How to prepare for a successful SD-WAN deployment.
If your organization is considering a move to SD-WAN, you’re in good company. SD-WAN is proving its value, providing organizations the flexible wide area network architecture and cost savings they are looking for in the next generation of networking.
Tackling a WAN upgrade, with its many moving parts, isn’t trivial. You probably don’t expect to order something from Routers R Us, plug it in and have it magically understand and support your carefully crafted network and all your new goals. A successful improvement to your WAN will involve assessing your current network and updating – or decommissioning – some of the hardware. The more complex your environment, the more changes you can anticipate – and all for the better.
Don’t let the process scare you; with the right guidance and support, the transition to SD-WAN can be a quick and painless experience for everyone involved. Smooth deployment is the key to success with SD-WAN.
We have found that the best approach is to take all of an organization’s network variables into consideration and do it in a way that’s not overwhelming. At Ecessa, we use a proven SD-WAN deployment process that is project management driven and focuses on properly setting expectations and identifying verifiable goals. It includes in-depth information gathering, risk management, clear communication and thorough documentation. There’s an old adage that “failing to plan is planning to fail.” We plan and succeed together.
Bill Prendergast, Sr. System Administrator at Delaware Valley Floral Group, explained his experience with the process. “Ecessa took a phased approach to our deployment, which gave us a lot of confidence in the solution. We had regular check-ins where they presented data to validate that the system was working right and we didn’t move to the next phase until we were satisfied with performance.” IT Manager, James Young, added, “We got more done with Ecessa in five weeks than what we did with [the competitor] in five months.”
SD-WAN gives enterprises a new way to look at connectivity, free from the limitations of a single provider with less than optimal service offerings. With SD-WAN you can use any facility, any bandwidth, in any location, with better resiliency options, better monitoring and reporting. Sound too good to be true? It’s real and when deployed correctly it’s able to deliver consistently on its promise.
The keys to success with SD-WAN? Advanced planning and a deliberate, phased deployment. To see the steps involved in Ecessa’s proven Phased Deployment process, get the white paper here.
If you’re ready to talk about an SD-WAN pilot project of your own, please call us at 800.669.6242 or contact us and we’ll get right back to you.