Researching goes a long way when making a big purchasing decision. No one wants to feel their time or money is wasted after purchasing a service thinking it would help; especially when investing in a service for their company.
If you are looking to purchase a particular service, it is important to conduct in-depth research to know what you are getting yourself into.
Additionally, if you don’t pick the provider of the service that is right for you or your organization, you could be left feeling buyer’s remorse.
Coeo has deployed thousands of SD-WAN solutions to enterprise customers and all of their locations. The provider of the solution is just as important as the solution and hardware itself.
We want to make sure you have all of the information you need before making a purchase so that you can make the best buying decision possible for your organization’s needs.
By the end of this article, you will know the differences between Versa and Silver Peak’s SD-WAN solutions so that you can make an educated buying decision on which provider is right for you.
What is Versa?
Versa is a network organization and also one of the leading vendors for SD-WAN and are known for network security and cloud connectivity.
Rankings
Versa has been recognized by Gartner as a leader in the magic quadrant.
The magic quadrant is a report that Gartner puts out each year on the best WAN infrastructure and Versa has been ranked several times as a leader in the industry.
Versa is known as a leader in the industry according to the magic quadrant as an SD-WAN provider. Versa is a network organization and also one of the leading SASE vendors.
Features
Versa’s industry-leading SD-WAN offers multiple different features through its service. These features include
Flexibility
Versa’s SD-WAN offers data packet steering allowing customers to prioritize data. Data that is more important than other data can be sent out first.
Reduction of lost data
Versa uses Forward Error Correction or FEC services in its SD-WAN product as a way to reduce data loss.
FEC is a data loss recovery technique that controls data transmission errors over unreliable communication routes.
Avoids poor-performing links
Data can be redirected to a different data route to avoid slow or risky data paths. This technique ensures your data is sent as efficiently and securely as possible.
3 components of Versa’s SD-WAN
There are 3 different components to a Versa SD-WAN. These 3 components include:
Standard SD-WAN
This is the meat and potatoes when it comes to the SD-WAN product. It is private connectivity, host optimization tools, and really everything that an organization thinks of when they think of SD-WAN.
Security
Versa offers a few additional security add-ons that can be purchased to help better secure your network. These security add-ons are Universal Threat Management (UTM) and Next-gen firewall.
SASE
Secure Access Service Edge, or SASE, is a cybersecurity network that combines a WAN or wide area network and a security system into one cloud-based system. This allows for security, even when you are working in another location.
What is Silver Peak?
Silver Peak is also a leader when it comes to SD-WAN connectivity. They were also purchased by Aruba Networks, a wireless networking subsidiary of Hewlett Packard Enterprise company.
Rankings
Just like Versa, Silver Peak is recognized by Gartner as a leader for WAN edge infrastructure.
Versa is a little bit higher on the magic quadrant than Silver Peak with Silver Peak barely making the cut to be in the leader's section.
Silver Peak is an overall great service but does not have some of the additions and features that Versa has integrated into their SD-WAN.
Features
Versa has more security features when it comes to their SD-WAN solution such as next-gen firewall, antivirus software, and file filtering than Silver Peak.
These may not all be required for your network if you already have these features integrated however, these features are important in securing your environment.
Silver Peak secures broadband WANs from edge to edge with security features. All data traveling across the Silver Peak encrypted tunnel fabric is secured without any performance degradation.
2 Components of Silver Peak’s SD-WAN
Standard SD-WAN
Just like with Versa, all SD-WAN providers will have this as their main component. Standard private connectivity and host optimization tools.
WAN Hardening
One additional component that Silver Peak has is WAN Hardening to have a more secure WAN connection within its SD-WAN solution.
WAN Hardening does not allow any access inside of the WAN from any unauthorized outside traffic.
If a packet is not in the Silver Peak encrypted tunnel it is denied access and immediately dropped.
WAN hardening reduces the need to add additional routers and firewalls at a branch, helping eliminate the costs of deploying and managing dedicated firewalls.
Choosing which SD-WAN provider is right for you
Now that you know a little bit about Versa Networks and Silver Peak as well as the differences between their respective SD-WAN solutions.
This will help you determine which provider your organization will benefit from the most.
If you are looking for a stronger connection, Versa’s SD-WAN solution is connected via broadband which is a stronger form of connection.
With this in mind, you may want to go with Versa if your organization relies on the strongest network possible.
Silver Peak, on the other hand, focuses more on enterprise networking which is the physical, virtual and logical design of a network, and how the various software, hardware, and protocols work together to transmit data.
If enterprise networking is something that your organization has as a priority, you might want to go with Silver Peak as your SD-WAN provider.
Next steps to purchasing SD-WAN
No one wants to experience buyer’s remorse which is why researching and educating yourself on the service and the service providers is important.
After learning about the two providers and their SD-WAN solutions, you can make a better decision for your organization.
Coeo wants to educate you as much as possible on SD-WAN and SD-WAN providers so you know what the best solution and provider is for your organization’s needs.
Educating you on the service and provider will allow you to make a better buying decision for your company.
If you would like to speak with our team to learn more about SD-WAN or ask any questions you may have you can schedule an appointment. 
Now you know the differences between Versa and Silver Peak and which is right for your organization. Check out our SD-WAN Buyer's Guide to learn more about SD-WAN and to determine if SD-WAN is right for you:
