Many years ago, there were two communication ideologies. One believed networks should shape holistic flows of information between endpoints to deliver the best possible quality of experience. The others, reductionists, decreed that any session was just bursts of packets which could follow all and any routes, with no discernable flow. Turns out, neither side was completely wrong, or completely right. The packet approach dramatically reduced costs at the expense of quality of experience – shortcomings which become evident almost as soon as service providers began running real-world applications like voice and VPNs across IP networks.
Slightly later, operators of mega data centres wondered how to shake themselves free from the iron grip of the networking vendors whose kit hooked up their servers to their storage to their users. Their solution was to separate the networking hardware from the controlling software. The former became generic: a standard set of switching functions in vanity-free, white boxes. The latter gave birth to Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualisation (NFV).
What stands out in that potted history is that SDN was driven by a very pragmatic need – the creation of better cloud services from flexible, more cost-effective data centres. And its move into the wide area, as SD-WAN, has a similar set of powerful drivers. You could say that the need is to ‘have our cake and eat it’. To add the control, the quality of experience, the end-to-end holistic view, back into IP access and core networks, while maintaining their low cost per bit.
But for what purpose? What’s the WAN service equivalent of Google Drive or Apple Music, shaping and driving the roll-out of SD-WAN? For managed service providers like you, it’s unified communications in its ‘as-a-service’ variant. UCaaS is growing fastest among SMBs, who have the same expectations of an excellent experience as their enterprise counterparts, but who are much more likely to be disappointed.
You’ll know that if you could give them an MPLS service for the price of a simple business broadband connection then you would have more confidence of delivering an experience they’ll feel loyal to. But economics say you can’t. So their experience, your net promoter score and a huge chunk of your future relationship could lie solely in the hands of your wholesale broadband partner.
Unless, that is, you combine /unified-communications/ucaas with SD-WAN. Doing so places the user experience firmly back under your control. SD-WAN knows that a conference call is not just another burst of packets. It takes an application level, end-to-end perspective. Not just link quality but subjective user experience is continually monitored, so you’ll know of issues before your customer does. Critical traffic can be prioritised over the mundane. SIP sessions – VoIP and video calls – can be seamlessly maintained should links degrade or fail. And as the service provider you get to see and control that through a single pane of crystal glass.
By now, you may well be thinking: Sounds great, but it’s going to add to my service costs. This UCaaS market is very competitive. I’m not sure I can afford it. If my operations team can use SD-WAN to reduce OpEX – well maybe. Or perhaps I can make it an option – a sort of in-app purchase?
I don’t agree, so here’s another perspective as further food for thought. Neurologists have proven that humans evaluate all experiences according to the ‘Peak-End Rule’. We take into account the experience at its peak – when things are most intense – and the experience at its conclusion, to decide whether it was pleasant or unpleasant. All other information, including the average experience and duration, are disregarded. For you that means the first 30 days and the last 30 days of your UCaaS customer contracts. That’s also where you potentially incur the highest costs: 1) customer acquisition and onboarding in the first 30, and 2) re-acquisition and onboarding should they churn out. SD-WAN reduces 1) significantly, and helps you indefinitely postpone 2).
So when I say ‘combine UCaaS with SD-WAN’ I don’t mean it in the sense of an add-on or extra topping. I mean it in the sense of ‘combine the flour and eggs, and bake for 30 mins.’ You’re aiming for a Victoria sandwich, not scrambled egg on toast. Everyone will be tempted by a second slice.
Guest Blog by Mike Wilkinson, VP International at Edgewater Networks
