DIY or Managed SD-WAN: Which is the Right Choice for your Organisation?
In today’s hybrid world—where people work at different branch offices, from home, or whilst traveling—the most effective way to keep everyone connected, protected, and productive is via software-defined WAN (or SD-WAN), which enables connections between data centres and cloud services. In this post, we help your business determine the best approach to implementing an SD-WAN solution: DIY or managed SD-WAN.
But first, let’s use physical fitness as an analogy. Some of us are motivated to exercise on our own and can establish and follow DIY routines. Many others turn to personal trainers or intelligent coaching apps—as in, managed fitness—to set goals and stay on track. While the goal of exercise is the same—to stay healthy and strong—how we get there can make all the difference in the world.
The same is true with a DIY or managed SD-WAN solution. The goal is the same—to help distributed branch offices improve application performance via intelligent traffic routing across multiple WAN circuits (including MPLS, internet, and wireless 4G and 5G). Goals can be achieved no matter if you do-it-yourself, work with an expert third party, or employ a combination of the two approaches.
Yet, how do you know which one makes sense for your business? Let’s find out.
Do-it-Yourself SD-WAN
With a DIY approach to SD-WAN, your IT team sets up and manages all components in-house, allowing you to retain full control over your network. It’s a particularly good option for enterprise businesses with sufficient capacity as well as internal knowledge on how to deploy, configure, and monitor these networks. Your team is responsible for managing the full SD-WAN service, which includes maintaining all necessary hardware, software, connections, and equipment.
Managed SD-WAN
With managed SD-WAN, a third party expert provides an out-of-the box solution to help you manage multiple network applications (some critical) and security. This partner will provide you with the relevant networking hardware and software as well as robust monitoring and management for a secure SD-WAN solution. Often, managed SD-WAN delivers additional benefits such as seamless integration with other network and public cloud services. Managed SD-WAN also presents a cost savings opportunity because the bandwidth for MPLS and other routing techniques can be expensive.
How to Choose the Right Solution for Your Business
Selecting DIY or managed SD-WAN is not an easy choice—many factors will go into your decision and making the right choice is vital.
A DIY approach is best for enterprises with large internal IT teams who are up-to-speed on the various technologies, solutions, and vendors available in the marketplace. This model requires your team to have the capacity and expertise to handle every step of the process to securely deploy, configure, and monitor SD-WAN. DIY SD-WAN is also a logical choice if you work in a highly regulated industry, such as financial services and healthcare. If you face complex legal or industry requirements, or if you need to conduct regular internal risk assessments of your network and facilities, consider DIY SD-WAN.
However, if your IT team is already feeling strapped with responsibilities ranging from cybersecurity to remote work solutions, managed SD-WAN is a logical choice. Working with a third-party expert relieves the time and burden facing an already-busy team. It’s also a good choice if SD-WAN is a relatively new solution for your business and your team lacks the in-house expertise needed to securely deploy, configure, and monitor the solution. In short, managed SD-WAN is well-suited if you’re seeking to save time and reduce operational overhead. Managed SD-WAN gives your team the freedom to focus on other business-critical tasks.
Apart from IT expertise and capacity, it’s also important to consider the number of locations (including home offices) for which you need secure connectivity, and how fast you need this connection to be. The more locations you have, the more critical data you manage, and the more security you need, is all a vote in the favour of managed SD-WAN.
You have a third option: The hybrid SD-WAN model. If you need a bit more flexibility to create the ideal network, consider a hybrid approach. This model is co-designed and co-managed by both your IT team and an expert third party or network service provider. Though size is not always a clear deciding factor, a hybrid SD-WAN model typically makes sense for medium-sized businesses as they can allocate a customised balance of time and resources between both DIY and managed SD-WAN.
Businesses of all sizes and industries can benefit from SD-WAN—it provides enhanced security and regulatory compliance, improves speed and performance, and reduces overall costs. This much is clear. Less clear is how you’ll implement SD-WAN, and we hope this post helps you determine which approach is right for you: DIY, managed SD-WAN, or a hybrid model. Just as with physical fitness, we all have the same goal, but whether you’re more likely to achieve results through DIY exercise or a personal coach is an important decision you need to make based on your own strengths and behaviours.
Are you rethinking your WAN edge strategy?
Our team at Optec can help you demystify your WAN edge and help you determine the best way forward with our free Secure SD-WAN Assessment. With our complimentary assessment, you’ll gain unmatched insight into your current security posture and network activity, along with expert recommendations. Get in touch to learn more or start your assessment today.
At Optec, we’re here to help you make the right decision and provide a best-in-class SD-WAN solution that’s compatible with either deployment strategy. Please get in touch with our team today at 01280 878597 or sales@optec.co.uk to learn more.
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