Asia Pacific enterprises eyeing SD-WAN - survey

A new study from Barracuda Networks has revealed 62% of organisations in Australia have either already deployed software-defined wide area networks (SD-WAN) or expect to do so within the next 12 months.

The study found 46% of Asia Pacific respondents in the financial services industry are already using SD-WAN, with another 38% in the process of deploying or expecting to deploy within the next 12 months. This is followed by professional services and the media and entertainment industries. The construction industry has the lowest SD-WAN adoption in Asia Pacific, with no respondents currently using SD-WAN. However, 89% are in the process of deploying SD-WAN or expect to do so in the next 12 months.

"It is not surprising that financial services is leading the charge, as the industry moves to be more flexible, responsive, and agile in their approach to improving the availability and reliability of services they offer customers and employees," says Andrew Huntley, regional director of ANZ and Pacific Islands for Barracuda.

The global study of more than 750 IT decision makers was conducted by independent market research firm Vanson Bourne to gain insights into their current mindset regarding SD-WAN market trends, acquisition preferences and industry variations.

From an Australian perspective, the top three benefits cited by those that have deployed SD-WAN are improved network security (48%), network flexibility and agility (43%), as well as application performance (43%).

 The study indicates that secure SD-WAN fully integrated into public cloud is the solution of choice for Australian respondents. SD-WAN is currently being used by a quarter of Australian respondents for securing public cloud deployments, with another 40% wanting to add SD-WAN for protection.

Acquiring SD-WAN via a cloud provider is the overwhelming preference for 43% of Australian respondents. In comparison, 20% prefer to get SD-WAN from an independent vendor; 20% from a telecommunications partner; and 11% from a value-added reseller. 5% had no preference.

 Microsoft Azure is the preferred public-cloud platform for 52% of Australian respondents, followed by Google Cloud Platform (22%) and Amazon Web Services (20%). Responses indicate that Microsoft Azure is perceived to be more secure and user friendly than other platforms.

"As more Australian organisations move to the public cloud, SD-WAN technology is a critical part of securing these cloud deployments," says Huntely.

"By deploying an all-in-one, secure SD-WAN solution natively built into the public cloud network, organisations can reap the full benefits of public cloud."