Founder & President
Before you decide if this is best for your business, let us share our insight with you.
There are three major segments to consider with SD WAN solutions. The actual SD WAN box (including switches, security, and redundancy/resiliency), Internet circuits, and voice services.
SD WAN
While most SD WAN providers have the same basic concept (self-service portal, multiple IP connections with aggregation, failover and resiliency), there are key items that differentiate them, such as user portals, failover speed, packet algorithms, and security elements. Some of the top providers we have seen deployed are VeloCloud, Versa, Cato, Cisco IWAN/Meraki, TELoIP, Viptela, and BigLeaf. SD WAN is just the box or service, it does not encompass the circuitry. The SD WAN boxes are purchased through a provider/vendor who then will manage the solution.
Internet/Network
To have SD WAN services work effectively, it is important to vary internet providers, to provide different mediums of connectivity. For example, if provider #1 is a coax provider, the secondary provider’s service should run over either fiber or copper, which will provide redundancy and resiliency at the physical location.
SD WAN & Internet/Network Providers
Local Exchange Carriers (LECs) can provide the SD WAN box along with a primary circuit. However, it has been discovered that LECs will not effectively manage the secondary internet circuit or switches. In our experience, using an aggregator for SD WAN solutions will provide the best results. The reason for this is that aggregators can provide and manage the full solution (switch, SD WAN, 1st & 2nd Internet provider, failover and security). Aggregators can order and manage all types of circuits (fiber, coax, copper, microwave, 4G, etc.) and hardware (mentioned above) to support the full solution.
Voice Services
Voice/dial-tone phone services are as important as always. However, voice services are being delivered differently by mixing soft phones with desktop hard phones. Most aggregators have voice services available within their solution set. However, depending on which SDWAN provider you choose, UCaaS providers such as RingCentral, GoTo, 8×8, Zoom and MS Teams have direct integrations into the SDWAN box provider, which is fairly effective. This part of the solution can be easily bundled into the SD WAN and Internet/Network solution.
Aggregator Solution Providers
So, you are asking, who are the aggregators? Narrowing down the list of possibilities can be daunting, and we want to help you find the best fit for your needs. If you are interested in hearing more, Contact us here!