Software-defined WAN, better known today as SD-WAN, is not the same technology that it was when it first got started.

In the beginning, SD-WAN was essentially a way to enable organizations to use inexpensive broadband connectivity to connect back to the data center. It was a lower-cost alternative to other fixed-connectivity WAN options, most notably multiprotocol label switching (MPLS). Enabling reliable connectivity is still a key promise of SD-WAN today, but next-generation SD-WAN can do much more than just that.