Magic Quadrant for Global WAN Services

Global WAN Services Vendor Product Comparisons 2024

Key features and pros and cons of top Global WAN Services products:

AT&T - Leader

Pros:

AT&T's MPLS SLAs are above average when compared to other providers in this research.
AT&T's total access orchestration (TAO) node expansion provides greater flexibility to address enterprise requirements, which eases client migration from MPLS to internet. In addition, its expansion of 100 Gbps and local internet broadband internationally positions AT&T above average in market responsiveness and operations.
AT&T's digital portal, AT&T Business Center, creates a common platform across all services, including bandwidth utilization alerts; AT&T Dynamic Exchange (ADX); multigig, third-party SD-WAN portal integration; and ebonding APIs.

Cons:

AT&T is below average in terms of service enhancements (i.e., new vendors, new features), with minimal service enhancements to most elements of its WAN portfolio in 2023.
AT&T's marketing campaigns primarily focus on U.S.-based clients and sites. It also has a lower proportion of sales professionals outside North America, coupled with limited planned incremental enhancements to its global (versus domestic) WAN services.
AT&T only offers on-network, last-mile connectivity in the U.S., therefore is highly reliant on third-party access outside the U.S. market.

BT - Leader

Pros:

BT's internet services offerings for global WAN transport is one of the strongest among the providers in this research in terms of coverage, range of internet service options, SLAs, enhanced internet backbone and advanced routing capabilities.
BT has commercially launched Global Fabric, which is a converged multiservice software-defined backbone network for enterprises that have been engineered for enhanced multicloud support, on-demand delivery and service automation combined with flexible commercial offerings.
BT's leverage of AI, machine learning and automation in its network operations, security, and customer service and support is among the highest by service providers in this research.

Cons:

BT is below average compared to its peers in sales momentum and customer satisfaction, and its SLAs lag its competitors' SLAs.
For customers seeking to reduce the footprint of on-premises networking appliances, BT's depth of virtual network service offerings lags behind top performers in this category in terms of unique uCPE and POP-based VNFs supported.
Customers should be aware of the strong progress in BT's rollout of Global Fabric to get the new capabilities and commercial offers that enhance current service options; however, customers must remain cautious about the possibility of service disruptions in migrating to BT's new converged backbone.

Colt Technology Services - Challenger

Pros:

Assets recently acquired from Lumen will give Colt expanded network reach in Europe and the ability to expand WAN services to the Middle East and Africa.
Colt has increased its use of automation, claiming 80% of its service provisioning and installation processes are now automated.
Colt has a strong network-on-demand offering, including on-network and off-network availability for internet and Ethernet connectivity.

Cons:

Colt has limited network coverage in Latin America, with no MPLS, dedicated internet access (DIA) gateways, or on-network, last-mile access availability in that region.
Colt's cloud coverage is in the lower half of those included in this research. Beyond Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) hyperscalers, Colt supports a limited number of unique cloud providers in all regions.
Colt's SD-WAN lineup relies on just two vendors (VMware and Versa), which is less diverse than most other providers in this research. Its SASE service options also are comparatively limited.

Comcast Business - Challenger

Pros:

Comcast's CBCI is the highest among providers in this research and excels in terms of the largest number of direct, unique CSPs per region. This is an indicator of how and where it chooses to invest.
Based on Gartner client feedback, Comcast is above average on flexibility and adaptability in negotiating contracts, with above-average SD-WAN and MPLS SLAs.
Comcast is positioned above average for its current sustainability efforts when compared to others in this research.

Cons:

Comcast Business has no service-specific SLAs for network on-demand, SASE or enhanced internet. Dedicated internet and CBCI SLAs lag in comparison to other providers in this research.
Compared to others in this research, Comcast is among the lowest in terms of sales and market understanding strategy. It was unable to provide specific evidence of planned relevant improvements or details on how these dovetail with major trends impacting global enterprises, and it did not substantiate its use cases or vertical industry strategy.
Other than incremental growth to POPs in EMEA and LATAM, it continues to be heavily U.S.-oriented, with no specific plans to build international partnerships or promote its brand internationally.

Deutsche Telekom - Challenger

Pros:

Deutsche Telekom has the largest number of NFV service nodes, resulting in a strong presence in all regions in terms of number of countries, particularly in EMEA.
Its integrated approach to deliver a fully managed SASE service is unique, with experts from both Deutsche Telekom Security and Deutsche Telekom Technik providing the expertise and sharing the responsibility to provide an end-to-end SASE service.
Using its strategic investment in Teridion, Deutsche Telekom offers Premium Internet Underlay, which provides routing with multiple cloud-based virtual POPs worldwide to reduce latency and improve performance for applications.

Cons:

Deutsche Telekom's customer portal is in its infancy and less sophisticated compared to all other providers in this research.
Deutsche Telekom only offers on-network, last-mile connectivity in eight European countries; therefore, it is highly reliant on third-party access outside those countries.
Deutsche Telekom lags other providers in this research in terms of cloud connectivity, with the lowest number of CSP countries and lowest number of direct, unique CSPs per region.

GTT Communications - Niche Player

Pros:

GTT shows a good understanding of common, popular, basic use cases, and of implementing vertical-industry sales and solution selling and certification programs (owned and third party).
Adding low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites to its portfolio is assuring greater service availability and accessibility, and its EtherVision portal received positive client feedback. The portal's opening dashboard includes action menus for billing, reports and monitoring, and a network status map of site-based status and performance.
Over half of GTT's salesforce is focused on opportunities outside of North America. Business cases for geographic expansion include new LATAM POPs and new network-to-network interfaces (NNIs) in APAC. Key regional partnerships include international fixed wireless access (FWA) with Blue Wireless; and LATAM and MENA procurement agreements, supplying Ethernet access in Africa and extending service into colocation.

Cons:

GTT does not provide service-specific SLAs on enhanced internet. GTT also does not support network on demand making it one of only two providers in this research lacking this capability. Across its WAN services, clients most frequently cite problems with installation time frames and customer service.
GTT's salesforce is predominantly based in North America and Europe, supporting existing and new acquisition global customers. GTT has a limited salesforce and limited customer support in APAC and LATAM.
GTT does not offer on-network, last-mile fiber connectivity and relies entirely on third-party providers for all access. Following its asset-light strategy, it also does not own any WAN backbone. Given these facts and its privately held strategy, clients should assess GTT's attractiveness in light of their tolerance for risk.

NTT - Leader

Pros:

NTT's managed SD-WAN and SASE portfolios are stronger compared to others in this research, with numerous vendor choices and stronger SLAs compared to most providers in this research.
NTT's managed WAN customer portal is more full-featured compared to others in this Magic Quadrant, with more automation-backed processes, network visibility, policy change features, and deeper analytics and incident reporting data.
NTT's VNF offerings are the strongest in this research, with the largest number of unique VNFs available in all regions.

Cons:

NTT's MPLS POP coverage lags all other major providers, particularly in Europe and in Latin America.
NTT's SLAs should be carefully analyzed, as they are overly simple and nearly identical across many metrics. NTT's higher-priced enhanced internet services do not offer greater performance guarantees, such as latency or jitter, compared to its standard internet offerings.
NTT does not offer on-network, last-mile connectivity outside of Japan. This can lead to higher prices and added complexity.

Orange Business - Leader

Pros:

Orange Business has a stronger network presence in Europe, Latin America and the Middle East compared to most other providers in this research.
Orange Business continues to invest in the build out of its Evolution Platform, a new software-defined and NFV-based POP infrastructure designed to enable cloud-like experiences for WAN edge-to-cloud connections. These include on-demand delivery of a broader catalog of VNFs, service automation, as-a-service commercial models and digital service front ends (portals and APIs).
Orange is above average among the providers in this research in usage of automation and AI in service delivery with use cases in order creation, management of changes and incidents, field operations, and capacity management, among others.

Cons:

Orange Business's sales organization, products and overall strategy is Europe-centric; therefore, clients in other regions may not see the same level of support or engagement. Also, some product capabilities and vertically oriented sales are only available in France.
Orange Business's CBCI offering lags others in this research in terms of number of countries and number of direct unique CSPs per region.
Orange Business only offers on-network, last-mile connectivity in France and select Orange affiliate countries (e.g., Poland, Spain), and relies heavily on colocation facilities outside France.

RIEDEL Networks - Niche Player

Pros:

RIEDEL Networks' SD-WAN and network offer is 100% Cisco-based, demonstrating a laser-focused strategy on one vendor with streamlined interoperability, an integrated overlay and security via a single CPE device.
RIEDEL Networks has tailored offerings and a strong track record delivering services to the midsize enterprise, and media and events vertical.
RIEDEL Networks has more than 350 partners for local access and internet access, including 4G/5G mobile access, via its own gateways, and LEO with 24/7 proactive monitoring through Thousand Eyes.

Cons:

RIEDEL does not provide any on-network, last-mile connectivity; therefore, it relies on third-party access for all customer sites.
RIEDEL Networks lacks a network-based NFV and a network-on-demand offering, and its SLAs are weak in comparison to other providers in this research.
RIEDEL's portal lags competitors and is effectively a white label of Cisco Meraki's portal, with no differentiation from what a do-it-yourself SD-WAN customer would use.

Tata Communications - Leader

Pros:

Tata Communications' managed SD-WAN lineup is among the strongest in this research, consisting of five vendors with good distribution of POPs across all geographies.
Tata Communications' managed SASE offerings also are comparatively strong, with five vendors and SASE nodes in 89 countries spread across all geographies.
Tata Communications' network on demand (NoD) service offers more options than most providers in this research, including recently added multicloud connectivity and a zero-based bandwidth option for temporary WAN links.

Cons:

Outside of APAC, Tata Communications has limited market visibility. Based on Gartner inquiry calls, it is rarely considered by enterprise customers for global WAN services outside the Asia/Pacific market.
Tata's cloud service availability by country is lower than average compared to other providers in this research. It has no cloud POPs in MEA and only one direct connection in Latin America. In addition, nearly half of its 37 cloud POPs — including all of its China POPs — are via exchange only.
Tata Communications' management portal lags other global WAN service providers in this research, requiring customers to toggle between individual service dashboards.

Verizon - Leader

Pros:

Verizon has above-average service-level availability in MPLS, SD-WAN, nodal NFV and access aggregation.
Following critical market trends, Verizon is investing in multicloud enablement, zero trust, and networking and security convergence. Its product strategy also includes automation and APIs, including AIOps capability, AI-driven CX and UX enhancements, international FWA with Blue Wireless, and NaaS.
Verizon continues messaging around enterprise intelligence and account-based marketing (holding virtual roundtables and other targeted events). Verizon remains focused on customer retention plans, specifically on targeting important personas outside of I&O/networking for more tailored discussions and compelling proposals.

Cons:

Despite a decreased international internet presence, Verizon's geographic expansion plans are far less clear and less aggressive compared to other providers.
Verizon's SLAs on CBCI and SD-WAN lag other providers in this Magic Quadrant. Moreover, it offers no service-specific SLAs on network on demand, SASE or enhanced internet, and it provided no specific plans to improve sustainability efforts.
Verizon's strategy remains both U.S.- and mobile-centric, resulting in its network services efforts being highly product-based, and less market-based or focused on global solutions. In fact, a low proportion of its salesforce is serving clients' non-U.S. needs.

Vodafone - Leader

Pros:

Vodafone has begun the rollout of its new converged Super POP infrastructure that supports self-service delivery through enhanced automation and orchestration, multicloud networking, and consumption-based as-a-service models.
Vodafone's network MPLS POP coverage is far-reaching across the Middle East, Africa and APAC, with domestic operations in select countries in each region.
Vodafone has reinforced its managed services, user portal and API capabilities across many of its products and operations. It aims to provide more consistent user experiences in the digital service interfaces across WAN services, mobility, cloud, edge, security and Internet of Things (IoT) products.

Cons:

Vodafone's automation capabilities for NoD offerings continue to lag offerings from other providers in this research.
Vodafone has embarked on a business restructuring process that affects several domestic operations and group capabilities with layoffs, spinoffs, mergers and divestitures. As a result, certain services may be adversely impacted.
Customers should be aware of the progress in Vodafone's Super POP rollout and remain cautious about the possibility of service disruptions in migrating to Vodafone's new converged backbone network.

FAQs

Q: Which vendors are Leaders in 2024?

A: AT&T, BT, NTT, Orange Business, Tata Communications, Verizon, Vodafone

Q: What does "Leader" mean in MQ terms?

A: Providers in the Leaders quadrant are performing well and maintaining a stable organization, with a clear vision of market direction. They deliver comprehensive portfolios of quality network services across the broadest geographies. They address the global networking needs of a broad range of enterprises in terms of size, geographic distribution and vertical industry. Leaders shape the direction of the market by extending their coverage, developing new class-leading capabilities and commercial models, and deploying them at scale.

Q: How do I interpret a Gartner Magic Quadrant?

A: https://www.gartner.com/en/research/methodologies/magic-quadrants-research

Report:

Top Vendor Products for Global WAN Services in 2024

Global WAN Services Vendor Product Comparisons 2024

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

Pros:

Cons:

FAQs

Q: Which vendors are Leaders in 2024?

Q: What does "Leader" mean in MQ terms?

Q: How do I interpret a Gartner Magic Quadrant?

Reference