When deciding on a new IT solution, most of the project managers and IT professionals that we work with have top concerns surrounding performance, security and cost. Of course, the order of importance differs from company to company.

Many of our previous posts have hit on the first two priorities, explaining how an SD-WAN solution will increase your network performance and security by allowing your team greater visibility into and flexibility between your pipes.

There’s no doubt – our clients need their network to be efficient, reliable, stable and constant. But, at what cost?

There are many factors that go into calculating the total cost of an SD-WAN solution for your company. As you probably know, there is no one-size-fits-all solution so there is no one price tag.

That being said, the better you understand the costs, initial and ongoing, of an SD-WAN solution, the more precise your price.

Let’s delve into a few key factors to take into consideration before nailing down your project budget.

Factors of SD-WAN Cost: What Does Your Network Look Like?

One of the reasons that there isn’t an exact price that comes up on your SD-WAN Google search is that no company architecture is the same.

Some are running on an archaic WAN, some have migrated to the Cloud, some are expanding, downsizing…you name it, we’ve seen it.

When calculating your estimated solution budget, keep in mind that the answers to the following questions can have an effect:

Network Size

• How big is your network (# of locations)?
• What is your data center to location ratio?
• Do you expect to add locations? Reduce locations?

Locations/Branches

• How dispersed is your workforce?
• How important is contact between your locations?
• Are your employees mobile?

Infrastructure

• Do you have cloud applications? Plans to migrate?
• How much traffic is directed to MPLS? To Internet?
• Is your WAN optimized?

Data

• Is your data sensitive?
• What kind of employee/customer data travels your system?
• How much data travels your pipes?
• How is network traffic flow currently?

Hardware Costs: How Much of the Hard Stuff do You Need?

SD-WAN decreases the hardware that you need in-house.

No longer are the days where one solution is comprised of several pieces of hardware taking up your entire data center. In fact, SD-WAN equipment can fit nicely in your current office setup over in the corner, under the desk, in the closet – you name it.

Every vendor solution has different hardware requirements, but the overall reduction in needed equipment means that you are lowering costs in three ways:

1. Lower initial investment upfront - The fewer the pieces, the less the $$ on the price tag.

2. Lower risk of network disruption due to equipment failure

• The less equipment and the better the engineering, the less likely it is to fail meaning that your network stays up and running 24/7. We know there’s no other option.

3. Lower chance of hiring outside engineers

• If you’re not dealing with several pieces of bulky hardware, your chances of being able to fix any problems in-house increase by a lot, saving you time and money.

Interested in learning specs on different vendor’s hardware costs? Give us a call at 734.408.1993.

SD-WAN Management Costs: Ongoing Costs

Not only can you take care of the simple setup on your end, saving you money on hiring engineers to come out and install the hardware for you, but your team should be able to maintain your SD-WAN in-house.

Though it’s not quite “set it and forget it,” this solution is simple enough that you won’t have to worry about paying for a managed solution unless you choose to dole out responsibility to a third party. Being able to maintain your SD-WAN in-house cuts down greatly on recurring costs.

Though expenditures vary case-by-case, one of our clients, mentioned in further detail below, reduced its yearly maintenance costs to just over $11,000 with an SD-WAN solution.

Check out more of this case’s impressive stats…

SD-WAN Savings: A Real-Life Example

SD-WAN can decrease yearly costs by up to 90 percent in some cases.

On top of reducing those heavy bandwidth costs, there is less SD-WAN hardware and it’s cheaper. You also have an infrastructure that grows with your company so there is no need to keep purchasing more and more connection, nearly eliminating unforeseen costs.

Because of the savings, IT managers can see a return on their initial investment quickly. We know because we’ve seen it.

One of our long-time clients, a 123-year-old publishing company, pushed forward into the digital age with an SD-WAN solution, experiencing the following results:

• Reached ROI in only 7 months.
• Yearly connection costs were reduced by over $50,000.
• Dependence on costly MPLS connection was reduced from nearly-full reliance to none.
• Packet loss, jitter and latency were reduced.
• Site deployment time was reduced by nearly 100%.

Further Questions? Give CTC Technologies, Inc. a Call.

Get in touch with us if you have questions about implementing, upgrading or demoing SD-WAN, or any IT solution, for your company today. Fill out our form, and one of our sales reps will reach out to you as soon as possible.

Up against a deadline? Give us a call at 734.408.1993.

‍