New research from market research and consulting firm TeleGeography reveals that competitive pricing and monitoring features rank highest when it comes to SD-WAN supplier selection, while WAN optimisation and standardisation rank the lowest.
Their findings also reveal median non-recurring charges (NRC) for SD-WAN overlays decreased an average of 15% compounded annually since 2018. The largest price reductions were seen at lower capacities that represent the bulk of reported WAN sites.
Since 2018, there has been a decline in Median NRC prices for 50 Mbps and 100 Mbps sites by 17% and 15% compounded annually.
“As SD-WAN has matured, we’ve seen price points decline and the range in reported vendor prices has started to converge,” said Brianna Boudreau, senior research manager at TeleGeography. “This is particularly obvious at lower capacities where a majority of reported WAN sites lie, and where competitive pricing would help position suppliers when calculating the total cost for the network.”
Parallel to this study, TeleGeography launched its 2022 SD-WAN Vendor Guide, detailing 26 SD-WAN vendors and 90 managed SD-WAN providers. It acknowledges 13 SD-WAN vendors as the most-cited technology partners, including VMWare and Cisco Viptela, which tied for the most announced service provider partnerships.
“As SD-WAN becomes more widely available, the service has become more standardised,” Boudreau continued. “As a result, how vendors distinguish themselves in the market has changed. Simply offering SD-WAN has lost its competitive edge. The value now lies in the intelligence, security and service features that are being added to the service.”
