SD-WAN is one of the fastest-growing segments within the network infrastructure market. Initially driven by the US, the trend is now taking hold in the UK marketplace and it’s easy to see why. SD-WAN is seen as an enabler of change, as the future, and this hype is showing no signs of slowing down. For end-customers, SD-WAN enables technologies to be embedded in a single solution, leading to cost reductions and automated operational processes. Enticed by the opportunity to simplify processes and make huge savings, businesses are switching to SD-WAN in a hurry, yet many are struggling to reap the benefits – so why is that?
More haste, less speed
Rushing the process without due diligence will simply create issues further down the line so enterprises need to consider the technology partners that they align with to support them as they deploy SD-WAN networks. Typically, Channel partners have the insight to recognise when SD-WAN just isn’t suitable for a business and that customers should be able to turn to them for trusted advice when considering such an impactful network update.
Even for those businesses that do stand to benefit from SD-WAN, rushing into it could lead to retrospective changes being required later down the line with any savings counteracted by additional spend and infrastructure changes. The problem – which also poses an opportunity for channel partners – is that many end-customers haven’t been educated about what SD-WAN can truly do for their business, with many still seeing it as simply a replacement for MPLS or just a cost-saving opportunity. The Channel can provide this much-needed education, advising customers about SD-WAN’s use cases and helping to define their business’s goals and expectations.
Bringing clarity to SD-WAN
What makes Channel partners well-positioned to take on a consultative SD-WAN supplier role is their resource, their technical expertise and their knowledge of customers’ businesses. Implementing SD-WAN is not your typical product refresh or hardware-focused sell, with project management and service delivery critical to the success of the network. Channel partners should capitalise on the opportunity to build managed service models and create bespoke packages that enable a smoother integration between SD-WAN and the customer’s existing infrastructure.
Partners can provide agile and responsive service to their customers through the application-aware routing, enhanced visibility and real-time traffic management that SD-WAN enables. However, it will be critical for Channel partners to brush up on their own technical expertise if they are to help customers plan for SD-WAN and implement the network.
To help customers exploit the opportunities that SD-WAN brings, Channel partners must first and foremost recognise that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to SD-WAN and customers will need ongoing support beyond the initial implementation stage. By enabling economies of scale on licensing and hardware, Channel partners will maximise return on investment and pass value on to the end-customer.
Customers’ internal skills shortages also present Channel partners with an area for growth. Helping customers to overcome technical resource constraints will be critical and partners can provide design services and consultancy to ensure a thorough and robust SD-WAN implementation for the end-customer. For example, establishing best practice deployments will reduce early life issues and partners that offer templated designs will reduce the need for customers to make any retrospective changes to the network. Partners should undergo sales training to help them identify leads and upskilling and outsourcing opportunities which will enhance their offerings for customers.
Everyone’s a winner
As with any emerging technology which promises to change the face of the Channel, SD-WAN opens up an array of opportunities for Channel partners. By adopting an advisory role and offering bespoke SD-WAN consultation, Channel partners can meet the demand for a networking-as-a-service approach whilst also seizing the opportunity to diversify their own business model, strengthen relationships, drive repeat business and gain a competitive edge.
Guest Blog by Dave Hawkins, Head of Channel Sales, KCOM
KCOM is a leading provider of communications and IT services. The company’s national business arm provides connectivity and technology solutions that help public and private sector organisations grow, innovate and improve their customer experience, including managed WAN, call management and cloud services. For the Channel market KCOM’s solutions, combined with the breadth and depth of its technology expertise, make it the ideal partner to achieve both growth and market-leading service. KCOM has a long history of innovation. It installed the first all-digital telephone network in Europe, launched the UK’s first commercial broadband service and is a pioneer in the deployment of full fibre connectivity in the UK. The company’s foundations date back to 1904 when Hull’s local authority established its own telephone network. KCOM was owned entirely by Hull City Council until its flotation on the London Stock Exchange in 1999 and in August 2019 was acquired by infrastructure investor Macquarie for £627m.
