Managed services are nothing new, ranging from IT and security services to storage and the cloud. Recently, the managed services trend has extended to the software-defined WAN, but how can SD-WAN managed services ultimately benefit the enterprise?
Let's travel in time to a galaxy far, far away, where a battle rages among the stars. You're piloting an X-wing Starfighter from Star Wars, expertly maneuvering to dodge enemy attacks.
Suddenly, your Starfighter is hit. The sizzling wires and flashing lights confirm that your X-wing's weapons system is down. If it's not fixed quickly, you'll be in jeopardy -- not to mention the high-priority mission you've been tasked to complete.
Before you know it, your trusty sidekick -- be it R2-D2, BB-8 or your droid of choice -- hunkers down in your Starfighter to address the problem. Some beeps and bleeps later, the droid fixes the issue, while you've focused on avoiding fire.
So, maybe we haven't quite reached that point with our networks, and a managed service provider (MSP) might not be as cool as a droid that saves the day. But by offloading SD-WAN deployment and management to an MSP, organizations -- especially those with limited staff and resources -- can allow IT to focus on business-critical projects.
The SD-WAN managed services trend is expected to continue as more organizations realize the benefits of handing SD-WAN services off to MSPs. Just like the droids that constantly keep Star Wars fighters operational and agile during crises, MSPs can help organizations optimize network performance, increase network agility and pinpoint disabled network connections.
Instead of having a bad feeling about network visibility, performance or security, maybe it's time for your organization to consider the SD-WAN managed services trend.
