SD-WAN is now an integral part of most WANs and a core component of network security architectures such as SASE. In a crowded marketplace, security features are a primary selling point for many SD-WAN suppliers as enterprise network operators prioritize security features such as SWG, CASB, NGFWaaS, ZTNA, DLP, SSO, MFA, and more.
This post explores how enterprise network professionals are strategizing their SD-WAN-equipped networks—especially when integrating security— and is informed by our SD-WAN Market Summary, which you can find in our SD-WAN Pricing platform. This SD-WAN data is part of our larger WAN Manager Survey, fully available in our Cloud and WAN Research Service platform.
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SD-WAN is a critical component of the modern WAN and an overwhelming majority of enterprises have already adopted the service. In 2025, 63% of our WAN Manager Survey (WMS) respondents had installed SD-WAN on at least part of their network. A further 15% indicated that they had selected a vendor and were currently rolling out SD-WAN.
So how are enterprise customers sourcing their SD-WAN overlay? The figure below details the responses from our WAN Manager Survey respondents. In 2025, a plurality (44%) of WAN managers indicated that they sourced an unmanaged SD-WAN service directly from an SD-WAN vendor or or those suppliers who offer service via their own proprietary technology. This was followed by a telco that owned or operated at least a piece of their network underlay and offered managed SD-WAN service (33% of respondents across multiple management levels). Working with an MSP that did not own or operate their network underlay (across a variety of management levels) accounted for 23% of responses.
As the service has become so pervasive and the technology more standardized, the value of SD-WAN now lies in the intelligence and security features that are being added to the service and, ultimately, its price.
Security has emerged as a specific use case for SD-WAN and a way for providers to distinguish themselves in a crowded market. Many suppliers are working to more seamlessly integrate SD-WAN and security services into a single product known as ‘Secure Access Service Edge,’ SASE, or ‘Security Service Edge’ SSE when not integrated with SD-WAN directly. Enterprise interest in SASE services is high, as we detail in the figure below. In 2025, 53% of WMS respondents had already implemented some SASE elements into their network. That’s up from 8% in 2019 (when we asked specifically about Zero Trust Security). A further 23% were in the processing of adopting some elements of SASE while only 7% had no plans to adopt the security framework.
SD-WAN vendors and MSPs have taken a few approaches to integrating these security features into their service portfolios. A majority have adopted a ‘best of breed’ approach, working with numerous security suppliers based on their background and strengths. Interoperability can be a concern here though. Others have opted for a single vendor SASE approach, choosing to focus more on seamless integration rather than perhaps the strongest supplier of each service.
In 2025, for SD-WAN vendors, Zscaler, Palo Alto Networks, Check Point, Netskope, and Microsoft were the top five cited security service partners. It is worth noting that some of the most familiar names in the security space, such as Cisco and Fortinet, do not fall on this list. These companies have leveraged their in-house security expertise and integrated it into their own SD-WAN service. They have tended to partner with carriers and managed SD-WAN service providers, rather than other SD-WAN vendors, to help them with their security portfolios. You can see this in the top security partners cited by MSPs - Fortinet, Palo Alto Networks, Zscaler, and Cisco.
There was a long tail of security vendors cited as a partner by just one SD-WAN vendor or MSP. We have included them in the ‘other’ column.
Basic security features are available from almost all SD-WAN vendors and MSPs. In fact, all of our profiled SD-WAN vendors and MSPs offered advanced network monitoring. Similarly, 21 of 22 vendors and 66 of 82 MSPs incorporated secure access solutions for remote workers. The major focus for SD-WAN providers though, is in incorporating security features associated with SASE or SSE. Looking at the figure below, you can see that services included in the SASE architecture have greatly increased in availability, but are still not offered by every SD-WAN provider.
While some of these popular security services are included in the cost of an SD-WAN overlay (think traditional and next-generation firewalls, network monitoring, and deep packet inspection), others are not. Overwhelmingly, SD-WAN suppliers indicated that several core features of a SASE stack fell outside of these existing security packages and would incur further charges for customers. Zero trust network access (ZTNA), cloud access security broker (CASB), and secure web gateways (SWG) were the most commonly mentioned services in this category. Most SD-WAN providers and MSPs charge for these services on a per user basis and several have created ‘SASE or SSE bundles’ that include all three. For select vendors coming from a background in security, these features were already baked into their NRC charges and did not represent an additional cost to the customer.
So how much do these additional security services cost on top of the cost of an SD-WAN overlay?
In the following analysis we assume that a SSE bundle includes ZTNA, CASB, SWG, DLP, and MFA. NGFWaaS charges were included for those providers who indicated it was not baked into their basic SD-WAN overlay price. In 2025, the median price per user for a SSE bundle across vendors for a small to medium sized enterprise (in the dark blue columns in the figure below) was $7.21 per month, or $87 per year. Individual vendor bundle prices ranged from $4 to $14 per user, per month. Sourcing a SSE bundle from a managed service provider or carrier was more expensive, with a median per user price of $18.13 per month or $218 per year. Individual MSP prices ranged from $5 to $60 per user per month.
Looking at the figure below, you can see that some SD-WAN vendors and MSPs offer volume discounts, discounting security bundle prices for large enterprise customers. In 2025, the median SSE bundle price for a large enterprise from MSPs was $15.57 per user per month. That’s 14% less than the median price for a small to medium enterprise. And while the median SSE price ($7.21) is the same for SD-WAN vendors regardless of company size, a much larger number of SD-WAN vendors reported volume discounts for security services than MSPs. For vendors, discounts for larger customers ranged from 17% to 40%.
SD-WAN is a critical component of the modern hybrid WAN. But with a shift in customer focus from site-to-site connectivity to cloud and data center interconnects, questions have arisen about whether the service is as relevant as it once was. Particularly as these services often come with built in security over reliable internet connections.
As a result, SD-WAN providers look to distinguish themselves with unique service features. Integrating security services (particularly those included in the SASE stack) into their platforms and forming partnerships with CSPs to provide seamless and secure access to enterprise applications have been two areas of focus. Managed service providers provide options for customers looking to take advantage of the benefits of SD-WAN, but outsource the management of both the overlay and underlay. These providers offer a variety of service tiers to accommodate customers preferences and network requirements.
SD-WAN vendor pricing has clearly become more competitive as the service matures and pricing schemes evolve. While there is still a large range of prices reported in the market, median price points continue to decline as the market consolidates around a small group of established vendors and providers refine their pricing models to reposition themselves in a competitive market. Overall, the cost of an SD-WAN overlay comprises a small portion of the total cost of the WAN, making it a worthwhile investment for customers in regions where internet access is less reliable, with on premise data centers, or those still looking to modernize their WAN. As a result, SD-WAN revenues continue to grow, particularly as DIA usage surges and enterprise port speed requirements continue to increase.
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