A study of IT decision-makers done for software-defined networking company Masergy by Altman Solon, suggests that SD-WAN technology is emerging as the new standard for businesses, especially in the light of the major shift to remote work brought by the Covid-19 pandemic.
SD-WAN, or software-defined wide-area networking, allows businesses to extend the reach of their internal networks to remote locations where workers are based.
This is done either by a leased line that directly connects one location to another with the use of routers or publicly transmitting data over ISP circuits in conjunction with circuit or packet switching.
The study revealed that 79% of businesses are currently using some form of SD-WAN, and will increase to 92% by 2026. 58% of those plan to use a hybrid access model to strike a balance between the benefits and drawbacks of SD-WANS.
The same study showed that 17% of IT decision-makers said their organizations currently use fully private SD-WANS while 16% will be fully private in five years.
But, 16% are using public SD-WANS while 27% becoming fully public in five years.
Hybrid users, in turn, stand at 67% of the SD-WAN market but will lose users in five years as more organizations migrate to public SD-WANS.
55% of public users are willing to move to a hybrid model to improve performance while 65% of private users are willing to go hybrid due to the growth of remote work and for greater cost efficiency.
Secure access service edge (SASE), an alternative to SD-WAN, received a lukewarm response from IT users with 82% of respondents claiming familiarity with it against only 32% who claim to have a deep understanding of what it is and its effect on organizations.
For more information, read the original story in Tech Republic.