Every 6 months we re-evaluate our default WAN recommendation based on what we're actually deploying. In 2026, the answer has never been clearer: SD-WAN wins. Every time.
MPLS had a good 20-year run. Deterministic latency, private circuits, strong QoS. But the world it was designed for — centralized data centers, hub-and-spoke traffic, stable applications — no longer exists for most enterprises.
Today, 60–80% of enterprise traffic goes directly to SaaS platforms or cloud endpoints, bypassing the data center entirely. Backhauling that traffic over MPLS to a central hub for "security" adds 40–120ms of latency and charges you for bandwidth twice.
SD-WAN solves this by doing local breakout at the branch — securely routing SaaS traffic direct, while tunneling sensitive traffic over encrypted overlays to the data center or cloud edge. This fits perfectly with our managed Network & Infrastructure services, which replace legacy routers with modern dynamic paths.
The provisioning argument used to favor MPLS stability. That's gone too. With zero-touch provisioning (ZTP), we can ship a pre-configured SD-WAN appliance to a branch, have it auto-registered to the controller on power-up, and be fully operational in under 90 minutes. MPLS circuit provisioning in India typically takes 30–90 days.
Our recommendation in 2026: if you're running more than 5 sites, start your SD-WAN design now. If you're renewing MPLS contracts, use the renewal window to negotiate a shorter term. The transition is not disruptive — we can run hybrid for as long as you need. Contact our support team to schedule a professional network assessment.