We've crunched the numbers from our 2021 survey of WAN managers, and our new analysis is ready and waiting. What did we find?
To start, the extended effects of COVID-related remote work have accelerated WAN trends like migration to the cloud, SD-WAN adoption, and incorporating alternative access technologies into the underlay.
Network managers at large multinational corporations are now faced with accommodating a remote-friendly, bring-your-own-device, work-from-anywhere environment. Many will likely be rethinking their network architecture in the coming years, moving closer to internet-first networks and further away from MPLS.
Greg welcomes TeleGeography Senior Analyst Elizabeth Thorne back to the pod to break it all down.
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Key Takeaways
MPLS Usage is Declining, While DIA and Broadband are Growing
The WAN manager survey, conducted for the fourth year in 2021, showed that for the first time, MPLS usage dropped below half of the average sites at 46%, while DIA reached 42%.
This indicates a shift in network connectivity strategies, with MPLS losing ground primarily to Direct Internet Access (DIA) and, to a lesser extent, broadband.
Corporate Networks are Hungry for More Bandwidth
The survey data reveals a clear trend of increasing demand for network bandwidth. Port sizes of 50 Megabits per second (Mbps) and over are increasing across MPLS, DIA, and broadband connections, while smaller ports (50 Mbps and under) are declining.
This surge in bandwidth requirements is linked to factors such as the return to office (necessitating more bandwidth for unified communications services like Zoom), increased cloud adoption, and overall digital transformation initiatives.
Zero Trust Security Adoption is Increasing, but SASE is Still Evolving
There has been a significant increase in companies implementing some form of zero trust security (ZTS), rising from 8% in 2019 to 35% in 2021. The growth in remote work is cited as the top driving factor for this shift.
While features like multi-factor authentication and single sign-on are the most commonly implemented ZTS features, often integrated via existing software like Microsoft or Google suites, more complex principles like network segmentation are challenging in existing network environments.
SASE, which links zero trust and SD-WAN, is viewed by many large enterprises as still relatively new and not yet mature enough for widespread adoption, facing issues such as scaling, vendor lock-in, and integration complexities. The general expectation is that SASE offerings will continue to develop, potentially becoming more integrated with SD-WAN solutions over time.
