The case for MPLS — and why it is weakening
For two decades, MPLS (Multi-Protocol Label Switching) was the gold standard for multi-site business connectivity. Dedicated circuits. Predictable performance. Strong SLAs. If you needed reliable, secure connectivity between your offices, MPLS was the answer.
But the world has changed. Most business applications now live in the cloud — Office 365, Salesforce, Teams, SAP. MPLS was designed to route traffic between offices, not to optimise cloud application performance. And it is expensive.
What SD-WAN does differently
SD-WAN — Software-Defined Wide Area Networking — takes a different approach. Instead of routing all traffic through dedicated circuits, it intelligently routes traffic across multiple connections — broadband, 4G/5G, and MPLS if you still have it — in real time, based on application requirements and network conditions.
The result: cloud applications perform better because they can break out directly to the internet. Voice and video calls are prioritised. Connectivity is more resilient because there is no single circuit to fail. And cost is typically 30-60% lower than equivalent MPLS.
The honest comparison
Where MPLS still wins: applications with very strict latency requirements connecting to on-premise data centres; environments where internet connectivity is genuinely unreliable; highly regulated environments where dedicated circuits provide compliance confidence.
Where SD-WAN wins: multi-site businesses with significant cloud application usage; organisations with hybrid or remote workers; businesses where cost is a significant factor; any environment where broadband connectivity is reliable.
SD-WAN and SASE
Modern SD-WAN is increasingly combined with security functions — firewalling, secure web gateways, zero-trust access — in a SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) architecture. This means your connectivity and security policy are managed from a single platform, reducing complexity and cost. For most multi-site businesses in 2026, SASE represents the target architecture.
Making the decision
The right answer depends on your specific applications, sites, resilience requirements and budget. Open Way Technologies provides independent advice — at no cost — to help you make the right choice for your business.