New research from TeleGeography revealed that competitive pricing and monitoring features rank highest in SD-WAN vendor selection, whilst WAN optimisation and standardisation rank the lowest.
The research also reveals that across all capacities, median non-recurring charges (NRC) for SD-WAN overlays decreased an average of 15% compounded annually since 2018. The largest price reductions were seen at lower capacities that represent the bulk of reported WAN sites.
Median NRC prices for 50 Mbps and 100 Mbps sites have declined 17% and 15% compounded annually since 2018.
“As SD-WAN has matured, we’ve seen price points decline and the range in reported vendor prices has started to converge,” said Brianna Boudreau, senior research manager at TeleGeography. “This is particularly obvious at lower capacities where a majority of reported WAN sites lie, and where competitive pricing would help position suppliers when calculating the total cost for the network.”
She added that as SD-WAN becomes more widely available, the service has become more standardised.
“As a result, how vendors distinguish themselves in the market has changed. Simply offering SD-WAN has lost its competitive edge. The value now lies in the intelligence, security, and service features that are being added to the service,” said Boudreau.
