Software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) emerged in 2014 as a way to help organizations embrace the cloud and quickly became a hot commodity. As years passed new technologies like secure access service edge (SASE) and generative artificial intelligence (genAI) burst onto the scene, and SD-WAN has fallen out of the industry limelight. This shift has spawned think pieces about the death of SD-WAN and has many asking: “Is SD-WAN still relevant today?”
At Fortinet, we’re here to tell you that SD-WAN is not only still relevant but more indispensable than ever before.
Why SD-WAN is still critical to the enterprise
SD-WAN connects users, applications, and data across locations within a hybrid environment. Gartner predicts that 70% of enterprises will have implemented SD-WANs by 2026, up from around 45% in 2021.1 While SD-WAN is a maturing market, it’s an increasingly important component of any network. Here’s why:
- SD-WAN is a cornerstone of SASE
SASE, critical technology that secures and supports globally dispersed workforces, consists of two parts: SD-WAN and Secure Service Edge (SSE). Since SD-WAN is a key component of SASE, any discussion of SASE by default touches on SD-WAN. And organizations often use their existing SD-WAN solution as the foundation on which to build a SASE deployment, making it particularly important to get SD-WAN right. In fact, Gartner predicts “by 2027, 65% of new software-defined wide-area network (SD-WAN) purchases will be part of a single-vendor SASE offering, an increase from 20% in 2024.”
- Escalating network complexity puts SD-WAN to the test
Modern networks are expanding in size and complexity, from edge computing to multi-cloud strategies. As a result, SD-WAN deployments must also grow to keep business humming. To accommodate increased traffic, more edges, and dispersed users, modern SD-WAN solutions need to have top-of-the-line performance, resiliency, scalability, and autonomous architecture options. The increasing demand for SD-WAN and its continued evolution highlights its importance.
- Downtime hurts business operations
Downtime is no longer an option for digital-first organizations given the financial and reputational repercussions. A high-performing SD-WAN solution ensures all users and systems can connect to the applications they need to ensure efficient operations. This has become so important that organizations look for self-healing SD-WAN solutions. In fact, one of the most impactful genAI integrations is to enhance and simplify SD-WAN configuration and troubleshooting to increase uptime and availability. Specifically, genAI within SD-WAN enables organizations to quickly discover and understand where issues persist for quick resolution.
- Providing flexibility to meet evolving business needs
Modern business needs and operations evolve rapidly, and organizations are increasingly prioritizing SD-WAN solutions that provide deployment flexibility to cover many use cases, including cloud environments, on-premises users and devices, OT edges, microbranches, agentless devices, and the hybrid workforce. The demand for a flexible SD-WAN solution and its evolution to cover new demands proves its staying power.
Conclusion
Despite chatter that SD-WAN is no longer relevant, the technology remains a critical component of the modern enterprise. As a core pillar of SASE solutions, along with its ability to tackle network complexities, SD-WAN will only continue growing in importance.
Fortinet Secure SD-WAN enables resilient architecture and flexible deployments on-premises and in the cloud with digital experience monitoring, powerful genAI integrations, and FortiGuard AI-powered Security Services. Learn more about Fortinet Secure SD-WAN and how it can help transform your network.
