Secure access service edge (SASE) technology is the next step in the evolution of wide-area networks (WANs). SASE combines software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) with cloud-based network security to provide an integrated architecture for securely connecting any site and any user to any digital resource. Unfortunately, many enterprises are discovering that this evolutionary transition from SD-WAN to SASE is not trivial. Check out these research slides to get insights from the “WAN Transformation with SD-WAN: Establishing a Mature Foundation for SASE Success” research report, based on a survey of 313 IT decision makers across North America and Europe.

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WAN Transformation with
SD-WAN
Establishing a Mature Foundation
for SASE Success
Shamus McGillicuddy
Vice President of Research, Network Infrastructure
and Operations
Enterprise Management Associates (EMA)
shamus@enterprisemanagement.com
Sponsored by

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Watch the On-Demand Webinar
• WAN Transformation with SD-WAN: Establishing a Mature Foundation
for SASE Success On-Demand Webinar:
https://info.enterprisemanagement.com/wan-transformation-with-sd-
wan-research-webinar-ss
• Check out upcoming webinars from EMA here:
https://www.enterprisemanagement.com/freeResearch
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc.

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Featured Speaker
Shamus McGillicuddy is the Vice President of
Research at Enterprise Management Associates
(EMA), where he leads the network infrastructure and
operations practice. He has nearly two decades of
experience in the IT industry. His research focuses on
all aspects of managing enterprise networks,
including network automation, AIOps-driven network
operations, multi-cloud networking, and WAN
transformation.
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 3
Shamus McGillicuddy
Vice President of Research
Network Infrastructure and Operations

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Sponsors
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 4

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Agenda
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 5
1 2
Research
Goals and
Methodology
SASE Requires
an SD-WAN
Foundation
3
How to Build a
Solid SD-WAN
Foundation
4
The Transition
to SASE

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Research Goals and
Methodology

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Identify best practices for SD-WAN
How is the transition from SD-WAN to SASE working?
How can SD-WAN be a foundation for SASE success?
Research Goals
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 7
Procurement Implementation Operations

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Top job titles
Company size (employees)
Region
Top industries
21.1% 500 to 999
25.6% 1,000 to 4,999
25.6% 6,000 to 9,999
11.9% 10,000 or more
23% IT director
16% IT manager/
supervisor
15% Network architect
11.8% Network engineer/
analyst
11.8% CIO/CTO
9.3% Project/Program
manager
57.2% North America 42.8% Europe
27.5% Banking/Finance/
Insurance
21.4% Manufacturing
13.4% Energy/Utilities
7.7% Retail
5.8% Professional/Technical
services unrelated to IT
5.4% Healthcare
3.8% Logistics/Wholesale/
Distribution
3.5% Transportation
2.9% Aerospace/Defense
IT groups
23.3% Network engineering/architecture
21.1% CIO suite
15% IT architecture
13.7% IT project/program management
13.1% IT asset/financial management and business analysis
8.9% IT security/cybersecurity
4.8% Network operations/IT operations
Survey of 313 IT professionals who are responsible for their WAN
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 8

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SASE Requires an
SD-WAN Foundation

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What is SASE?
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 10
Integrated platform for WAN connectivity, cloud-native network security, and secure
remote access across a hybrid, multi-cloud architecture
Cloud-native network security Secure remote access SD-WAN
SWG CASB FWaaS
Threat
protection
And so on…
Cloud-
based VPN
ZTNA

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SD-WAN is not a SASE feature
Mature SD-WAN foundation is essential to successful
SASE implementation
SD-WAN failure = SASE failure
SD-WAN Should Be at the Top of Your SASE RFP
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 11

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SD-WAN is Not Trivial
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 12
Top technical challenges with SD-WAN
26% Implementation complexity
Integration with existing security architecture/policies
Bringing new sites online
Product stability
Integration with cloud providers
Interoperability between multiple SD-WAN solutions
24%
22%
21%
21%
21%
38% of enterprises:
“Our SD-WAN is a
complete success!”

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SD-WAN Failure = SASE Failure
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 13
Enterprises with less successful SD-WAN
implementations report more difficulty with a
transition to SASE
Less SD-WAN experience = more difficulty
• SD-WAN in production < 3 years – difficult
transition
• SD-WAN in production 4+ years – easier
transition
Larger companies struggle more with SASE
transition
NetOps, network engineering, IT architecture
teams are most pessimistic
DO YOU THINK IT IS DIFFICULT OR EASY TO ADVANCE FROM AN SD-WAN
PLATFORM TO ADOPTING A FULLY INTEGRATED SASE SOLUTION?

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How to Build a Solid
SD-WAN Foundation

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Avoid DIY Implementations
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 15
Managed SD-WAN implementations
were more successful
DIY SD-WAN implementations were less
successful
• Except if the strength of internal
network engineering team drove
DIY path
Managed SD-WAN correlated with easier
SASE transition
PREFERRED SD-WAN PROCUREMENT STRATEGY

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88% have integrated WWAN into SD-WAN
Strong WWAN/SD-WAN integration correlates with
easier SASE transition
Establish the Right WAN Underlay
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 16
Most are hybridizing with
MPLS: internet is a
bandwidth supplement
Drives of using internet:
46% Cloud connectivity
46% Network flexibility
33% are backhauling
middle mile traffic
across an MPLS
provider
30% attempt middle mile
optimization via
SD-WAN POPs
17% have an SD-WAN
provider with an
integrated private
backbone
86% are adding 4G/5G connectivity to their WAN
97% of them use it for primary WAN connections
for at least some sites or applications
Internet-based WAN
98% are increasing
reliance on the internet
Beyond the last mile
Wireless WAN
Leads to smoother SASE implementation

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Apply WAN Acceleration
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71% are using WAN acceleration to improve application
performance
Successful SD-WAN projects are more likely to have it
89% of acceleration users use SD-WAN vendor’s solution
42% apply acceleration across all network paths (best practice for SD-WAN)
Unsuccessful SD-WAN users focus on accelerating only branch-to-data center or
branch-to-cloud traffic
Users of WAN acceleration reported easier transition to SASE

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Optimize SD-WAN Observability with Hybrid Operations
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 18
Only 15% of SD-WAN users outsource Day 2
operations
• Hybrid SD-WAN operating model = good SASE
transition
Only 40% fully satisfied with native SD-WAN
monitoring features
Top challenges:
• 32% Data granularity
• 30% Data retention
• 28% Lack of security information
• 26% Data is summarized – no drilldowns
73% monitor SD-WAN with third-party tools
2 in 5 say third-party tools get the job done
Overcome these issues to improve SD-WAN monitoring
1
2
3
Lack of end-to-end visibility across overlay & underlay 42%
Poor visibility into SD-WAN tunnels 37%
Data quality 36%
Network teams with single console visibility into
entire WAN underlay report easier SASE transitions

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One Enterprise’s Approach to Hybrid Operations
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 19
We want [the MSP] responsible for the operational side of
it, and then we just hold them accountable. It monitors
packet loss, delay, network congestion, ISP outages. We
monitor end-user experience, streaming media, video
conferencing, and virtual desktop infrastructure.
Vice president of architecture
$5 billion energy company

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The Transition to SASE

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Charting the Path
Selected by people reporting easier transitions to SASE
FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE WHETHER AN ORGANIZATION USES A
SINGLE SASE VENDOR OR MULTIPLE VENDORS
Preferred evolution from SD-WAN to SASE
54% integrate third-party SSE with incumbent SD-WAN
30.8% adopt their SD-WAN vendor’s SASE, report easier
transition
7.6% implement a net-new solution for SD-WAN and SASE
7.6% undecided
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc.

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Tips for a Successful Path to SASE
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 22
Avoid multi-vendor SD-WAN (43% of companies have 2+ vendors)
Avoid DIY SD-WAN
Establish hybrid Day 2 operations
Establish end-to-end WAN underlay visibility
Strong SASE/WWAN integration
Establish full mesh topology
Apply WAN acceleration everywhere
Don’t chase lower prices

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Get the Report
Learn more and download at
http://bit.ly/406OBR5
© 2023 Enterprise Management Associates, Inc. 23