DIY Challenges

Respondents pointed to staffing as a key challenge of do-it-yourself SD-WAN. It was the biggest challenge, followed by the struggles of negotiating with vendors and connectivity providers. The report authors wrote that businesses struggle to identify, hire, train, retain and compensate people with the skillsets to run SD-WAN.

“In modern networking, as in other tech areas like AI/data, cloud, and cybersecurity, there simply aren’t enough experts to go round,” IDC wrote. “Inevitably, they become concentrated in technology and service firms, building platforms and services that are sold and consumed as a service.”

Garson agreed. 

“With the past reductions in IT staffing numbers, a managed SD-WAN makes a great deal of sense. The complexity of management really depends on the technology platform selected. Some are actually quite easy to manage. But managing circuits is something everyone should outsource, if they don’t do that already,” Garson said.

Toth said he considers vendor- and co-managed the ideal model.

“If you’re going to make a big investment in an SD-WAN platform, the co-management by a vendor will ensure that the value is realized,” Toth said.