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With increasing pressure on enterprise networks to support cloud-first operations, remote workforces, and latency-sensitive applications, SD-WAN has become the preferred alternative to legacy WAN architectures. Its flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and ability to prioritise critical traffic make it a strategic investment for modern businesses. However, while the technology itself is transformative, how it's deployed is just as critical.
Some organisations opt for a DIY approach, expecting to reduce costs or maintain greater control. Self-deployment often leads to unforeseen complexities—limited visibility, security gaps, and ongoing resource strain on internal IT teams. In contrast, a fully managed service like Orixcom Managed SD-WAN offers not only streamlined deployment but also continuous optimisation, integrated security, and proactive support, removing the operational burden from in-house teams. In this blog, we’ll examine the risks associated with DIY SD-WAN rollouts and explain how Orixcom’s managed service addresses those challenges.
For businesses navigating cloud adoption, hybrid work, and application-heavy environments, SD-WAN has become essential to modern network strategy.
Traditional WAN architectures, often built on MPLS, were not designed for the demands of today’s distributed digital operations. They are expensive to scale, slow to adapt, and lack the visibility needed to manage performance across cloud, branch, and remote environments. This limits agility and creates bottlenecks for cloud-hosted applications, directly affecting user experience and productivity.
SD-WAN addresses these limitations with a more intelligent, software-defined approach to routing and traffic management. It dynamically selects the best-performing path based on real-time network conditions, ensuring optimal application performance across all locations. Its cloud-native design enables seamless access to SaaS, IaaS, and PaaS platforms—eliminating backhauling inefficiencies and reducing latency.
Beyond performance, SD-WAN also offers significant cost advantages. By replacing or augmenting expensive MPLS links with more affordable broadband or LTE options, businesses gain flexibility without compromising on reliability or security. Centralised policy enforcement, integrated security, and simplified orchestration make it easier for IT teams to manage complex, multi-site environments.
However, unlocking these benefits depends heavily on how the solution is deployed—making the choice between DIY and Managed SD-WAN a critical decision.
While SD-WAN offers transformative benefits, deploying it without expert support can introduce risks that often negate its advantages. According to multiple reports, 75% of self-deployed SD-WAN projects exceed budget or fail to meet performance goals, primarily due to underestimating complexity and resource requirements. Here’s where most self-deployed SD-WAN initiatives fall short:
Implementing SD-WAN across multiple sites means managing a mix of transport types—MPLS, broadband, LTE—and often dealing with different hardware and software vendors. Without automation or pre-defined templates, enforcing consistent policies becomes time-consuming and error prone. Each site requires manual setup, which slows down rollouts and increases operational overhead.
DIY setups typically lack built-in, enterprise-grade security. Firewalls, intrusion prevention systems (IPS), and DNS-layer protection must be added and managed separately, creating fragmented defences. Without centralised oversight, organisations struggle to maintain consistent threat visibility or timely patching—leaving the network vulnerable to evolving attacks.
A self-managed environment puts significant pressure on internal IT teams. Continuous monitoring, manual troubleshooting, and complex configuration tasks quickly become unsustainable, especially for lean teams. Misconfigurations—common in manual deployments—can lead to degraded performance, downtime, and increased security exposure.
Seamlessly connecting to public cloud providers, legacy systems, and SaaS platforms requires more than basic routing. DIY SD-WAN often lacks automated workflows for multi-cloud environments, making integration cumbersome and inconsistent. Without unified control, enforcing policies across branches and remote users becomes a manual, high-risk process.
These challenges underscore the importance of not just choosing the right SD-WAN technology but deploying it through the right model—one that minimises risk, simplifies operations, and accelerates time to value.
Orixcom Managed SD-WAN is designed to remove the complexity of deployment and day-to-day management while unlocking the full value of a modern network. Here's how the service delivers to every layer—from infrastructure to cloud.
Orixcom takes ownership of the entire SD-WAN lifecycle—planning, deployment, monitoring, and optimisation—so internal teams can focus on core business operations. With real-time, 24/7/365 access to a centralised management portal, enterprises gain complete visibility and control over their network without operational overhead.
Zero-touch provisioning and pre-built configuration templates accelerate rollout across new sites, eliminating manual intervention and reducing errors. Whether connecting branches, remote offices, or data centres, policies are centrally defined and uniformly enforced—ensuring consistent performance, security, and compliance across the network.
The difference between owning SD-WAN hardware and having a fully operational, optimised network lies in how the solution is deployed and supported.
Choosing the DIY path may seem cost-effective upfront, but it often results in delays, integration issues, and significant internal overhead. Setup typically involves configuring multiple vendors, manually establishing policies, and managing compatibility across environments—leading to longer deployment cycles and higher risk of misconfiguration.
Security is also fragmented, requiring separate tools and manual patching, which exposes the network to potential threats. In contrast, Orixcom Managed SD-WAN service is purpose-built to deliver built-in, multi-layered security and seamless integration with leading cloud platforms. Designed and fully operated by Orixcom, with technology partnership with Cisco, the solution ensures optimised performance for applications without manual intervention or operational complexity.
Most importantly, the ongoing cost of internal management—staff time, troubleshooting, and upgrades, adds up quickly. With Orixcom, costs are predictable, outcomes are measurable, and businesses benefit from an always-on network with full visibility and proactive support. It’s not just a deployment model—it’s a smarter, future-ready way to manage your WAN.
Real-World Impact with Orixcom Managed SD-WAN
Faced with inconsistent network performance and rising connectivity costs across its branches, Al Ghandi Auto Group needed a more scalable, cost-efficient solution. By deploying Orixcom Managed SD-WAN, they gained secure guest access, reduced circuit costs, and established reliable, cloud-ready connectivity across all locations. Centralised control gave their IT team greater visibility and simplified day-to-day network management—freeing up resources to focus on core operations. The result was enhanced user experience for both employees and customers, supporting the company’s digital transformation strategy.
For a media company dependent on real-time broadcasting and regional collaboration, network reliability was business critical. CNBC Arabia turned to Orixcom to upgrade their infrastructure and connect multiple offices and production centres securely. The deployment of Managed SD-WAN significantly reduced latency, improved bandwidth allocation, and provided centralised control over all sites. This enabled seamless video content delivery, uninterrupted editorial workflows, and reliable inter-site communication—ensuring the broadcast operation ran smoothly, even during peak periods.
With a fragmented network and limited visibility across multiple business units, Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group experienced frequent inefficiencies and higher operational overhead. Transitioning to Orixcom’s Managed SD-WAN allowed them to consolidate and optimise bandwidth usage across all sites. The result was a more resilient, high-performance network with better application performance, especially for cloud-based services. Automated policies and central management also enabled the group’s IT team to ensure consistent security and compliance across the board, without manual intervention.
Deploying SD-WAN without expert guidance often leads to more problems than it solves. From complex multi-vendor setups and inconsistent security to limited visibility and overburdened IT teams, DIY deployments carry strategic risks that can impact business performance. These challenges not only delay time-to-value but also increase operational costs and expose networks to vulnerabilities—especially as organisations scale or adopt cloud-first strategies.
As a leading SD-WAN service provider in Dubai, Orixcom eliminates these pain points by delivering a solution that is fully integrated, centrally managed, and built for scale. The service combines advanced performance capabilities with robust security and real-time analytics—strengthened by strategic partnerships with technology leaders like Cisco. But the value goes far beyond the underlying platform. With zero-touch provisioning, dynamic path optimisation, native cloud integration, and around-the-clock support, businesses get a fully managed service that drives real outcomes—higher availability, better user experience, and measurable cost savings.
Ultimately, partnering with Orixcom means more than just deploying SD-WAN—it means building a resilient, cloud-ready network that evolves with your business. You’re not purchasing a product; you’re engaging with a strategic partner who takes ownership of your network performance and security. With deep regional expertise, dedicated customer support, and a future-proof architecture, Orixcom empowers your organisation to grow with confidence.
Q1. Is SD-WAN suitable for all types of businesses?
Q2. What makes managed SD-WAN more secure than a DIY solution?
Q3. What level of visibility and control does Orixcom offer?
Q4. How quickly can Orixcom deploy its SD-WAN solution?
Q5. How does SD-WAN improve cloud application performance?