Have SASE, SSE Undermined SD-WAN? Analyst, Partners Weigh In

The increasingly common convergence of networking, security and remote access solutions has relegated software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) to a line item in a larger SASE conversation, according to one analyst group.

GigaOm made that claim in its latest Radar for Software-Defined Wide Area Networks, where it assessed 19 different vendors and how they performed in different markets. Nine vendors landed in the analyst firm’s “Leader” quadrant. Aryaka, Cato Networks, Cradlepoint, Fortinet, HPE Aruba, Palo Alto Networks, Nokia, Versa and VMware claimed that honor.

The report also pointed to SD-WAN’s shifting level of priority in the eyes of IT buyers. Growing security and remote access demands have driven the changes. In the eyes of GigaOm and author Ivan McPhee, SD-WAN no longer functions as a catch-all for advanced networking features. Rather, it exists as one of the many features customers would like to consume on a converged platform.

Source: GigaOm

Segmentation

GigaOm broke down the 19 SD-WAN vendors based on how they target particular markets: cloud service providers (CSPs), network service providers (NSPs), managed service providers (MSPs), enterprises and SMBs.

In the CSP segment, only Cradlepoint scored “exceptional.” The CSP segment includes infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS) and software as a service (SaaS) businesses that would bake SD-WAN into their offering.

In the NSP segment, which includes telcos, internet service providers and wireless providers, Cato, Cradlepoint, Nokia, Versa and VMware scored “exceptional.”

For MSPs, Cato, Nokia, Versa, Juniper Networks, Huawei, HPE Aruba and VMware earned “exceptional” rankings.

In the enterprise category, Aryaka, Forcepoint, Cisco, Graphiant, HPE Aruba, Huawei, Fortinet, Juniper, Palo Alto, Peplink, Versa and VMware were “exceptional.”

For SMBs, Barracuda Networks, Bigleaf Networks, Ecessa, Evolving Networks, FatPipe Networks, Graphiant, HPE Aruba and Peplink got the “exceptional” nod.

Source: GigaOm SD-WAN Radar

GigaOm removed Citrix and Oracle from the Radar. It stated that Citrix has stopped selling SD-WAN subscriptions. It also noted that Oracle SD-WAN no longer met all the criteria. Oracle had been leveraging the technology of Talari Networks, which it purchased in 2018.

SD-WAN Undermined?

Ivan McPhee

Report author Ivan McPhee said enterprises are seeking to cut down on costs and drive flexibility with “fully integrated networking solutions.” As a result, vendors vendors have brought together security and networking solutions into platforms with terms like secure access service edge (SASE), secure service edge (SSE) and what GigaOm calls secure service access (SSA).

The result is a “blurred” SD-WAN marketplace, with vendors constantly shuffling to pivot into a more converged approach, McPhee said.

“… Incumbent vendors [are] repackaging and repositioning legacy products as integrated platforms, acquiring new technologies, or making strategic alliances to fill the gaps in their portfolios,” he said.

And SD-WAN has slotted into a more …