The growth of the small- to medium-sized business often means the addition of new locations. This is great for the success of the organization, but comes with its own set of complex issues, including determining the best way to ensure all locations are seamlessly connected. Do you rely on a virtual private network (VPN), or does it make more sense to implement MPLS?
Your business requirements need to be examined to best determine the answer, but other factors can play a part as well. For instance, is cost a leading indicator when making a decision? Do you need to have a certain quality of service (QoS) in place or speed standards that must be met? If you have IP-enabled phones in place, you’ll need to consider the pros and cons associated with these options in order to make the best choice.
VPN Considerations
- Lower cost for a 10 Mbps internet circuit, versus a 10 Mpbs MPLS circuit
- More providers offer this option, making it widely available throughout the U.S.
- Higher latency and jitter tend to be factors as the connection relies on the public internet
- Voice quality is easily diminished when routing path changes create more jitter
- QoS configuration options are limited as there are a variety of carrier networks involved
- Service providers don’t have the ability to provide SLAs that guarantee specific traffic performance due to reliance on the internet
MPLS Considerations
- The flexibility afforded by MPLS is extensive, allowing for the placement of data into different categories for prioritization
- Voice traffic is typically prioritized over other traffic, giving better voice performance in the MPLS environment
- Organizations can prioritize real-time communications to receive higher preference in times of congestion
- MPLS providers can offer an SLA to address traffic, reimbursing companies when requirements are not met
- Only one carrier network is involved, making troubleshooting much easier, while reducing latency and jitter
- MPLS is more secure than VPN as the carrier traffic is tagged and segmented
- Cost can be a significant barrier for some companies as MPLS can be up to five times more expensive than VPN
- MPLS is not available for all locations, especially remote branches
Knowing these facts about both options is critical when determining what is best for your disparate locations. Seamless communications is always ideal, but you may be able to sacrifice QoS for cost if your collaboration is limited between locations. Likewise, if you rely on the transfer of sensitive data or constant voice or video conferencing calls are a necessity, you may not be able to afford the potential inconsistencies of a VPN. The critical element here is understanding your business needs and your level of risk tolerance when it comes to branch-to-branch communications.
For help in making the best decision for your company, reach out to our experts at Cloud Source. Our goal is to work with clients to best understand their needs and develop solutions that make sense today and in the future.
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