Choosing the right product to address your unique needs is just part of what it takes to implement SD-WAN successfully. For maximum ROI, be sure to avoid making these common mistakes!
Don’t expect to get rid of MPLS entirely
Just about every article, ad, and blog post on SD-WAN will make a reference to “eliminating MPLS,” yet industry reports show the MPLS market continuing to grow and surveys indicate that early adopters continue to use their MPLS service. MPLS = Multiprotocol Label Switching
Take caution when sourcing SD-WAN from ISPs
Because the decision of which WAN to use is now in the hands of a company who benefits financially when some choices are made versus others…it’s worth it to look at alternatives before making the final decision.
Be sure to involve your security teams
More than likely, your networking team is leading the charge to implement SD-WAN. While this makes complete sense, you should insist that your security team, whether in-house or out-sourced, is also brought into the project as early as possible.
Avoid paying too much
Now that the market has evolved, many providers include SD-WAN capabilities as part of their security or networking platforms, giving today’s customers the opportunity to pay less overall.
Account correctly for indirect costs
Costs associated with managing multiple vendors, building manual reports across an enterprise, and ensuring compliance across a complex network architecture can quickly exceed the initial outlay of cash by many multiples.
Download this The Top 5 SD-WAN Pitfalls PDF
For over 20 years, WatchGuard has pioneered cutting-edge cyber security technology and delivered it as easy-to-deploy and easy-to-manage solutions. With industry-leading network security, secure Wi-Fi, multi-factor authentication, and network intelligence products and services, WatchGuard enables more than 80,000 small and midsize enterprises from around the globe to protect their most important assets. Shoreline Technology Solutions can install any of WatchGuard’s products upon request.
About Shoreline Technology Solutions
As a Holland, Michigan Managed Service Provider (MSP), we offer more than just server disaster recovery and break-fix IT support. We evaluate and organize your network, keeping your data backed up and secure—at all times. Don’t wait for server disaster to find a qualified Managed Services Provider. Reach out to Shoreline Technology Solutions today. Our information technology company will evaluate your network free-of-charge and provide you with best-in-class hardware and cloud-based solutions. We’re excited to hear from you!
President / Network Architect
Mark Kolean always had a fascination with technology from the time he was 3 and his gift of the Atari 2600 to current. In 1990 at the age of 14 Mark got his first job in customer support for a mail order business supporting Tandy TSR-80 computer software shipped on cassette tape. A few years later Mark was building hundreds of 286, 386, and 486 computers for the new emerging DOS & Windows 3.1 computers that had exploded on the market.
After a college career studying business and technology Mark Started Shoreline Computer Systems in 1999 at the height of the dot.com boom with the looming crisis of the year2k bug just around the corner. In the early 2000’s a lot of work was done with early network systems including Lantastic, Novell, and Windows NT Server. Mark became a community contributor to the Small Business Specialist community that revolved around Small Business Server 2000-2011 which focused on single or dual server environments for businesses up to 50 in size. Networks during this time frame mostly had a break fix relationship in which work was billed only when a problem occurred.
In the 2010’s Microsoft released their first cloud based software called Microsoft BPOS which would in later become known as Microsoft Office 365. This introduced a new model in technology with pay as you go subscription services. Starting in 2013 Mark’s team at Shoreline Computer System rebranded as Shoreline Technology Solutions to focus on the transition to become proactive and less reactive to data backup and security needs. Starting in 2018 all customers are required to have a backup management plan in place as a center point with the full understanding that if STS isn’t watching the customer’s data, then no one is.
Now in Mark’s 22 years of business he is building a company emphasis of how to help customers retire servers and build networks completely in the cloud.
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