08 December 2022

Martin Saunders, product director, Highlight

Enterprise networking has gone through a massive change. It wasn’t long ago when network traffic was 80% internal for accessing a local data centre or application, with 20% for the internet. The only option for the enterprise was to call on their service provider to deliver a tried and tested MPLS network to connect their locations, supported by a fully managed service.

Today’s enterprise networks carry around 80% internet-based traffic as organisations take advantage of cloud data centres and online applications. This switch has enticed many to separate from their service provider and adopt SD-WAN technologies.

SD-WAN vendors promote the fact that having a managed wide area network using MPLS connectivity is now an outdated way of doing things. They emphasise the benefits of gaining independence from service providers and the removal of the many frustrations of working with such large suppliers. Not least, the switch to SD-WAN offers the ability to remove the heavy and expensive (yet reliable) MPLS network and replace it with numerous cheaper and less reliable broadband internet connections.
Whilst SD-WAN can certainly deliver on many promises, the enterprise must make an important choice. Do they adopt the SD-WAN technology with the support of a managed service provider who will configure, manage, and update everything? Or do they bring it all in-house, as many others are doing?

Going the in-house route is pushing the IT departments of these organisations into the role of a mini service provider, with full responsibility for delivering vital connectivity to their users. The enterprise must now manage, monitor, and continually improve the network, taking on all the wrap-around elements that a service provider delivered in the past. The role requires a new set of service skills in the IT department, with a new level of information they had not needed before.

Network management has traditionally fallen into the hands of highly skilled technical engineers who deal with intricate data and customisation. However, technical monitoring tools are not enough on their own for this new generation of enterprise mini service providers. Rather than skill-up expensive engineers, enterprises need tools that deliver information that can be easily understood and acted-up by their first-line support team, who have a more service orientated focus.

Service assurance is all about delivering a robust network service to all users. This requires a holistic view of an organisation’s complete connectivity with insights that are suitable for both technical and non-technical users.

What are the most important metrics or features an enterprise needs?

1. An overview of all connectivity providers in one pane of glass is critical in the world of SD-WAN, where sourcing connectivity from multiple providers is becoming more common but managing them becomes harder. Enterprises need an efficient way to bring that information together in a combined and standardised view so that they can compare services and quickly identify issues.
2. IT managers have a responsibility to their users, so it’s important they know about a critical issue in the network before users do. This means having the right information at the fingertips of first-line support staff. Service managers can then deal with most issues before passing to more expensive engineers. It also increases uptime and improves staff/customer satisfaction.
3. Alerts on network issues are essential but without being swamped with false positives. The ability to adjust the sensitivity of alerts is essential to identify when things have been down for a period and in need of urgent attention.
4. The IT manager will need to provide management with clear and simple reports on the performance of the network on a regular basis, requiring fast access to reliable information.
5. A service assurance tool that considers an organisation’s business hours is key. This enables the IT manager to ensure the health and load on a network is not being pushed too hard when people are working or visiting a store.
6. The ability to separate the ‘engineering’ view of SD-WAN from the ‘in-life’ view required by service teams. Networks are constantly changing with new sites being commissioned and old sites being decommissioned. It’s vital for service teams to have a sanitised view of what’s ‘live.’