When evaluating enterprise connectivity options, businesses often find themselves weighing up three of BT's approaches: SD-WAN, MPLS and IPVPN. Each represents a different way of connecting distributed offices, with BT's SD-WAN positioning itself as the most advanced alternative to traditional MPLS and IPVPN solutions.
In this article we'll provide a comparison of each to best assist with your organisation's specific requirements around performance, cost, complexity and future scalability. We'll explore the key differentiation areas, examining how their respective architectures, performance characteristics, cost structures, deployment complexities, security frameworks and scalability considerations impact enterprise decision-making.
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The biggest differentiator of all is their architecture, with SD-WAN being a software overlay that significantly improves all forms of network underlay, whilst MPLS is arguably the best form of singular underlay, whilst IPVPN is most basic but offers security for connecting branches over cheaper underlay.
BT SD-WAN Architecture
Being software-based, BT's SD-WAN solution creates a flexible network layer that works across all your existing internet connections. Instead of relying on just one type of connection, it intelligently uses multiple options at once - including broadband, mobile networks (4G/5G), and your existing dedicated circuits. This means you can take advantage of different connection types simultaneously for better performance and reliability.
The system can be set up to connect all your sites directly to each other, or route everything through central hubs, depending on your business needs - the key benefit being that everything is managed from one central control pane. This means BT can adjust how your network operates without needing to change any physical equipment, making it much faster and easier to modify your network as your business requires.
MPLS vs IPVPN Comparison
BT's MPLS uses specialised routing across BT's private network infrastructure, ensuring consistent speed and reliability, whilst also being separate from regular internet traffic.
IPVPN works differently by creating secure private tunnels over BT's standard internet infrastructure. Your traffic shares the same network as other services but stays protected and separated through security protocols.
Both MPLS and IPVPN traditionally require traffic to go through central connection points rather than allowing direct site-to-site communication. MPLS gives you more precise control over how traffic flows through the network, whilst IPVPN uses standard internet routing with fewer customisation options but often at a lower cost.
What to Consider when Comparing BT SD-WAN vs MPLS and IPVPN
For each of the key metrics, we've provided a guide into each one and how each solution differs.
Performance and Quality of Service
BT SD-WAN Performance
BT's SD-WAN automatically directs your applications across the best available internet connections based on real-time conditions. It recognises which applications are most important to your business and ensures they get priority, regardless of which type of connection is being used.
The system continuously monitors network performance and automatically adjusts how traffic flows to maintain the best application experience. BT provides specific performance guarantees that vary depending on which vendor and service level you choose. Because SD-WAN can adapt in real-time to changing conditions, it often delivers better application performance than traditional fixed routing.
MPLS vs IPVPN Performance
BT's MPLS service delivers highly consistent speed and reliability through its dedicated private network infrastructure. Quality of service is built into the network itself, with MPLS guaranteeing bandwidth and giving priority to different types of traffic. This consistency makes MPLS particularly good for real-time applications like video conferencing that need predictable network behaviour.
IPVPN includes quality of service features as part of BT's business offerings, providing traffic prioritisation and performance guarantees backed by service agreements. Whilst IPVPN works differently than MPLS, enterprise-grade IPVPN services still deliver reliable performance suitable for the majority of business applications, however we'd argue that this SD-WAN is more reliable than IPVPN. This is an important consideration given network downtime remains costly, with UK businesses losing over £3.7 billion in 2023, with 78% of those costs coming from lost employee productivity.
Cost Structure and Economic Considerations
BT SD-WAN Pricing Model
BT's SD-WAN uses a subscription-based pricing model with different tiers depending on your bandwidth needs and features. The real benefit comes from being able to use cheaper broadband connections whilst still getting business-grade performance through smart traffic management. In our experience, when moving to SD-WAN, the significant savings made on connectivity costs is seen as one of the largest benefits.
There are operational savings too. Centralised management means less complexity and fewer specialised skills needed to run networks across multiple sites. BT's managed SD-WAN services take care of much of the operational work that traditionally needed dedicated staff. We've found the ROI calculations work out well for organisations with multiple locations needing flexible connectivity, and the subscription model gives you more predictable monthly costs compared to traditional circuit-based pricing.
MPLS vs IPVPN Cost Analysis
BT's MPLS service comes with premium pricing that reflects its guaranteed performance and dedicated infrastructure. Setup costs tend to be higher than IPVPN alternatives, with installation timeframes and costs reflecting how engineered these implementations need to be.
IPVPN sits as a cost-effective middle option, better value than MPLS whilst offering more predictable service than basic internet connectivity. That said, setup and installation costs are still significant for both MPLS and IPVPN deployments, especially if you need backup circuits. In our view, the long-term cost advantages favour solutions that can use multiple connection types at once, which is why SD-WAN has become attractive for organisations wanting to optimise connectivity costs without sacrificing performance.
Deployment and Management Complexity
BT SD-WAN Implementation
BT's SD-WAN solutions feature simplified setup that allows new locations to come online with less technical expertise required compared to traditional network approaches. SD-WAN reduces deployment time for new locations from months to days. Edge devices connect to BT's management platforms, automatically downloading the right configurations and establishing connectivity with minimal manual work, though physical installation and local checks are still necessary.
Centralised management through BT's portals gives you a single view across your entire network. Setting up branch offices becomes significantly simpler compared to traditional approaches, with BT's support teams able to remotely configure and troubleshoot SD-WAN implementations. BT's SD-WAN also providers integrations with existing BT services (including internet access, MPLS circuits and security services) which improves the overall service delivery.
MPLS vs IPVPN Management Requirements
BT's MPLS implementations require understanding of complex networking concepts, with configuration changes typically requiring specialist expertise. Ongoing maintenance involves coordination with BT's network operations teams for routing updates and performance optimisation.
IPVPN is moderately complex, using standard internet routing that's more familiar to business IT teams. However, troubleshooting performance issues across IPVPN networks can be challenging due to the shared infrastructure model. Skills requirements for internal IT teams remain higher for traditional MPLS and IPVPN compared to BT's managed SD-WAN offerings, where much of the complexity is handled through centralised management platforms. The industry faces a significant skills shortage, with more than 90% of organisations worldwide expected to feel the impact of IT skills crisis by 2026, making managed services an increasingly attractive option for many enterprises.
The software-defined approach enables detailed security policy enforcement at the application level, with different security measures applied based on application type, user identity, and risk level. Compliance support for regulated industries is enhanced through detailed logging and reporting capabilities, with BT's security expertise ensuring appropriate controls are maintained throughout your network.
MPLS vs IPVPN Security Posture
BT's MPLS service provides inherent security through its private network infrastructure, with traffic isolation built into the routing method itself. The closed nature of MPLS networks limits exposure to internet-based threats, though this isolation can also restrict flexibility for cloud connectivity.
IPVPN implementations rely on encryption protocols to secure traffic travelling across BT's shared network infrastructure. Whilst effective, this approach requires careful management and may introduce some performance overhead compared to MPLS implementations. Threat protection and monitoring capabilities vary between the approaches, with SD-WAN implementations offering more detailed visibility and control compared to traditional circuit-based alternatives. Regulatory compliance considerations often favour MPLS for its predictable security model, though SD-WAN's enhanced logging and policy enforcement capabilities are increasingly meeting compliance requirements.
Scalability and Future-Proofing
BT SD-WAN Scalability
BT's SD-WAN architecture providers more flexible bandwidth provisioning and quicker site additions, with new locations typically achievable within days rather than weeks. The cloud-focused design aligns with businesses that are moving to cloud-first or Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform approaches, supporting seamless integration with public cloud platforms and cloud-based applications.
Further to this, BT SD-WAN offers integration with BT's cloud connectivity services enables organisations to build effective hybrid and multi-cloud strategies. 92% of organisations use multiple cloud providers, making BT SD-WAN's connectivity model increasingly essential. The software-defined approach ensures feature updates and capability improvements can be made without hardware replacement requirements, future-proofing network investments against business needs or potential later-discovered issues.
MPLS vs IPVPN Scalability Limitations
BT's MPLS implementations face hardware-dependent scaling constraints, with circuit provisioning times measured in weeks rather than days. New site connectivity requires physical circuit installation and routing configuration updates, limiting agility for growing organisations.
IPVPN offers moderate scalability within existing infrastructure constraints, though performance may decline as networks scale without corresponding infrastructure investment.
Conclusion and Recommendations
For many businesses SD-WAN is now the optimal solution available: SD-WAN is better at prioritising agility (perfect for businesses with changing priorities or seasonal trends), cost optimisation and cloud integration. Whilst traditionally MPLS would be the optimal for applications requiring guaranteed performance and predictable behaviour, SD-WAN is able to offer competitive performance benefits through the likes of link aggregation, dynamic path switching and Quality of Service. Finally, IPVPN serves as a cost-conscious implementation suited for those with lower performance requirements.
Organisations with distributed branch networks benefit most from SD-WAN's dynamic routing and simplified management, particularly where cloud applications are heavily used.
One key consideration is that existing BT MPLS and IPVPN customers should evaluate migration strategies that leverage SD-WAN's ability to incorporate existing circuits alongside SD-WAN to get a "best of both worlds" solutions
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