SD-WAN

The SD-WAN ChecklistFind out if SD-WAN will work for your business today

You can’t tackle today’s challenges with yesterday’s network

Let’s cut to the chase: the challenges you face today, the demands of IoT, big data, cloud and mobile — force your IT department to ask more of your traditional network than it can deliver.

If you want to innovate, and take advantage of new opportunities, you need a network that’s agile, secure, and scalable. A network that doesn’t involve going from box to box every time you want to adapt to change.

That’s what software-defined WAN is all about.

Businesses all over the word are moving to SD-WAN for a more flexible, scalable and cost-efficient approach to networking that offers:

• Better performance and more uptime

• Improved network visibility and agility

• Greater peace of mind

• Simplified management

That’s fine for them. But is it right for your business?

That’s where this checklist comes in.

It’ll help you decide if now is the right time for you to implement SD-WAN.

Let’s get started.

2Sprint Business The SD-WAN Checklist

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SD-WAN

A little about you

Let’s start with the basics. By learning a little about your organization, we can tell you whether SD-WAN is a suitable fit.

Do you have more than one site where you conduct business?

Yes

No

Do you plan to have more than one link/access line at your branch locations?

Yes

No

Is your IT organization under pressure due to network management complexity?

Yes

No

Do you need to roll out new sites and expand your network more quickly?

Yes

No

Does the performance of critical applications across your network sometimes fall below expectation?

Yes

No

Do you need better application visibility and performance management?

Yes

No

Not for everyWAN

In most cases, SD-WAN provides the most benefit for distributed networks with multiple links (including internet access) at branch locations. Doesn’t sound like you? No problem. Our wide range of network solutions will have something more suited to your needs.

Explore our business network solutions

3Sprint Business The SD-WAN Checklist

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A little about you

How would you describe the reach and capabilities of your IT team?

(Tick as many as applicable)

A Most of our IT resources are spent keeping our networks up and running

B We have a very limited IT staff

C We have sufficient IT resources at all of our sites

D We can dedicate IT resources to exploring new innovations and ways of working

If you answered ‘yes’ to the majority of the first list of questions and A or B on the last one:

You could benefit from fully managed SD-WAN, freeing your IT teams to focus on driving innovation.

If you answered ‘no’ to the majority of the first list of questions and C or D on the last one:

You could take advantage of the speed and flexibility of SD-WAN, with some control over application-level configurations on your own.

4Sprint Business The SD-WAN Checklist

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About your network

Let’s take a look at how your current network is performing and what improvements you’d like to see.

What kinds of problems do you face with your current network?

It’s difficult to prioritize traffic and make sure there’s enough bandwidth for the most important applications

Our speeds are slow due to unpredictable peaks in demand

We occasionally suffer from outages that set us back

We often suffer from outages that set us back

We do okay, but adding new services is a major challenge

If you ticked any of the boxes here: Well, you’re not alone. They’re all common problems that SD-WAN can solve. The rest of this checklist will go into further detail to pin down your specific needs and see if you’re ready for SD-WAN, now.

How many different networks are you currently managing for data, video and voice traffic?

A Just one

B Two

C Three

D Four or more

If you answered A ‘just one’: Running data, video and voice over a single network can cause performance issues when bandwidth is limited. If this sounds like a familiar problem, you could benefit from the intelligent routing of an SD-WAN network (Skip the next question).

If you answered B, C or D: Running multiple networks brings plenty of headaches of its own, especially if each requires constant attention to deal with peaks and valleys in demand.

If you’re juggling lots of different types of network traffic, SD-WAN can help you prioritize with intelligent data routing, making sure there’s always enough bandwidth for the tasks at hand.

5Sprint Business The SD-WAN Checklist

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About your network

Of those networks, how many are self-managed and meeting performance expectations?

A All of them

B Some of them

C None of them

If you answered A or B: Monitoring network performance and upkeep is vital, but it can also take up valuable time that could be spent doing exciting things for your organization. If you feel too much of your time is spent this way, a fully managed SD-WAN could make a big difference. In fact, even an SD-WAN with self-management features could dramatically improve the efficiency of your network management.

If you answered C: If your networks are already automated, but still experience issues, you can still take advantage of a fully managed SD-WAN. That way you can improve network efficiency, without placing the strain on your IT department.

If your networks are running fine: Whether you manage your own networks or outsource the burden, the only thing that matters is that they’re working the way you want them to. If that’s the case, then give yourself a pat on the back.

All’s good here.

How much more data will you require your network to handle in the next 12 – 24 months?

20%

50%

100%

0%

If you answered 20%, 50% or 100%: If you’re expecting an increase in data, then an SD-WAN could help you prioritize traffic, deal with future volume spikes or expansion, ensure reliability, and make sure everything runs smoothly on the same network.

If you answered 0%: Please, tell us your secret.

6Sprint Business The SD-WAN Checklist

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Management headaches?

With Sprint SD-WAN, whether you opt for a fully managed solution or one with some elements of co-management, the real heavy lifting involved with running your network is removed. Think about which of the following network management problems your organization has encountered:

Does your IT team spend more time troubleshooting the network than they do in strategic planning?

Yes

No

If you answered yes: Then you’ll be relieved to know SD-WAN can dramatically simplify network management and issue resolution, providing clear visibility into network traffic, along with features like dynamic application routing to keep things flowing freely.

If you answered no: Then you might be interested in knowing you could give your IT teams even more time for future planning by adopting a managed SD-WAN service — allowing your network to take care of itself while they take care of business.

How would you rate your visibility into application performance and ability to see what’s impacting your network?

1 Very good

2 Good

3 Average

4 Bad

5 Very bad

Did you score a three or higher? Without visibility into network performance, there’s no way to proactively spot issues. In fact, it’s hard enough to solve them after the event. With a fully managed SD-WAN, these issues are taken care of for you. But even if you choose to manage some elements of your network yourself — the application layer, for example, you have complete visibility into performance from a single, centralized location. This makes spotting issues that much easier.

Did you score a one or a two? Being able to spot problem areas in your network is essential to keeping it up and running, but spotting problems doesn’t always mean you can solve them. If your network is complicated and has major weak spots, then a managed SD-WAN service could be the perfect way to transform network performance.

However, if you can already see and handle any network issues just fine, you may not need to think about SD-WAN until you start to add new services and applications.

As your demands get more complex, it can be a great way to keep management simple.

7Sprint Business The SD-WAN Checklist

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Management headaches?

How easy is it for you to quickly set up new branches and remote locations?

A It’s not something we currently need to do

B It’s easy enough

C It’s difficult

D It causes us big problems

If you answered A or B: Setting up new branch locations can become difficult as organizations expand. It sounds like for now you don’t need any assistance, but as you continue to grow, an SD-WAN could help you simply and swiftly spin up new networks to support your transformation.

If you answered C or D: One of the big benefits of an SD-WAN is how fast and easy it is to set up new locations. If you have several branch offices, or you’re planning for expansion, then this is an option well worth considering. Network setup is even taken care of for you with a fully managed service.

8Sprint Business The SD-WAN Checklist

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Exploring new opportunities

Expanding your organization’s capabilities to take advantage of new trends, add new applications or even expand into new territories is a lot easier with the right network — and near impossible without it.

How soon are you likely to launch a new initiative that’ll tax your network infrastructure?

A We’ve already launched something

B We’re in the process of scaling up a new initiative

C We’re just beginning to plan something

D We’re not considering any new initiatives

If you picked A: There’s no good way to find out your network isn’t going to pass muster with the new challenges you’re throwing at it. Assuming this won’t be the last new initiative you embark on, now might be a really good time to consider a more flexible and scalable network.

If you picked B or C: While you’re at this stage, why not think about what other services or transformation initiatives you might kick off over the next couple of years. To plan effectively for the future, you need a future-ready network. Ask yourself if your current network is capable of meeting your needs. If not, an SD-WAN setup may be exactly what you need.

If you picked D: If your current network is handling everything you throw at it then we see no reason to change right now. However, when the time comes to explore new avenues — whether that’s moving to the cloud, growing your business or rolling out a wave of new applications — you may want to take another look at your options.

9Sprint Business The SD-WAN Checklist

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So, is SD-WAN right for you now?

We know every organization has different needs. Some would benefit from SD-WAN today, whereas others may not need the same capabilities just yet. If you haven’t already made up your mind, here’s a handy summary to help you decide which camp you’re in:

Management headaches

If network performance is causing headaches for your IT department, and restricting your organization’s ability to grow, then you may well benefit from switching to a fully managed SD-WAN.

This is especially true if talented engineers are spending all their time fighting fires and monitoring performance instead of working on the things you really hired them to do.

Looking to the future

If you’re looking to grow your organization, expand into new regions, or bring exciting new technologies and applications on board, then your current network might not be up to scratch.

The scalability and application- level visibility of SD-WAN means you can take your organization further without having to worry about application performance and uptime.

Taking it easy

You might be happy with your current network performance, and you may have no immediate plans for growth or adding new services.

That’s fine.

But when the time comes, remember to get the right network in place to support your needs.

Solution: Fully managed SD-WAN

Solution: Fully managed SD-WAN/fully managed SD-WAN with co-management

Solution: Bide your time

10Sprint Business The SD-WAN Checklist

Next steps

If it looks like you could benefit from an SD-WAN, then it’s time to get in touch with a provider. The checklist above will show you what you need to ask your provider about to ensure they’re the right fit.

Not sure who to call? Get in touch with us. Our SD-WAN solution comes as-a-Service, is completely network and access-agnostic, and provides the platform that you need to support predictable performance for critical applications.

Struggling to get buy-in for your plans? Here’s how to make the business case for SD-WAN.

11Sprint Business The SD-WAN Checklist

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Let’s talkManaged SD-WAN gives you flexible deployment, increased agility, reduced complexity, and improved performance, whatever your transport or access needs.

Find out what SD-WAN can do for you. Contact your local Sprint representative today to learn more. Call 1-866-653-1056 or see more details on sprint.com/sd-wan