From MPLS to the Internet: Enterprise Network Optimization in the New Era of WAN

WAN looks different from ten years ago, there is no doubt about this. Nowadays, the WAN of many large enterprises includes multiple underlying technologies from multiple vendors, such as infrastructure as a service (IaaS), software as a service (SaaS), and unified communications as a service (UCaaS).

In my opinion, there are four main forces affecting the evolution of WAN from MPLS to the Internet.

The data center is migrating
In recent years, corporate data centers have been migrating.

In 2019, TeleGeography conducted a survey of 64 large multinational companies and found that although about one in ten companies still put all their data centers inside the company, nearly one in five companies have moved away from the local area.

Most enterprises have a mix of local and cloud configurations. But as a result, most corporate IT infrastructure teams have seen a shift in traffic patterns from hubs connected to mpls-based intranets.

Cloud delivery model
Most enterprises are now also cloudy. Nearly three-quarters of WAN survey respondents have two or more IaaS partners.

In addition, these companies are using multiple methods to connect with their IaaS providers. Two-fifths of businesses are basically connected to the Internet. This has exceeded the explosive growth of SaaS/UCaaS products in the enterprise.


It doesn't make sense to push all this Internet-native traffic to a central breakpoint through expensive MPLS circuits. Therefore, even before companies start to adopt software-defined wide area networks (SD-WAN), there is pressure to shift traffic to local Internet interruptions.

SD-WAN adoption
In 2018, less than one-fifth of enterprises adopted SD-WAN.

By 2020, this ratio has doubled to more than two-fifths. A quarter of the respondents are in the pilot or rollout stage. And why should these companies adopt SD-WAN?

The two main reasons are the need to increase site capacity and choose alternative products for the bottom layer.

Reduce internet costs
There is no doubt that the price difference between MPLS and Internet alternatives also contributes to the desire of enterprises to increase capacity and use alternative products. Survey data shows that the port size of MPLS is smaller than that of the Internet.

Its enterprise service pricing research also shows that there is still a gap between DIA and MPLS port pricing, not to mention that DIA usually does not require additional access line fees while MPLS does not.

In the post-MPLS era, what should WAN managers do?
All this shows a clear trend. Enterprises are reducing their reliance on MPLS and relying more on the Internet.

In 2018, 82% of WAN managers surveyed by respondents had websites running MPLS. By 2020, this proportion will drop to 58%. DIA and broadband also made progress during the same period. These factors have pushed the company's wide area network from MPLS to the Internet.

But how does this affect WAN managers and their suppliers?

First, WAN managers must consider the geographic footprint of their cloud service provider (CSP), not just their own data center site. It is very important to pay close attention to CSP's footprint expansion.

Companies must also select data center locations from thousands of sites operated by hundreds of different vendors. Data centers differ not only in the cost of power, cross-connect, and rack space, but also in the CSP channel, the presence of network providers, and the ability to reach the clearinghouse or structure provider.




This brings me to the last new question. WAN managers must evaluate what happens to their traffic after leaving the office through the most efficient Internet connection. The performance on the "internet midway" used to be a problem for telecommunications companies on MPLS networks, but now it is a concern for enterprises.

Whether choosing a Tier 1 Internet Service Provider (ISP), or using a network as a service (NaaS) provider, OTT mid-channel optimization tool, or joining a peer-to-peer exchange, WAN managers now have a new provider or solution to evaluate To ensure end-to-end performance.

The key now is how WAN providers—whether they are telecommunications companies, system integrators (SIs), managed service providers (MSPs), or novel solutions—can handle and deal with these changes together with multinational corporations.

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