How telecoms operators can launch SD-WAN

27 August 2019 | Research

Strategy report | PPTX and PDF (24 slides) | Enterprise Services

“Operators that have not already launched SD-WAN should make this a priority.”

Telecoms operators are undecided about whether (and how) to launch their own SD-WAN solutions. If they do not, they risk conceding connectivity market share to new competitors and disruptors such as SD-WAN vendors, other service providers and other operators. Operators can become market leaders in SD-WAN by first launching simple solutions and then adding more-complex capabilities later to generate new revenue.

This report helps telecoms operators to understand why they should launch SD-WAN and discusses the options, including our recommendations about the different strategies that operators can adopt. The report also provides recommendations for telecoms operators that are considering launching SD-WAN, or have launched it already but want to develop their offerings. This report will also be of interest to other companies, such as technology vendors, that are involved in the SD-WAN market.

In this report, we answer the following questions.

Why should telecoms operators launch SD-WAN? What are the risks to MPLS revenue?
How many SD-WAN solutions should an operator offer at launch?
Which features should be offered, alongside the basic SD-WAN functionality?
Which organisations should be targeted as customers?
How should operators sell to these customers?

Operators should first launch simple solutions; more-complex features can be added later

Operators should first launch simple solutions; and more-complex features can be added later