SASE: It’s All About The Integration, Stupid
Here’s a question for you: is integration itself a significant innovation? Take the smartphone for a moment. Alone, it would seem the iPhone introduced relatively little new technology. Blackberries had already provided messaging and calling. Music players had offered portable music. GPS systems were also available. So was there anything really new in the iPhone? […]
It’s Time for SD-WAN to Get “Sassy”
For a while now, you’ve heard me sound off about the importance of factoring security into your SD-WAN evaluation. If SD-WAN is to accommodate the cloud, we must evolve our network security models from centralized Internet gateways to secure, direct Internet access at the branch. Only then can we get away from the backhaul and latency that […]
Broadband vs. DIA: Research Shows Cost and Feature Differences Between Access Services for SD-WAN
All too often, IT teams make the mistake of thinking about Internet access services as a commodity, failing to consider how well connected a provider is with the rest of the Internet. Picking the right Internet service, especially internationally, can be extremely important when evaluating SD-WAN solutions from companies like Aryaka, Cato Networks, Cisco (Viptela or Meraki), Open Systems, Silver Peak, Versa or […]
SD-WAN Buyer Alert: The Hidden Costs of 4G/LTE
It’s well known that 4G/LTE is a natural partner of SD-WAN, forming a key component in last-mile resiliancy strategies. But 4G/LTE also brings certain characaeristics that with the wrong SD-WAN solution can wrack up costs — as one of my customers learned the hard way. We were recently called in to consult to a large manufacturer. […]
6 Tips For a Better SD-WAN Evaluation Process
So you’ve decided to move ahead with SD-WAN. Congratulations. As you start evaluating vendors, there will be all sorts of questions around speeds and feeds to ask, of course. But how can you gather that information in a way that’s as painless and effective as possible? After years of running evaluations, here are some of my […]
MPLS Service Pricing: Here’s What You Need to Know
Even with SD-WAN companies continue to purchase multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) circuits. Knowing the basics of MPLS service pricing is still essential to running a global WAN. MPLS Service Drivers Why MPLS? For some, it’s a matter of regulatory compliance; for others, it’s a matter of trust. After all, apps like RDP and voice require a predictable […]
Six Mistakes Vendors Make When Answering SD-WAN RFPs
Over the years, we’ve run the SD-WAN RFP selection process for dozens of enterprises. And during the time, I can’t tell you how many times SD-WAN vendors have asked, “What makes for a good RFP response?” We’ve spoken about the challenges of writing a good RFP, but what are some of the gaffes vendors make when answering […]
Catching up with Cato Networks
Cato has had quite a year so far. The company raised $55 million back in January, introduced an integrated managed threat detection and response (MDR) service in February, and added advanced malware detection capabilities. I recently sat down with the vice president of marketing, Yishay Yovel, to catch up on Cato Networks. How to Spend $55 Million? […]
Take a Virtual Test Drive of SD-WAN Management Platforms — No License Required
The management platform is the cockpit of your SD-WAN. It’s from here you configure policies, diagnose problems, and gather the information needed for strategic network planning. The gauges and controls the management platforms provide determine the value you can extract from SD-WAN. Which is why we’ve put together Evaluating SD-WAN Management Platforms: A Report. It’s a compendium […]
Viptela Cisco Integration Update
It’s been 22 months since Cisco rocked the industry by acquiring SD-WAN leader, Viptela. To find out the status of acquisition and learn more about what Cisco has in store for Viptela, I sat down with Anand Oswal, Senior VP, Engineering for the Enterprise Networking Business at Cisco. Viptela-Cisco Integration The big question on my mind, of course, […]
