SD-WAN adoption rates increased from 35% to 54% over the past two years, with 90% of businesses in a new research study either researching, piloting, using or upgrading SD-WAN.
Optimising the network to 'support cutting-edge technologies' is the top WAN objective (61%), according to the report by Masergy in partnership with IDG Research.
The 2019 SD-WAN Market Trends Survey also found that security (50%) is the top WAN challenge and the main determining factor (81%) guiding companies in the SD-WAN selection process.
The skills gap (46%) remains a key barrier to SD-WAN adoption, whereas concerns regarding interoperability with existing WANs are less prevalent than they were two years ago.
Network management simplification (46%) continues to be the top expected IT benefit of SD-WAN adoption, and the top three expected business benefits of SD-WAN are increased efficiency, improved security and cost savings.
“This survey validates the growing maturity of SD-WAN solutions. IT leaders are tasked with transforming their business though cloud-based applications and emerging technologies, but these pivots introduce a new level of complexity that can be daunting for network and security teams,” said Masergy CEO James Parker (pictured above).
“Masergy is positioned to deliver on the digital ambitions of today’s global enterprises with our software-defined network, integrated security, and fully-managed SD-WAN services.”
Masergy conducted a similar survey in 2017 as a benchmark to measure SD-WAN trends over time.