Granite SD WAN & Cybersecurity Solutions

Granite Telecommunications SD WAN Solution: Comparisons, Review, Benefits, Use Cases, Pros & Cons

Author: Netify Research Team

If you have questions about Granite and how their capability is aligned to your needs, email the Netify research team. UK: uk@netify.co.uk North America: northamerica@netify.com

(Please use the UK email for ROW - Rest of the World - questions or inquiries)

Netify Review

Granite is a U.S. network service provider that primarily offers solutions to U.S. domestic multi-location businesses and federal agencies. As of August 2017 Granite were one of nine suppliers awarded a 15 year Federal Enterprise Infrastructure Services Contract. The company currently operate with zero debts which allows for more flexible financial terms for their customers.  

Granite offer strong managed SD WAN services leveraging partnerships with vendors such as VeloCloud, Fortinet, Cisco Meraki and Cisco Viptela with 25 PoPs in North America. The solutions offer clients support from Granite’s Network Operations Centers (NOCs) with constant network monitoring. Although Granite do not currently offer a full SASE solution, their Zero Trust Cloud Security services powered by Zscaler to provide secure Internet and Private access - further security services are offered via a partnership with Fortinet. Granite are a suitable choice for large enterprises located in the USA, as many of the company’s managed services are currently only available in North America and Canada. 

About Granite

Granite Communications was founded in 2002 and has its headquarters in Quincy, Massachusetts, United States. Granite has nine regional offices worldwide and employs over 2,300 people. Its offering is primarily focused on government agencies and multiplication businesses in Canada and the United States. Granite offer services such as: Phone, SD WAN, SIP trunking, managed security, mobile voice and data, hosted PBX, Internet access, mobile device management, Wireless WAN, network integration as well as other advanced business communication services all from a single point of contact. The company has 1.75 million managed voice and data lines whilst also serving two thirds of the U.S. Fortune 100 companies. In 2018 Granite had a Net Promoter Score of 56.

What is the Granite SD WAN Solution?

Granite offer SD WAN solutions based on VMware, Fortinet and Cisco. The service includes options for cloud orchestration, Active/Active WAN Optimization, application awareness and is access agnostic, featuring a one-provider nationwide network. Multiple access types are available including 4G, DIA and cable, with reporting for Quality of Experience (QoS), advanced network traffic statistics and MOS scores with built-in firewalls and zero-touch provisioning. Solutions leverage Granite’s Network Operations Center which offers constant support from over 150 Cisco engineers. 

• Fortinet: Granite SD WAN based on Fortinet integrates with Granite Guardian for monitoring and management. Technology architecture consists of the multi-tenant vManage controller including vAnalyser which is datacentre based. Hub and spoke, core gateway, dynamic VPN and full mesh architectures are also available. The solution can scale to a maximum of 100,000 devices using vManage with software and hardware capable of supporting up to 100G throughout. SD WAN architecture is built on Next Generation Firewall (NGFW) services with SSL or IPSEC, SLA target customization and Forward Error Correction (FEC), with encryption services. Full routing capabilities are available such as OSFP or BGP, with WAN Optimization, QoS, customizable SLA targets for application control and application identification and steering, with high availability pairs on all models. Firewall comes as a device bundle with Unified Threat Management services. Deployment options include physical or virtual appliances with shared or Customer VDOMs to build customer networks as deployment differentiators. The solution supports all transport types including Ethernet, 3G/4G/LTE, broadband and satellite, with a 3+ standby failover option and Cloud Connect for Google Cloud, O365, AWS, Azure and other major cloud providers (see, How Does Granite Access Cloud Vendors?). 

For more information on Fortinet, see our vendor listing here. 

• Meraki: Granite offer SD WAN based on Meraki. The solution can be deployed physically and virtually, with hardware and software appliances supporting 2G of throughput and a maximum of 25,000 devices per organization. Meraki SD WAN leverages support for Meraki Dashboard/Organizations via cloud-hosted multi-tenant servers and data centers and multiple transport types such as Ethernet, satellite, 3G/4G/LTE, broadband and MPLS with two active only with standby failover. Granite Guardian is available for monitoring and management with AutoVPN leveraging full mesh capabilities, content filtering, an analytics dashboard and IDS/IPS which is included in the Advanced Security license. Further, routing and redundancy is available with Dynamic Path Selection, Policy-based routing, dual VPN, Traffic Shaping, QoS and High Availability Pairs option for any device. Granite SD WAN based on Meraki includes full encryption with integrated firewalls and Advanced Security features for SD WAN devices. Cloud Connect services are supported by all carriers, but application optimization is not available. 

For more information on Meraki, see our vendor listing here. 

• VeloCloud: SD WAN based on VeloCloud includes the cloud-hosted multi-tenant VeloCloud controller with Domains and distributed VeloCloud Gateways and a premium service which is included in the offering. Unlimited scalability for the customer with dedicated controller and software and hardware is capable of offering 10G throughput. Granite Guardian is available for monitoring and management, with premium services offering faster connectivity to cloud SaaS providers and improved application performance, with forward error correction and sub-second failover to improve voice/video performance. Access types include transport for Ethernet, 3G/4G/LTE, broadband, satellite and MPLS, with a 3+ standby failover option. Routing capabilities include dynamic mesh VPN, WAN optimization, QoS, dynamic routing (OSPF, BGP, OSPF), customizable business policy, application acceleration, internet gateways, link aggregation, packet duplication and the option for high availability pairs on any device. Cloud Connect is available to Azure, Google Cloud. Security services are not included, and clients are required to procure a separate premise or cloud-based firewall solution from a third-party. 

For more information on VeloCloud, see our vendor listing here. 

• Viptela: Businesses that already utilize Cisco infrastructure may transition to a Granite/Viptela SD WAN solution to deliver branch security, application performance optimization, secure automated SD WAN, multi-cloud access and secure Direct Internet Access (DIA).

For more information on Cisco Viptela, see our vendor listing here.

What is the Granite Cybersecurity solution?

Granite do not currently offer full SASE, however they offer a wide range of security features. The company recently partnered with Zscaler to provide SASE-based Secure Access solutions, integrated with the Granite Guardian security stack. 

For more information on Zscaler, see our listing here. 

Zero-Trust Cloud Security Services powered by Zscaler: 

• Zscaler Internet Access (ZIA): ZIA is a Secure Web and Internet Gateway and delivered as a service. The solution offers clients sandboxing, Data Loss Prevention (DLP), browser isolation, Cloud Firewall/Intrusion Protection Service (IPS), URL Filtering, Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB), Cloud Security Posture Management (CSPM) and browser isolation.
   
• Zscaler Private Access (ZPA): ZPA is a distributed cloud service. It provides secure access to private applications in the public cloud or on-premises. The service offers cloud availability and automatic failover, role-based administration, multi-factor authentication, application micro-segmentation, granular application access control, role-based administration, application health reporting, unified policy and reporting, device posture check and application & server discovery. 

Granite also offer security services via a partnership with Fortinet. The solution combines Fortinet with the Granite Guardian monitoring service. The solution includes IPS, antivirus, IP and domain reputation, NGFW, AntiSpam, application control, web filtering with constant support from Granite’s NOC. 

How does Granite access cloud vendors?

Granite offer connectivity to different cloud providers, via partnerships with SD WAN vendors. 

The Cloud vendors supported by each technology provider are listed below: 

• Meraki: Any cloud connect services supplied by carriers. 
• VeloCloud: AWS, Azure, Google Cloud. 
• Fortinet: AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, Office 365, all major Cloud providers supported. 

For further details into how each SD WAN vendor accesses cloud providers please see the individual listings for: Meraki, VeloCloud, Fortinet. 

Does Granite offer WAN acceleration and Optimization?

Granite offers WAN Optimization Services that are chosen by the customer to suit their needs such as appliance, access type and managed service level. 

• Fortinet: WAN optimization for Fortinet is best suited to clients requiring a single box for both SD WAN and firewall capabilities. 
  
• Cisco Meraki: The Meraki solution is good for clients with small IT resources and a low budget. The solution offers integrated LTE failover including content filtering. 
  
• VeloCloud: WAN optimization is an option for clients requiring improved quality voice and SaaS application performance.
  
• Viptela: The Viptela solution is designed for clients who already have existing Cisco infrastructure. 

How does Granite support remote users?

As of March 18th 2020, to assist businesses and government agencies during the Covid-19 Coronavirus outbreak Granite offers a Remote Redundancy Solution. Includes fully managed network services for teleworkers including:

• Wireless Redundancy: Available as short contract term (four months) delivering a wireless connection through one of four major U.S. wireless providers.
• Essential Redundancy: Offers a dynamic 25/5Mbps broadband circuit as well as all features included as part of the Wireless Redundancy package.
• Executive Redundancy: Includes one Granite Cloud PBX Soft Seat with mobile and desktop app, 1Gbps Wireless Redundancy plus 100/10Mbps broadband circuit and Granite Guardian network monitoring.
• Optional Upgrades: Package upgrades include: one-hour on-site setup, VoIP handset, on-premises managed firewall, Granite Guardian network monitoring (with wireline connections only), additional call path, same-day soft “Meeting Light” (4-person conference bridge), same-day soft seat with one call path, wireline access upgrade from 25/5Mbps up to 100/10Mbps and wireless access upgrade from 250Mbps to 1Gbps.

What is the Granite managed, co-managed and DIY services solution? 

Granite’s managed services solution operates under the name of Granite Guardian. The products range from edge monitoring to fully managed SD WAN optimization services. Granite leverages its Network Operations Center (NOC) to monitor all network locations with US based support. The solution also offers project management services with a premier account support team and help desk services, with guaranteed SLAs. 

• Proactive Ticketing - SD WAN: Proactive ticketing for SD WAN includes Internal Management Control Program (IMCP) ping to static for continuous network Edge monitoring, automatic ticketing, remediation services and trouble ticket reporting.
   
• Advanced Monitoring - SD WAN: Offers clients constant network Edge or interface monitoring using Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) or Application Programing Interface (API) with Proactive Ticketing for SD WAN included.
   
• Advanced Monitoring - SD WAN with Dispatch Add-On: Includes SNMP or API for constant network Edge monitoring, Proactive Ticketing for SD WAN and tech dispatch in two business days.
   
• Advanced Monitoring - SD WAN with Next Business Dispatch add-on: SNMP or API constant network Edge monitoring with Proactive Ticketing for SD WAN and single business day dispatch for Network Integration tech. 

• Managed  -SD WAN: Network Edge or Interface monitoring using SNMP or API, Proactive Ticketing for SD WAN features and vendor and configuration management. 
  
  
• Managed - SD WAN with Dispatch Add-On: Includes SNMP or API for constant network Edge or interface monitoring, Proactive Ticketing for SD WAN features, with vendor and configuration management and tech dispatch in under two business days. 
  
  
• Managed - SD WAN with Next Day Business Dispatch Add On: Offers constant network Edge monitoring via SNMP or API, Proactive Ticketing for SD WAN features, vendor and configuration management and next business day tech dispatch. 
  
  
• Optional Granalytics: Includes Guardian Portal, Rock Reports and CommPortal.

Granite do not currently offer DIY or co-managed solutions. 

What Reporting and Management is Available Via the Granite Portal?

Rock Reports is a single pane of glass, browser based, Executive Information System (EIS) management portal. The portal displays both reports and billing of all network voice and data connections. The Granite Rock Reports Portal features are invoices & breakdown, billing page, filtering and customizable reports for standardized reporting, onboarding report, self-selected usernames & passwords, visibility into all Direct Inward Dialing (DID) including DID’s on hosted voice, Primary Rate Interface (PRI) and Session Initialization Protocol (SIP) communication that are currently with Granite in a DID inventory.

What is the Granite SLA?

The below table highlights the Granite SLA:

Broadband Services Service Level Agreement:

Managed Services Service Level Agreement: