Catch Advisors
Networking

How to Evaluate SD-WAN Providers in 2026

SD-WAN is no longer a niche technology. It has become the default WAN architecture for organizations with multiple locations, cloud-heavy workloads, or remote workforce requirements. But the market is crowded, and not every solution fits every use case. Here is how to evaluate SD-WAN providers in 2026 without getting lost in vendor marketing.

1. Understand Your Current WAN Costs

Before evaluating providers, baseline your existing spend. Document every circuit at every location, including MPLS, broadband, DIA, and LTE. Note the contract term, monthly cost, bandwidth, and provider for each. This gives you a clear picture of what you are replacing and what savings are realistic.

Most organizations find that 30-60% of their WAN budget is spent on MPLS circuits that could be supplemented or replaced with broadband or DIA at a fraction of the cost.

2. Define Your Architecture Requirements

Not all SD-WAN deployments are the same. Key architectural decisions include:

  • Overlay vs. managed service: Do you want to own the appliances and manage policies internally, or do you want a fully managed service with SLA guarantees?
  • Transport flexibility: Can you mix broadband, DIA, MPLS, and LTE at each location? Does the platform handle failover automatically?
  • Security integration: Do you need integrated firewall, IPS, and web filtering at each site (SASE), or do you already have a separate security stack?
  • Zero-touch provisioning: Can new sites be deployed by shipping a box and having a non-technical person plug it in?

3. Evaluate Key Capabilities

Score each provider against these categories:

Application-aware routing is the core differentiator of SD-WAN. The platform should automatically route traffic based on application type, performance requirements, and real-time link quality. Ask for a demo showing how the platform handles a circuit degradation event.

Centralized management should give you a single portal to configure policies, monitor performance, and troubleshoot issues across all locations. Evaluate the usability of this portal, not just its feature list.

Reporting and visibility should include real-time and historical views of bandwidth utilization, application performance, jitter, latency, and packet loss at every site.

Integration ecosystem matters if you use cloud security (Zscaler, Palo Alto Prisma), SaaS applications (Microsoft 365, Salesforce), or IaaS platforms (AWS, Azure).

4. Avoid Common Pitfalls

Do not compare based on appliance price alone. The total cost includes circuits, licensing, management, and support. A cheaper appliance with expensive licensing can cost more over 3 years than a premium solution with inclusive support.

Do not skip the pilot. Deploy at 3-5 representative sites before committing to a full rollout. Test failover scenarios, measure application performance, and validate the management experience.

Do not ignore the SASE question. If you are evaluating SD-WAN today, you should also consider whether you need integrated cloud security. Many organizations are deploying SD-WAN and SASE together to avoid a second migration in 2-3 years.

5. The SASE Convergence

SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) combines SD-WAN with cloud-delivered security services including SWG, CASB, ZTNA, and FWaaS. If your security stack is aging or you are moving toward zero trust, evaluating SD-WAN and SASE together makes sense.

Leading SASE providers include Palo Alto Prisma, Zscaler, Fortinet, and Cato Networks. Each has a different approach to how tightly security and networking are integrated.

6. Build Your Evaluation Scorecard

Create a weighted scorecard covering:

  • Application-aware routing capabilities
  • Transport flexibility and failover
  • Security integration depth
  • Management portal usability
  • Reporting and analytics
  • Zero-touch provisioning
  • Vendor financial stability and support quality
  • Total cost of ownership over 3 years

Weight each category based on your priorities. A retail chain with 100 locations will weight zero-touch provisioning heavily. A healthcare system will weight security integration and compliance.

Evaluating SD-WAN for your organization? Get a free assessment and we will help you build a shortlist tailored to your requirements.