Built directly into Cato SASE Cloud is Cato SSE 360, providing consistent security policy enforcement across all edges and traffic.
The vendor offers a 99.999% uptime SLA and around-the-clock global NOC and SOC support.
Cato Networks' SD WAN solution is delivered over a global private backbone interconnected via over seventy-five (75) points of presence (POPs) and fully managed by Cato. Cato Networks' SD WAN provides bandwidth optimization and resiliency through link aggregation and active-active or active-passive load balancing, increasing network capacity and minimizing downtime. Similarly, Cato Networks' dynamic path selection and policy-based routing allow customers to prioritize mission-critical traffic, routing business-critical applications over high-speed circuits and non-business traffic over low-speed links. Other standard SD WAN features offered by Cato Networks include application identification via deep packet inspection, QoS, BGP> integration, and PoP-based packet loss mitigation via automatic link failover.
SmartConnect is Aryaka's signature product, a single-vendor, all-in-one managed SD WAN (or SD WANaaS) solution providing end-to-end network connectivity between hub locations, branch offices, and multiple clouds globally, with guaranteed SLAs and uptime up to 99.999% and deterministic network performance and latency. Complementing its SD WANaaS solution are Prime EZ and Prime Pro, Aryaka's cloud-first SASE platforms designed as a single-vendor security stack delivered from the cloud.
Benefits (pros)
|
Drawbacks (cons)
|
Fully managed, end-to-end SD WAN solution, including first and last-mile procurement and management.
|
Many desirable capabilities, such as SaaS peering, ZTNA, and SWG, are available as upgrades or optional add-ons.
|
Aryaka’s SD WAN service is available in regions where few providers operate, such as China.
|
The current product offering does not offer CASB and DLP capabilities.
|
Centralized co-management and self-service capabilities are available via the MyAryaka customer portal.
|
Limited coverage in South America and Africa with a single PoP location in each continent.
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Learn more about Aryaka, request their latest sales PDF, book demos and retrieve your local sales contact.
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3. Masergy (Comcast Business)

Who is Masergy?
Masergy is a North American company headquartered in Plano, Texas, founded in 2000 to deliver software-defined networking solutions. The service provider offers managed and co-managed, best-of-breed SD WAN and SASE solutions through integrations with leading networking and security vendors delivered over a global network comprising fifty-one (51) points of presence. Comcast acquired Masergy in 2021, but the company has been operating independently since the acquisition.
How does Masergy fit your business needs?
Masergy offers managed and co-managed SD WAN using an Internet-only model, overlying the solution over any private and public network. With this model, customers can "bring their own network" or opt for Masergy's private or public connectivity options, creating an ideal, low-cost alternative for customers with long-term network contracts.
Masergy's SD WAN edge device is a Fortinet product with built-in standard and advanced security features. Masergy also addresses the work-from-home use case with a lightweight Fortinet SD WAN device installed in users' home offices to boost the performance of residential Internet circuits.
From a SASE/SSE standpoint, Masergy offers tiered security services ranging from standard unified threat protection to fully managed security services.
Who are Masergy’s main competitors?
Hughes Network Systems, MetTel, AT&T, and Lumen are Masergy’s top competitors.
What are Masergy’s main SD WAN and SASE features?
Masergy's SD WAN solution is delivered over a global network of fifty-one (51) points of presence (POPs). The solution integrates artificial intelligence via AIOps to predict and self-heal network performance issues and outages by evaluating and automatically redeploying network policies before user impact is experienced. Masergy's most innovative managed SD WAN feature is Masergy Performance Edge, a propriety technology that boosts network performance across low-cost broadband connections, increasing stability and minimizing packet loss.
Masergy’s SASE/SSE features include:
What are the benefits (pros) and drawbacks (cons) of Masergy?
Benefits (pros)
|
Drawbacks (cons)
|
Masergy offers co-managed SD WAN services for customers who need to retain control of network and security policy management.
|
Masergy does not currently have a ZTNA solution integrated into its SASE offering.
|
Masergy's AI-integrated SD WAN solution helps predict outages and cloud application performance issues through the continual evaluation of network policies, bandwidth utilization, and application usage.
|
Masergy offers SASE security capabilities through integration with third-party security vendors rather than natively via a single-vendor stack.
|
Masergy offers a unified web portal enabling customers to manage, monitor, and troubleshoot network, security, and application performance issues from a single pane of glass.
|
|
Masergy offers competitive SLAs with 100% committed uptime for SD WAN sites deployed with high availability.
|
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Learn more about Masergy, request their latest sales PDF, book demos and retrieve your local sales contact.
View Masergy on the Netify Marketplace
4. BT

Who is BT?
BT is a British telecommunications company headquartered in London and the largest provider of telephony services in the United Kingdom. The service provider offers managed and co-managed SD WAN solutions from prominent third-party vendors with BT's public and private backbone as the transport, which extends to more than one hundred and ninety-eight (198) countries, connecting to eight (8) public cloud providers in seventy-four (74) cities.
How does BT fit your business needs?
BT offers managed SD WAN solutions from Cisco Meraki, Cisco Viptela, Nuage, Fortinet, and VMWare, with BT's global backbone network as the underlay. BT's universal CPE supports multiple virtual network functions (AFVs) and can be deployed as a virtual CPE in the cloud or a physical edge device. All SD WAN solutions are delivered as managed and co-managed services. BT also offers a SASE solution based on the VMWare SASE platform.
BT's subsidiary in China, BT China Communications Limited, is licensed to operate in China and deliver VPN and Internet services in the region.
Who are BT's main competitors?
BT's main competitors include AT&T, Vodafone, Verizon, Tata Communications, NTT Communications, Singtel, China Telecom Global, and Colt.
What are BT's main SD WAN and SSE features?
BT's SD WAN features vary based on the SD WAN vendor:
- BT with VMWare SD WAN provides dynamic multi-path optimization using VMWare's Dynamic Path Optimization technology and many virtual network functions, including NextGen firewalls, WAN optimization, and traffic acceleration.
- BT with Cisco Meraki SD WAN offers application prioritization, dynamic path selection, and failover via multiple access methods.
- BT with Nuage SD WAN introduces support for remote workers and mobile users.
- Cisco Viptela SD WAN allows customers to deploy secure SD WAN on BT's hybrid underlay, benefitting from intelligent routing and improved application performance.
BT SSE features, powered by the VMWare SASE Platform, include:
- Next-generation cloud firewall
- URL classification and web content filtering
- Inline CASB
- Malware protection
- ZTNA via VMWare Secure Access Service Edge Platform
What are the benefits (pros) and drawbacks (cons) of BT SD WAN?
Benefits (pros)
|
Drawbacks (cons)
|
BT's global backbone network offers excellent coverage in all regions.
|
Long lead times for new site deployments.
|
BT's uCPE provides customers with more SD WAN vendor choices.
|
|
BT is licensed to operate in China and can offer in-country services with local billing.
|
|
Learn more about BT Business, request their latest sales PDF, book demos and retrieve your local sales contact.
View BT on the Netify Marketplace
5. AT&T

Who is AT&T?
AT&T is an American telecommunications company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with a global presence in more than two hundred (200) countries and the largest share of managed SD WAN locations in the North American market. The service provider offers managed SD WAN and SASE solutions from prominent third-party vendors. The solutions are carrier-agnostic and can run over AT&T's MPLS and Internet backbone or as an over-the-top solution.
How does AT&T fit your business needs?
AT&T offers managed SD WAN solutions based on Cisco, Aruba, VMWare, and Palo Alto Networks and SASE solutions from Cisco, Fortinet, Palo Alto Networks, and VMWare, managed by the AT&T Cybersecurity division. AT&T also offers the FlexConnect platform, AT&T's own managed SD WAN service running on universal hardware and centrally managed from a cloud-based orchestrator. FlexConnect is also available as a self-managed service.
Who are AT&T's main competitors?
AT&T's top competitors include Cato, Masergy, Aryaka, Versa, Cisco, GTT, Lumen, Palo Alto, and Globalgig.
What are AT&T's main SD WAN and SSE features?
AT&T's main SD WAN features include dynamic path selection, dynamic routing, WAN aggregation, and near real-time performance monitoring, enabling optimal traffic delivery across different network transports.
What are the benefits (pros) and drawbacks (cons) of AT&T?
Benefits (pros)
|
Drawbacks (cons)
|
AT&T's balanced SD WAN portfolio offers prominent vendor technologies and deployment options, including hybrid, network-based, and over-the-top.
|
AT&T technical support is fragmented, often leading to long lead times to resolve customer issues.
|
AT&T offers its own SD WAN solution, FlexConnect, based on a universal compact SD WAN edge device
|
|
AT&T's site-by-site flexibility allows customers to combine SD WAN and non-SD WAN sites on the same network
|
|
Learn more about AT&T, request their latest sales PDF, book demos and retrieve your local sales contact.
View AT&T on the Netify Marketplace
6. COLT

Who is Colt?
Colt is a British company headquartered in London, founded in 1992 as a telecommunications service provider. The service provider offers managed and co-managed SD WAN and SASE solutions through integrations with leading third-party SD WAN and security providers. Colt SD WAN and SASE offerings are delivered over Colt's fully-owned public and private backbone network, the Colt IQ Network, which extends to four continents.
How does Colt fit your business needs?
Colt offers managed SD WAN solutions based on Versa Networks and VMWare, overlayed on its own global private and public backbone network. The company has a significant presence and infrastructure across Europe and the Asia Pacific, with limited coverage in South America, Central America, and Africa. With over five hundred (500) data centers distributed across forty-eight (48) European cities, Colt is an ideal candidate for companies operating out of Europe.
Colt also offers co-managed SD WAN White Label solutions with a customized client portal.
Who are Colt’s main competitors?
Colt’s main competitors include Orange Business Services, AT&T, Verizon, NTT, BT, and Telefonica.
What are Colt’s main SD WAN and SASE features?
Colt's managed SD WAN solution offers standard and advanced SD WAN capabilities delivered as network function virtualization (NFV) modules in a single branch office device. The standard features include basic application traffic steering and layer 3/4 stateful inspection firewall. The basic application traffic steering feature allows customers to route application traffic via different links based on IP address, network port, protocol, and network performance metrics, such as jitter, latency, and packet loss.
Advanced SD WAN capabilities include deep packet inspection of over 2,600 applications, dynamic multi-path routing based on URL, and layer 7 firewalls with DDoS protection. Colt also offers WAN optimization using packet cloning and Forward Error Correction (FEC) to speed up mission-critical application traffic over low-quality circuits.
Lastly, Colt's SASE/SSE features include a secure web gateway based on Versa SASE.
What are the benefits (pros) and drawbacks (cons) of Colt?
Benefits (pros)
|
Drawbacks (cons)
|
Colt offers a co-managed SD WAN White Label, allowing network service providers to resell Colt's SD WAN service globally.
|
Colt's backbone network has minimal coverage in South America, Central America, and Africa.
|
Colt offers multiple SD WAN edge device options, including pre-configured COTS servers, universal CPEs, and SD WAN edge devices by Versa and VMWare.
|
Colt offers limited security capabilities at the branch office compared to its competitors.
|
Colt supports VoIP over SD WAN through VoIP traffic prioritization.
|
|
Learn more about Colt, request their latest sales PDF, book demos and retrieve your local sales contact.
View Colt on the Netify Marketplace
7. GTT

Who is GTT?
GTT is a North American telecommunications provider headquartered in McLean, Virginia, operating a Tier-1 IP backbone spanning more than six hundred (600) points of presence across one hundred and forty (140) countries in six (6) continents. The service provider offers managed and self-managed SD WAN and SASE solutions based on third-party vendors, underpinned by GTT's global MPLS and Internet backbone.
How does GTT fit your business needs?
GTT's SD WAN portfolio includes managed and self-managed solutions based on Aruba Silver Peak, VMWare VeloCloud, and Fortinet technology. GTT offers two specific service plans based to meet its customers' needs, including:
- DIY SD WAN with GTT circuits, a solution that runs on GTT's Tier 1 Internet backbone, allowing the customer to choose the SD WAN technology and network access at every location and manage user and application-level policies
- Managed SD WAN, a turnkey, fully managed SD WAN solution with GTT as the transport network.
Both service packages leverage GTT's network-based SD WAN gateways (universal CPEs) running many virtual network functions (VNFs).
GTT offers a managed, single-vendor SASE solution, Secure Connect, unifying SD WAN with cloud-based security.
Who are GTT's main competitors?
GTT's main competitors include Tata Communications, AT&T, Orange Business Services, BT, Masergy, Verizon, Lumen, and Vodafone.
What are GTT's main SD WAN and SSE features?
GTT's main SD WAN features include application-based dynamic path selection, allowing customers to prioritize mission-critical applications and latency-sensitive traffic. The company also provides a client portal where customers can configure policies and gain insights into network performance and bandwidth utilization per application, location, and user.
GTT's Secure Connect SASE solution offers NextGen FWaaS, malware protection, SWG, and CASB.
What are the benefits (pros) and drawbacks (cons) of GTT?
Benefits (pros)
|
Drawbacks (cons)
|
GTT is a Tier-1 Internet service provider with worldwide coverage.
|
GTT’s financial future may be uncertain after the company filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 in 2021.
|
GTT offers a selection of network access options, including EoC, DSL, cable, Ethernet over fiber, and 3G/4G
|
GTT's network coverage is limited to Latin America and Asia.
|
Learn more about GTT, request their latest sales PDF, book demos and retrieve your local sales contact.
View GTT on the Netify Marketplace
8. Lumen

Who is Lumen?
Lumen is a North American telecommunications company headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana, offering self-managed, co-managed, and managed SD WAN and SSE solutions from leading third-party vendors. Lumen's SD WAN solutions run over its global private and public backbone network extending to over twenty-two hundred (2,200) public and private data centers, with direct connectivity to the leading public cloud providers in thirty-three (33) cities.
How does Lumen fit your business needs?
Lumen offers a large selection of SD WAN and SSE technologies, including solutions from Fortinet, Versa Networks, Cisco Viptela, Cisco Meraki, and VMWare. Customers can choose from self-managed, co-managed, or fully managed service models, the latter available through authorized channel partners and system integrators. Customers can deploy Lumen SD WAN based on Versa Networks and Cisco Meraki on any number of locations, while solutions based on VMWare and Cisco Viptela require at least a ten (10) site deployment.
Furthermore, Lumen SD WAN with Meraki does not currently have global availability. All SD WAN options are available with Lumen's private and public backbone network as the transport or as an "over-the-top" solution.
Lumen's SD WAN edge devices can be deployed as virtual machines in the cloud and on-premises or as virtual network functions (VNF) running on universal CPE.
Lumen's SSE solutions are currently available from Fortinet and VMWare, with deployment options in AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, and Alibaba Cloud.
Who are Lumen's main competitors?
Lumen's main service provider competitors include Tata, AT&T, Vodafone, Verizon, Comcast, Masergy, BT, and GTT.
What are Lumen's main SD WAN and SSE features?
Lumen's standard SD WAN capabilities include performance-, application-, and user-aware routing with WAN optimization and dynamic path selection for minimal latency, maximum performance, and high availability.
Lumen SSE features include:
- FWaaS, including NextGen and L4 stateful inspection firewall with URL content filtering, malware protection, IDS/IPS, DoS protection, DNS security, and DLP
- ZTNA
- SWG with DLP, application control, URL filtering, and malware protection
What are the benefits (pros) and drawbacks (cons) of Lumen?
Benefits (pros)
|
Drawbacks (cons)
|
Lumen offers various managed and self-managed SD WAN and SSE solutions from leading vendors.
|
Lumen's backbone network has limited reach in Africa and the Middle East.
|
Lumen's SD WAN solutions are available with Lumen as the underlay or as over-the-top solutions.
|
Lumen does not have network connectivity in Latin America but partners with Cirion to deliver the region's digital infrastructure and technology solutions.
|
Lumen integrates with six (6) public cloud providers across thirty-three (33) cities.
|
|
Learn more about Lumen, request their latest sales PDF, book demos and retrieve your local sales contact.
View Lumen on the Netify Marketplace
9. Open Systems

Who is Open Systems?
Open Systems is a cybersecurity-as-a-service company founded in 1990 in Zurich, Switzerland, with main offices in Silicon Valley, California. The vendor's core offerings include carrier-agnostic managed secure SD WAN, cloud-native SSE, and managed detection and response services delivered to more than one hundred and eighty (180) global markets.
How does Open Systems fit your business needs?
Open Systems is ideal for companies seeking managed, unified networking and security solutions with flexible service options.
Open Systems' flagship service is SASE+, a turnkey, cloud-delivered security and networking solution connecting any edge, remote user, and public cloud over a carrier-agnostic overlay. The solution is available in three flexible service packages, including core SD WAN features, 24x7 level-3 support and monitoring, and technology and hardware management. The Secure SD WAN solution, available as a standard offering across all service tiers, interconnects branch offices and data centers via encrypted tunnels, with local Internet breakouts for optimal Internet and public cloud application performance. SSE features are only available in higher-end service tiers.
Open Systems manages all aspects of the solution, including SD WAN edge device provisioning, orchestration, and patching, with around-the-clock networking and security monitoring.
Who are Open Systems' main competitors?
Open Systems' main competitors include Cato Networks, Masergy, Orange Business Services, AT&T, Lumen, and Colt.
What are Open Systems' main SD WAN and SSE features?
Open Systems managed SD WAN runs on top of any public and private backbone. The solution is purpose-built to deliver policy-based application routing and per-app dynamic path selection, mission-critical application prioritization via bandwidth control, and automatic encryption of all user and application traffic with site-to-site IPsec tunnels.
Open Systems offers a complete cloud-based SSE solution that includes DNS filtering, zone-based FWaaS, SWG with integrated CASB, and ZTNA. More advanced security features are available as optional add-ons, including Advanced Threat Protection, Secure Email Gateway, and Cloud Sandbox
What are the benefits (pros) and drawbacks (cons) of Open Systems?
Benefits (pros)
|
Drawbacks (cons)
|
Open Systems' SASE+ is available in three flexible service tiers.
|
Many core SSE components are offered as optional add-ons, including ZTNA, SWG, and CASB.
|
Open Systems offers Managed Detection & Response services leveraging Microsoft Azure Sentinel.
|
|
Open Systems offers unified security and networking via a single-vendor stack.
|
|
Open Systems' SD WAN edge devices support unlimited local Internet breakouts.
|
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Learn more about Open Systems, request their latest sales PDF, book demos and retrieve your local sales contact.
View Open Systems on the Netify Marketplace
10. TATA

Who is Tata?
Tata is an Indian telecommunications company headquartered in Mumbai, with a global presence in more than two hundred (200) countries and the largest subsea fiber optics network carrying 30% of the world's Internet routes. The service provider offers managed, co-managed, and self-managed SD WAN solutions based on in-house-developed and best-of-breed third-party technology underpinned by Tata's MPLS and Internet backbone.
How does Tata fit your business needs?
Tata's signature service is IZO SDWAN, a cloud-native SD WAN solution based on Cisco SD WAN and Versa Networks technology. The solution is offered globally across one-hundred and fifty (150) countries, with a cloud-based portal automating policy, user, and branch deployments. Customers can choose from managed, self-managed, and co-managed service models and use Tata's global backbone to underlay or bring their network.
With managed IZO SDWAN, Tata oversees and manages all aspects of the solution, including design, deployment, configuration, site adds, moves, and changes.
Who are Tata's main competitors?
Tata's main competitors include Tejas Networks, Orange Business Services, AT&T, Vodafone, Lumen, Verizon, Masergy, GTT, and BT.
What are Tata's main SD WAN and SSE features?
Tata's main SD WAN features include:
- Dynamic application-aware routing.
- Self-service WAN optimization.
- Virtual network functions (VNF) service chaining.
- Dynamic load balancing.
- Advanced reporting.
Multiple security features are built directly into the SD WAN edge device, including a layer-7 firewall, layer-4 stateful inspection firewall, URL filtering, and DoS protection. Additionally, cloud-based security features are available, including a secure web gateway, anti-DDoS, virtual UTMs, and CASB.
What are the benefits (pros) and drawbacks (cons) of Tata?
Benefits (pros)
|
Drawbacks (cons)
|
Tata offers a turnkey solution, managing the underlay and overlay networks.
|
Limited network coverage across Latin America and Europe
|
Tata is a Tier-1 telecommunications provider with Internet coverage across five (5) continents with over four hundred (400) PoPs across more than two hundred (200) countries.
|
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Tata offers a single dashboard to manage and monitor the service.
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Learn more about Tata, request their latest sales PDF, book demos and retrieve your local sales contact.
View Tata on the Netify Marketplace
Managed SD WAN Service Provider and Solution comparison matrix 1-5
Managed Provider 1-5 |
Aryaka |
Cato Networks |
Masergy |
COLT |
Open Systems |
Focus technologies |
SD WAN as a service with end-to-end management and SASE for Global business. |
Managed and co-managed SD WAN with SASE for Global companies. |
Managed SD WAN with a robust and well-engineered backbone which includes SASE. |
Global low-cost managed services with hybrid connectivity across on-net metro locations. |
Primary product focus on Cybersecurity services with strong SD WAN. |
SASE features |
Aryaka has integrated their SecuCloud acquisition and now offers full SASE capability. |
Cato Networks provides a complete SASE solution via Cato SSE 360 built directly into Cato SASE Cloud. |
Masergy offers NGFW, and CASB. |
Colt offers an SWG from Versa Networks. |
Open Systems offers a complete SSE solution, including NGFW, CASB, ZTNA, and SWG. |
What is their USP? |
SD WAN and SASE delivered over their layer2 private backbone (Aryaka FlexCore) with last mile procurement and management. |
SD WAN and SASE are delivered over a global private backbone (Cato SASE Cloud) fully managed by Cato. |
SD WAN from Fortinet and multi-vendor SSE (Fortinet and Forcepoint) delivered over their private and public backbone network with last mile procurement and management or as an over-the-top solution. |
SD WAN from Versa Networks and VMWare delivered over Colt's backbone network with last mile procurement and management or as an over-the-top solution. |
SASE (Open Systems SASE+) provide an over-the-top solution over any public and private network. |
Global coverage |
100+ countries over six continents served by 40 Global PoP locations. Supported languages include English, Mandarin, Hindi and others. WAN edge shipped globally with international shipping between 1 and 5 working days. |
150+ countries over six continents served by 75+ PoP locations and 24x7x365 global NOC and SOC. |
51+ global points of presence distributed across five continents, with limited coverage in Africa. |
Global coverage in 4 continents, with 500+ data centers in Europe, spread across 48 cities. |
Global coverage. |
Differentiators |
WAN optimization is built into their global PoP backbone with multi-cloud support. |
Link aggregation and cloud-based security services are delivered via a single-vendor stack. |
Technology choice; "bring-your-own-network" deployment model; competitive SLAs; self-healing technology powered by AI. |
Co-managed SD WAN White Label offering for wholesalers, SD WAN edge device choice, WAN optimization suite, and dual CPE for high availability. |
Cloud-native solution, including SD WAN and a complete SSE. Enhanced security services, including monitoring, response, and proactive hunting. |
Ideal customer and vertical |
Up to 1000 sites, global, typically ten branch offices plus. |
Small to mid-sized companies with a large cloud footprint. |
Companies with connectivity requirements in major international markets. |
Companies with a large concentration of sites located across Europe or Asia-Pacific. |
Small to mid-sized companies with a large cloud footprint. |
What is the MSP a bad fit for? |
Small businesses with local requirements and any requirements which do not fit with their global PoP locations. |
Companies seeking a DIY SD WAN solution and large enterprises requiring granular and complete feature sets often found in enterprise-level products. |
Masergy may be unsuitable for companies seeking a comprehensive, single-vendor SSE solution. |
Colt may be unacceptable for companies in South America, Central America, and Africa, where their network connectivity is limited. |
Companies seeking a DIY solution or who want to leverage existing network hardware. |
SD WAN architecture |
WAN edge-based gateways, connectivity provided via a range of middle-mile providers. |
SD WAN edge devices (gateways) connected via IPSec or MPLS to the nearest Cato POP. |
SD WAN edge devices or gateways (universal CPE) with Masergy as the underlay network or connected over any public/private network (BYON). |
SD WAN edge gateways (universal CPE) connected via Colt's MPLS or the Internet via IPsec tunnels. |
SD WAN edge devices are connected to cloud-based PoPs via IPSec tunnels. |
What managed services are offered? |
End-to-end management of SASE and connectivity, which includes proactive monitoring and resolution with read/write access to make co-managed changes. |
Last-mile management, configuration and change management, managed threat detection and response, and site deployment assistance. |
End-to-end connectivity management, including procuring and managing access links, edge devices, monitoring, and day-to-day operations. Masergy also offers managed EDR, vulnerability scanning and management, and threat intelligence and hunting. |
End-to-end management of connectivity, including procuring and managing access links, edge devices, and day-to-day operations, with customers managing network and security policy changes. |
Technology stack management, including operating system and software; hardware lifecycle management, including hardware and software upgrades; log ingestion and management, ongoing monitoring, and proactive threat hunting. Open Systems does not manage the underlay. |
Over the top support |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
No |
Is there a proof of concept (PoC) |
2 sites, paid trial with specific problem solving included. |
1:1 Demo |
Free PoC |
PoC is offered on new services only |
Free PoC and Demo |
Is network underlay supported |
Yes, fully procured and managed on the customers behalf. |
Yes, fully procured and managed on the customers' behalf but not as standard. |
Yes, fully procured and managed on the customers' behalf. |
Yes, fully procured and managed on the customers' behalf. |
No. |
Is the solution Opex or Capex biased? |
Opex with some capex. |
Opex with some capex. |
Capex. |
Opex with some capex. |
Opex with some capex. |
What support is offered for cellular 4G and 5G? |
Aryaka technology does support cellular, including 4G/5G LTE, but they do not offer direct termination. |
Cato Networks supports 4G for backup connectivity. |
Masergy supports 4G/5G LTE. |
Colt supports 4G/4G+ and 5G. |
GTT supports 3G and 4G |
Managed SD WAN Service Provider and Solution comparison matrix 6-10
Managed Provider 6-10 |
Lumen |
BT |
TATA |
AT&T |
GTT |
Focus technologies |
Managed, co-managed, and self-managed SD WAN. |
Managed and co-managed SD WAN. |
Managed, co-managed, and self-managed SD WAN. |
Managed, co-managed, and self-managed SD WAN. |
Managed, co-managed, and self-managed SD WAN. |
SASE features |
Lumen offers SSE from Fortinet and VMWare. |
BT offers SSE from VMware SASE Platform, including NGFW, CASB, and ZTNA. |
Tata offers SWG and CASB. |
AT&T offers SSE solutions from Cisco, Fortinet, and Palo Alto Networks. |
GTT offers an SSE solution, Secure Connect, including NGFW, SWG, and CASB. |
What is their USP? |
SD WAN from Fortinet, Versa Networks, Cisco Viptela, Cisco Meraki, and VMware is delivered over Lumen's backbone network with last-mile procurement and management or as an over-the-top solution. |
SD WAN from Cisco Meraki, Cisco Viptela, Nuage, Fortinet, and VMware and SSE (VMware) delivered over their private and public backbone network with last mile procurement and management or as an over-the-top solution. |
SD WAN based on Cisco technology (IZO SDWAN) is delivered over Tata's global backbone network or as an over-the-top solution. |
SD WAN from Cisco, Aruba, VwWare, Palo Alto Networks and SSE based on Cisco, Fortinet, Palo Alto Networks, and VMware, delivered over AT&T's global backbone network with last mile procurement and management or as an over-the-top solution. |
SD WAN based on Aruba Silver Peak, VMware Velo Cloud, and Fortinet and single-vendor SSE (Secure Connect) delivered over GTT's global backbone network with last mile procurement and management. |
Global coverage |
Dense coverage across North America and Europe, with 18+ data centers in the United States. |
198+ countries, with connectivity to 8 cloud service providers in 74 cities. |
400+ PoPs distributed across 200+ countries. |
200+ countries and territories. |
140+ countries across 6 continents, with 600+ global PoPs and 3,000 regional access partners. |
Differentiators |
Technology choice and Lumen's Marketplace for buying and managing SASE solutions. |
Technology choice and license to operate in China. |
Optimized Internet connectivity with end-to-end SLAs and deterministic routing. |
Technology choice and hybrid network model connecting SD WAN and non-SD WAN on the same network. |
Tier-1 IP network backbone. |
Ideal customer and vertical |
Large multinational companies seeking managed or self-managed SD WAN. |
Large international companies and organizations based out of Europe. |
Global companies of all sizes and any company with connectivity requirements across Africa, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific. |
Companies of all sizes, regardless of location. |
Companies with connectivity requirements across North America and Europe. Companies with PCI DSS obligations, including retail and e-commerce. |
What is the MSP a bad fit for? |
Lumen may be unsuitable for companies in Latin America. |
BT may be inappropriate for small to mid-sized companies with localized operations outside of Europe where other providers offer better coverage. BT may also be unsuitable for companies seeking to turn up sites quickly with short installation lead times. |
Tata may be problematic for companies with large site concentrations in Latin America and Europe, where their network connectivity is limited. |
AT&T may be unsuitable for companies seeking short lead times for incident resolution. |
GTT may be unsuitable for companies with large site concentrations in Latin America and Asia, where their network connectivity is limited. |
SD WAN architecture |
SD WAN edge device or gateway (universal CPE) with Lumen as the underlay or connected via any public/private backbone (BYON). |
SD WAN edge gateway (universal CPE) with BT as the underlay or connected via any public/private backbone (BYON). |
SD WAN edge gateway (universal CPE) with Tata as the underlay or connected via any public/private backbone (BYON). |
SD WAN device or gateway (universal CPE) with AT&T as the underlay or connected via any public backbone. |
SD WAN edge gateway (universal CPE) with GTT's backbone network as the underlay. |
What managed services are offered? |
End-to-end
connectivity management, including procuring and managing access links, deployments, edge device patch management, monitoring, ongoing support, and configuration.
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End-to-end
connectivity management, including procuring and managing access links, edge devices, and day-to-day operations.
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End-to-end connectivity management, including procuring and managing access links, edge devices, assessments, deployments, ongoing support, configuration, and change management. Tata also offers MDR. |
End-to-end connectivity management, including procuring and managing access links, edge devices, and day-to-day operations. |
End-to-end connectivity management, SD WAN, and SSE, including security and application control. |
Over the top support |
Yes, via authorized channel partners and system integrators. |
No. |
Yes, via solution partners. |
No. |
No. |
Is there a proof of concept (PoC) |
30-day free trial. |
PoC lab. |
Virtual and on-site PoC and demo. |
Free PoC. |
Free PoC. |
Is network underlay supported |
Yes, fully procured and managed on the customers' behalf. |
Yes, fully procured and managed on the customers' behalf. |
Yes, fully procured and managed on the customers' behalf. |
Yes, fully procured and managed on the customers' behalf. |
Yes, fully procured and managed on the customers' behalf. |
Is the solution OPEX or CAPEX biased? |
OPEX with some CAPEX. |
OPEX with some CAPEX. |
OPEX with some CAPEX. |
OPEX with some CAPEX. |
OPEX with some CAPEX. |
What support is offered for cellular 4G and 5G? |
Lumen supports 4G/5G LTE. |
BT supports 4G LTE for backup connectivity. |
Tata supports 4G/5G LTE. |
AT&T supports 4G/5G LTE. |
GTT supports 3G and 4G. |
User reviews for Managed SD WAN Providers and Solutions
Service Provider
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Review
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Aryaka user reviews
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- Aryaka's technical support during setup, deployment, and post-deployment is top-notch. The solution offers a user-friendly interface and a straightforward customer portal with a map displaying all available locations and devices.
- Aryaka's solution allows for quick and seamless moves and changes, but many advanced SD WAN features, such as load balancing and QoS, are unavailable on Internet-based traffic.
- Aryaka's SD WAN service significantly improves throughput and lowers latency for VDI users connecting between APAC and North America. The solution works exceptionally well for real-time and critical application traffic.
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Cato user reviews
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- Cato's single-platform security stack helps secure remote office locations with a single device, significantly reducing hardware footprint at sites where finding physical space may be challenging.
- Cato releases new features and enhancements weekly, with regular software upgrades to fix customer-reported bugs and issues. The user interface is easy to use, giving customers access to network performance details and QoS dashboards.
- While Cato's sales team and senior engineers are very knowledgeable, customers could benefit from better tier-1 support and technical documentation.
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Masergy user reviews
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- Masergy's solution may not be the best fit for companies operating outside large metropolitan areas where customers may need to provide the last mile.
- Masergy's SD WAN solution introduces significant long-term cost savings compared to traditional MPLS.
- Masergy is among the most affordable SD WAN vendors, but network bandwidth and throughput issues can turn customers away.
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Colt user reviews
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- Colt offers low-latency SD WAN services in APAC but at a higher cost than its competitors.
- While Colt's offering includes managed SD WAN solutions from various SD WAN providers, its implementation of third-party SD WAN products does not run the latest features and functionality offered by the SD WAN provider.
- Colt provides flexible cloud connectivity options with excellent technical support after business hours, but site provisioning and turn-up are not automated.
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Open Systems user reviews
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- Open Systems offers a comprehensive suite of managed security services backed by a dedicated team of skilled and knowledgeable professionals.
- The reliability of Open Systems' SASE solution can help offload the internal management of WAN and VPN connection issues.
- Open Systems' customer portal includes many network utilities and features that allow customers to troubleshoot network issues, including collecting packet captures or running ping and traceroute commands.
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Lumen user reviews
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- Lumen offers global network connectivity, quick and easy site turn-up, and around-the-clock security operations support.
- While Lumen delivers exceptional network performance and throughput in areas where they operate the first, mid, and last miles, customers can experience increased latency and degraded service when connecting via low-cost circuits, such as DSL.
- Lumen's SD WAN solution can help shorten network connectivity outages by automatically failing user traffic over to a backup link.
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BT user reviews
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- BT's network reliability and stability are underpinned by a highly knowledgeable and motivated technical support team providing quick incident resolution.
- BT's Day-1 service management and operations are satisfactory, but the company's lead times for service installation and deployment are higher than their competitors.
- BT offers many service levels with standard network designs to meet customers' changing network requirements.
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Tata user reviews
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- Tata offers a cost-effective, managed SD WAN solution when deployed with the Internet as the underlay, but using MPLS as the transport can significantly increase the cost of the solution.
- Tata offers competitive SLAs but lacks proactivity in resolving customer link or network issues.
- Tata offers a stable solution with improved WAN optimization for mission-critical application traffic.
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AT&T user reviews
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- AT&T's SD WAN service is stable and reliable, with minimal packet loss and latency, but it falls behind in innovation compared to its competitors.
- AT&T's pre-sales, engineering, architecture, and account management teams are excellent, but their technical support post-deployment appears disorganized, often causing delays in addressing customers' trouble tickets.
- AT&T's SD WAN and Virtual Network Functions (VNF) significantly increase network scalability and flexibility with hardware virtualization and carrier-agnostic connectivity options.
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GTT user reviews
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- GTT has a solid vision, but its sales and pre-sales team may overpromise and underdeliver.
- GTT taps into countries and territories where few providers operate, such as China and Russia.
- GTT's side deployment strategy is above average, offering a streamlined process for deploying multiple sites across multiple geographies on time and within budget.
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