SD-WAN solutions provide a replacement for traditional WAN routers and are agnostic to WAN transport technologies. According to Gartner, SD-WAN provides dynamic, policy-based, application path selection across multiple WAN connections and supports service chaining for additional services such as WAN optimization and firewalls.
Commissioned by Barracuda, the Vanson Bourne report, Secure SD-WAN: The Launch Pad into the Cloud, revealed that while adoption rates for public cloud continue to grow, security is still the number one roadblock adoption in Hong Kong, with half of respondents in the market saying it was the main factor preventing their organisation from growing its use of public cloud.
Other factors included cost (46%) and difficulty adhering the regulation and compliance (34%).
“As more Hong Kong organisations move to public cloud, SD-WAN technology is a critical part of securing these cloud deployments. By deploying an all-in-one, secure SD-WAN solution natively built into the public cloud network, organisations can reap the full benefits of public cloud,” said James Forbes-May, vice president, Asia Pacific & Japan, Barracuda Networks.
Other highlights:
- Secure SD-WAN fully integrated into the public cloud is the solution of choice.
- 74% of Hong Kong respondents have either already deployed software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) or expect to do so within the next 12 months, ahead of Singapore (68%) and Australia (65%) in the APAC region.
- SD-WAN is also being used by more than half of Hong Kong organizations who have added security to their public cloud.
- Hong Kong respondents say improved overall connectivity (60%), increased network flexibility and agility (48%) and reduced cost for MPLS services (48%) are the top three benefits of deploying SD-WAN.
- SD-WAN deployments vary greatly by industry.
- Worldwide, the highly regulated financial services industry has the most SD-WAN adoption, with 35% of respondents saying it is already in use. Another 41% are in the process of deploying SD-WAN or expect to do so in the next 12 months.
- The public sector has the lowest amount of SD-WAN deployment. Only 7% currently have SD-WAN deployed, and another 36% are in the process of deploying SD-WAN or expect to do so in the next 12 months. This sector is traditionally behind in new technology adoption due to budget restrictions, lack of internal expertise and other factors.
- Acquire SD-WAN via a cloud provider is a preferred option.
- 34% of Hong Kong respondents want to acquire an SD-WAN solution through a cloud provider.
- 26% prefer to get SD-WAN from an independent vendor, while 16% would opt for a telecommunications partner, and 22% would choose a value-added reseller.
