Which SDWAN to go for

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest or TikTok? Which social network is the best one? It depends – would everybody answer! It depends what you want to do. Each network has its unique selling point (USP) – e. g. Instagram has its basis in photos and their stories, twitter aims at giving you news etc. Having said this about social networks, it brings us automatically to the SD-WAN networks.

Which vendor is the best: VeloCloud (VMware), Silverpeak, Juniper, Aryaka, Meraki or the Ciscos of the world. Same answer as above: it depends.

Let us make a short journey through the USPs of the vendors. How do they see themselves?

Today’s snapshot end 2021:

VeloCloud (VMware): Like the names says – VeloCloud (VMware) is strong in the cloud connectivity business. None of the other SD-WAN Vendors offer such a large set of cloud connectivity options. They clearly focus on this. However, connection alone does not guarantee performance. The second pillar is application-aware routing and optimization. VeloCloud (VMware) especially focus on the optimization of voice and video application – surely important in ‘Working-from-Home-due-to-Covid times’.

Rating: If a cloud first strategy from a variety of players is important to you then VeloCloud (VMware) is a match for you. If audio&video are a focus, then VeloCloud (VMware) would also be a strong possibility.

Silverpeak: It is a solution that is easy to implement. The focus is on optimization and acceleration of your network traffic across your WAN based on profiling which Silverpeak call Business Intent Overlays. For this, Silverpeak has the capability to recognise over 10.000+ applications and optimize automatically with these profiles. This is an enabler for active acceleration of your network and hence your user experience.

Rating: Existing and large application landscape in your company which should be optimized and accelerated? Choose Silverpeak.

Juniper: This vendor has its past in the Service provider hardware area and is pushing into the future using these strengths. Juniper has strong security capabilities and a range of powerful devices. They offer a selectable range of features that can be easily switched on or off via licenses. In addition, Juniper are one of the market leaders with adoption of artificial intelligence. Juniper uses this for root cause analysis, self-configuration etc. For sure the future of networks.

Rating: You need powerful hardware, a strong security out-of-box solution with the possibility of AI thrown in, then Juniper should be high on the list.

Aryaka: No doubts – Aryaka is the exotic SD-WAN choice. They even asked Gartner to take them out of the Gartner quadrant. Why? Well, Aryaka has its own private backbone. This has the large advantages when it comes to traffic acceleration. You do not share bandwidth or SLA with somebody else. The second USP is that they have points of production in China and combined with this private backbone capability they have an effective solution that bypasses issues with the Great Chinese Firewall. Couple this with an agile fast deployment model and you have a winning SD-WAN formula

Rating: For true and application acceleration, especially if you have latency sensitive or data hungry real time applications like CAD and distributed engineering teams around the world. Sites in China? Aryaka is your choice!

Meraki: Meraki is neat and tidy SD-WAN. Don’t have a network that is complex or requires extensive separation? Then you are probably looking for a simple plug and play alternative? You will be wanting Meraki. Basically, plug it in and it runs. The simplicity and ease of use is its focus.

Rating: Simplicity! Don’t need a complicated solution that covers all the key elements of LAN and SD- WAN, then look no further.

Cisco: It is perhaps one of the oldest players in this market but still very relevant. Cisco offers you the good proven capabilities, an upgrade path for existing customers alongside the addition of a full SD- WAN/ LAN solution. You get SD-WAN with known hardware, connecting to the cloud services and plenty of other possibilities for configuration.

Rating: You know what you have.
Now, you know which vendor to choose – it clearly depends on your business needs. Adjust your choice to the focus of the vendors and it will be a good fit.

One more thing: Price. Yes, true point but by experience: when you have the same properties and compare like for like then the prices are pretty close to each other. Make sure you have a trusted vendor agnostic advisor with a complete view of the market at your side and then you won’t be comparing apples with pears.

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