Magna5 VP: Solution Providers Can Tackle WAN Transformation With SD-WAN

SD-WAN can turn inexpensive connectivity into an enterprise-grade option, all for the cost of a simple internet connection, according to Gary Elliott, vice president of sales enablement for Magna5.

Unprecedented traffic growth, thanks to new applications and cloud usage, are all factors that can add up to a poor user experience. As a result, the WAN must transform to keep up, and that transformation is translating into opportunity, Elliott told solution providers at The Channel Company's NexGen 2017 Conference and Technology Expo on Wednesday.

"The picture is very simple in my opinion. The SD-WAN product pitch is that we are taking a lower-cost, simple internet connection and turning it into a business network," Elliott said.

[Related: CenturyLink Bundles Network, Management, SD-WAN Platform In New Hybrid SD-WAN Service]

Magna5, a voice and data management services provider, got its start selling telecom services. The provider today is partnering with VergX, a provider that wholesales SD-WAN and SD-Security to resellers, as well as Versa Networks for its own SD-WAN offering, which Magna5 sells alongside its legacy communications services as a way to ensure the quality and reliability of its services.

SD-WAN, Elliot said, can give businesses an added layer of capabilities not possible before, including the ability to prioritize specific applications, guaranteed uptime, packet routing, increased security, and an overall lower total cost of ownership.

Kobargo Technology Partners, a Surprise, Ariz.-based MSP in the audience, is in the evaluation stage with SD-WAN and is looking at vendors and start-ups on the market. Brook Longbine, an intelligent networks design engineer for Kobargo, said that he's looking for a solution that won't require customers to purchase another appliance.

"I'm really curious to see when some of these vendors get further along with their solutions. It's all about not throwing additional hardware or cost on top of what customers already have," Longbine said.

SD-WAN, Longbine said, can present "huge" cost savings opportunities for customers, especially those that are relying on expensive MPLS networks today.

For partners, there's value in getting into the SD-WAN space, Magna5's Elliot said. According to research firm Gartner, one-third of enterprises will have deployed SD-WAN in their branch office locations by 2019.

"That's disruption, which also means opportunity," Elliot said.