SD-WAN has been in the news for a while, with a few industries edging others by taking the leap of faith in deploying SD-WAN across several sites.
While the market looks very optimistic, the reasons for adopting in India vary compared to the rest of the world. SD-WAN is championed because of its cost competitiveness as a replacement for more expensive MPLS links. While that works as a strong reason for adoption globally, it is not necessarily so in India. The cost differential is not that significant in India. The critical reasons for adoption stem from the technological benefits that an overlay technology like SD-WAN provides, i.e. seamless management of networks and faster deployment of new sites.
Driving the wave of adoption are two industries which have always led from the front as far as tech innovation goes. In the case of SD-WAN, it fits the nature of the business since both operate in the hub and spoke model. The two industries are banking and Retail (e-commerce in particular).
With its focus on service innovation, banking has been known to lead from the front. Retail banking, in particular, has changed a lot over the last decade. New business models have evolved where online banking, mobile banking, and electronic payments are growing at a pace driven by consumers. As a result, the sector is relooking at the local branch in a whole new way.
While the customer is the king in every industry, it finds a whole new meaning in the retail sector. They are always trying to find an answer to and redo the one question: “How can we improve the customer experience?” Retail is no longer constrained by either time or geography. In a low margin industry, agility and flexibility can be solved by adopting digital infrastructure initiatives, which helps them scale and reach the last mile in the most effective manner possible. Know more…
