A few years ago, a blind man rode in a car in Austin, Texas. Normally, such a trip would not make national headlines. However, this blind man was alone in the car. That might sound like the set up for a joke, but it’s actually a pointer toward the future. The car was one of Google’s self-driving cars. After the ride, the gentleman exited the vehicle and entered history.

That’s just one story in a never-ending stream of prognostication, commentary and “gee whiz” quips about the coming era of autonomous vehicles (AV). AVs are burning rubber in media of all kinds (you can find video of the blind man’s spin around the block here). Some of these stories address concerns about AVs and I don’t mean to discount them. Yet, AVs have an air of inevitability about them, don’t they? It’s not a question of “if” it happens, but “when.”

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In an age when every company is a technology business, digital transformation becomes imperative for enterprises to remain competitive. The first wave of digital transformation focused on moving workloads to the cloud. Enterprises undergoing large-scale digital transformations centralized data processing and storage by migrating entire operations to public or private cloud services. The recent influx of connected devices and the resulting data explosion is putting a strain on this model, and now companies are looking toward the next wave of transformation that will move them closer to the edge and their customers.

Today, the explosion of IoT devices, autonomous vehicles, robotic systems, and other digital platforms has resulted in a deluge of data and a vast expansion at the edge of the network. This is putting a strain on the network and requires new ways of processing, analyzing, and acting on this data in real time. This intersection of new technologies and the massive amounts of data they produce put us at an inflection point when we consider the architectures that will help us manage the global economy.

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Now that the technology has been with us for some time, interest in and adoption of software-defined wide-area networks (SD-WAN) is heating up. It’s a good time to look at what’s driving organizations to implement SD-WAN and what type of organizations the technology is best suited for.  

Profiling SD-WAN candidates

In terms of whether SD-WAN candidates fit a certain profile, Michael Lawson, General Manager for SD-WAN Solution Architecture for CenturyLink, doesn’t think so.

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There’s little question that software-defined wide-area networks (SD-WANs) have taken off, as companies look for increased network resiliency and control. But there’s still significant confusion about SD-WAN, including some benefits that are more myth than reality.

In this post, we’ll explore three common misconceptions that surround SD-WAN, starting with what is probably the most important one.

Misconception #1: SD-WAN will replace services such as MPLS

SD-WAN doesn’t necessary replace any existing network service, be it MPLS, broadband Internet, or anything else. In fact, it requires some kind of network service to work at all.

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As interest in Software-Defined Wide-Area Networks (SD-WAN) picks up among companies of all sizes, it’s becoming clear that one of the key drivers for the technology is security. The reason? SD-WAN lets companies deploy strong security features at the network edge and easily apply security policies throughout the network.

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Software-defined wide-area network (SD-WAN) technology can bring myriad benefits to companies of nearly any size or stripe, but as discussed in a previous post, it can be complex to deploy. For many IT teams, the solution means opting for a managed SD-WAN service. But this may lead to another issue: how to assess providers.

After conversations with CenturyLink executive Michael Lawson, General Manager of SD-WAN Solution Architecture for CenturyLink– I’ve come up with eight considerations when assessing SD-WAN managed service providers.

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An earlier three-part series of blog posts examined a series of questions to ask to determine whether your company may be a good candidate to implement Software-Defined Wide-area Network (SD-WAN) technology. What the series did not cover was whether you’ve got the personnel in-house that it takes to architect and implement an SD-WAN and manage it for the long-term. That requires assessing a different series of questions. 

While SD-WAN has been talked about for years, it is still a relatively young technology that has not yet seen widespread implementation, notes Michael Lawson, General Manager of SD-WAN Solution Architecture for CenturyLink. “There’s still a lot of learning going on,” he says.

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The Greek philosopher Heraclitus is credited with coining the adage “change is the only constant in life” –  a saying that certainly applies to enterprises in 2019. With change as a given, it’s crucial for businesses to be agile and flexible in order to keep up.

Employing software-defined wide-area network (SD-WAN) technology is one way to promote business agility. SD-WANs abstract the network control layer from the underlying forwarding plane and physical transport. Users can employ most any wide-area network service – leased lines, MPLS, broadband wireless, Internet – and still apply policy-based control and other SD-WAN features.

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Success for an NFL franchise involves the cultivation of a variety of core competencies both on and off the field. Recently I had the opportunity to spend time with the Seattle Seahawks organization and I was surprised by the extent to which the team utilizes data and digital tools to drive continuous improvements within their core competencies.

But then why should I be surprised? Let’s face it, today, every business is a technology business. The Seahawks are no different. They are, like many other companies, investing in digital technologies to improve the product on the field and the fan experience in the stands.

Data literacy is a core competency the Seahawks have added to their business. I won’t give away any trade secrets, but let’s take a high-level look at three ways this core competency creates competitive advantage.

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When IT decision-makers research new technologies or products, the opinions of their peers often carry more weight than recommendations by vendors and industry pundits.  That’s why Frost & Sullivan is sharing the results of our 2018 SD-WAN survey. The survey provides insights from IT leaders across a range of industries and company sizes about their SD-WAN decisions and deployments.

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In part 1 of this 3-part series on how to conduct a wide-area network assessment and determine necessary updates, we looked at foundational issues including current challenges and objectives. Part 2 examined considerations around applications and bandwidth. In this third and final installment we’ll look at two issues that are critical for any organization: resiliency and security.

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In part 1 of this 3-part series on how to conduct a wide-area network assessment and prepare for WAN updates, we looked at foundational issues such as current challenges and objectives. In this installment, we’ll examine considerations around applications and bandwidth.

As with part 1, my source for information was Mike Lawson, Manager of SD-WAN/NFV Solutions Architecture for CenturyLink. Lawson is in the trenches with network architects and customers every day; as such, he understands the issues that lead companies to upgrade WAN services to newer technologies such as software-defined WAN (SD-WAN).

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If your wide-area network (WAN) has been with you for many years, it may be time to think about an upgrade, especially given the emergence of technologies such as software-defined WANs (SD-WAN). But rather than just dive in, assuming SD-WAN will be a good fit, it’s helpful to perform an assessment of your current situation and what outcomes you’d like to see out of an upgrade.

Making this type of assessment means asking a series of questions, the answers to which may – or may not – lead you toward adopting SD-WAN technology. To learn what sort of questions to ask, I talked with Mike Lawson, Manager of SD-WAN/NFV Solutions Architecture for CenturyLink, a global network provider.Lawson spends his time in the trenches with network architects and customers, accumulating an excellent sense of whether a company is a good candidate for SD-WAN.

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With interest in software-defined wide-area networks (SD-WAN) heating up, companies are facing a key question: can they implement SD-WAN themselves or do they need a service provider to help?

It’s a rather loaded question, with many issues to consider if you elect to go the do-it-yourself (DIY) route. In this post, we’ll examine some of the highest hurdles you’ll have to get over if you decide to DIY; paint a picture of what sort of company may be able to tackle an SD-WAN project; and define who will be better off with a managed service.

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As enterprisesincreasingly focus on improving network performance to support applications and deliver a better customer experience, SD-WAN solutions are in the spotlight. One of the key components of providing ongoing IT support is ensuring that networks have the agility needed to adapt to changing business priorities at speed.

In one recent IDG survey, 91% of enterprises that implemented SD-WAN technologies saw an increase in network speed. SD-WAN managed services have come to the forefront as a choice that allows enterprises to capture the benefits of SD-WAN, along with the expertise to make the most of the technology. Solutions offer access to the knowledge needed to design, deploy and manage SD-WAN networks, while letting the enterprise maintain visibility and control as desired.

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The classic story of David battling Goliath resonates with any successful entrepreneur. At some point, small companies must confront large, entrenched rivals. Those big companies possess clear advantages: brand recognition, economies of scale, financial leverage and many others. Customers need a compelling reason to switch providers.

How do would-be Davids compete? They need to develop their own modernized slingshot. Technology provides virtually endless possibilities for competitive advantage. Like David, though, you need to size up your opponent and adopt the right strategy before choosing your weapon.

In the United Kingdom, a company called Ocado did just that in the exotic, sophisticated market of … grocery stores.

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How do you deal with change? It’s one of the questions of our era.

We can see technology disruption play out in a number of industries like computing where the mainframe gave way to the PC that gave way to the smartphone. Change sneaks up on you and before you can craft a response, those new technologies disrupt your business.

Networking has seen plenty of changes over the years and when they arrive they often look disruptive at the outset. When I talk to customers about SD-WAN, some ask whether SD-WAN is so disruptive they can essentially replace their MPLS backbone with a mix of broadband providers plus a commodity box– and essentially rely on the public Internet as their backbone. Some of them even have one of those boxes they are experimenting with.

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