The study highlights the strategic importance of SD-WAN to improve connectivity to cloud services and ensure access to critical resources, to support productivity and operational agility, while strengthening cybersecurity measures against growing threats.
The results of GTT’s study reflect the importance of SD-WAN as the foundation of business networking and security. SD-WAN continues to see rapid cross-industry growth and technological improvements, marked by the integration of AI and automation capabilities.
This is a particularly key element of the convergence with advanced security advocated by the Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) framework, which integrates managed and cloud-based security (also known as Secure Service Edge) and SD-WAN across the solution.
Sensitization
This study shows that current SD-WAN deployments are primarily driven by the need to optimize network connections to cloud applications (86%) and improve the overall security posture (81%).
Most companies (80%) now regularly upgrade their SD-WAN solutions within two years, with about a third (34%) doing so annually.
Enterprise security awareness and readiness is also reflected, with 100% of respondents saying they plan to build in security when deploying SD-WAN, with multiple best-in-class vendors (70%) or a single vendor (30%).
The research also shows that enterprises face increasing network complexity and risk, driven by rapid growth in data traffic, reliance on cloud applications and the shift to a distributed workforce.
In response, managed service providers are called upon to implement and manage services SD-WAN. According to GTT’s study, 77% of surveyed organizations currently using SD-WAN have partnered with a managed service provider (MSP).
Better connectivity
“As organizations become increasingly digitized, distributed and data-driven, SD-WAN managed continues to provide the foundation of flexibility, security and efficiency needed to address all use cases and achieve the right results”says Tom Major.
For the senior vice president of GTT, “Rapid innovation and security convergence through frameworks like SASE shorten solution review and upgrade cycles. Managed service providers can help organizations meet their growing needs, based on ongoing technological innovation in this area, as well as the increased complexity of selecting the best networks, security and connectivity for their business to balance cost, performance and security requirements. »