72% of UK businesses suffer SD-WOT Syndrome

The study, which questioned 300 UK based IT decision-makers across the education, financial services, and retail sectors, found those that have implemented the technology experience many benefits. With 39% of respondents seeing OPEX savings of between 10-15% since deploying SD-WAN and almost nine in ten (88%) see the cost and efficiency savings derived from SD-WAN as a key business differentiator in the next 12 months.  

  

The key network priorities for UK organisations in the next 12 months include improving network security (60%), improving cloud performance (47%), and improving connectivity between different locations (43%). All of these priorities identified by IT Decision-makers are issues that SD-WAN addresses. 

  

The survey finds SD-WAN to be very important to the digital transformation process, with over eight in ten (84%) respondents stating that they see the technology as crucial to enabling their organisation’s digital transformation. 

  

Tom Adams, Director of Global Product at Cogeco Peer 1, said: “Businesses need to articulate their digital transformation objectives, with many starting their journey to remain competitive. These digital transformation initiatives rely upon best-in-class network performance and agility. With growing data volumes and more applications distributed across data centre and cloud environments, organisations require network technologies that are agile and secure.” 

  

“This survey shows that many companies understand the benefits of deploying SD-WAN and the important role it plays in a digital transformation strategy. However, there is a lack of knowledge amongst IT decision-makers about how to start implementing it, and this means thousands of organisations aren’t realizing the full benefits and powering their potential.” 

  

The study found that small businesses are most susceptible to SD-WOT Syndrome, with over three quarters (76%) of respondents from businesses with under 100 employees not understanding the technology. Lack of skills is a problem identified by small businesses, with almost half (48%) pinpointing this as the main barrier to SD-WAN deployment.  

  

This lack of understanding is leading many businesses to consider outsourcing SD-WAN deployment to a managed service provider, with over eight in ten (82%) looking to do so. 

The main benefits of outsourcing deployment identified by respondents include speed of deployment (49%), expertise (49%), and cost-savings (43%). 

  

Dave Tracey, EMEA channel sales manager at Cogeco Peer 1, said: “SD-WOT Syndrome is a terrible affliction for businesses to suffer from. It is holding businesses back, preventing their growth and damaging their prosperity. It is the responsibility of vendors and channel partners to come together and educate organisations around SD-WAN, and ensure SD-WAN packages come with a high level of consultancy and support.