SD-WAN Solutions India | Fortinet Secure SD-WAN Implementation
Enterprise SD-WAN solutions for Indian businesses with multi-site operations. Reduce WAN costs by 40-60%, improve application performance, and simplify branch network management with Fortinet SD-WAN.
Indian enterprises with multiple branch offices face a persistent challenge: how to provide reliable, high-performance, and secure WAN connectivity while controlling costs. Traditional MPLS networks provide reliability but at a high cost — typically ₹80,000-1,50,000 per site per month. Broadband is cheaper but lacks enterprise reliability and security. SD-WAN solves this dilemma.
SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Network) is the most transformative networking technology for multi-site enterprises in the last decade. By intelligently routing application traffic across the best available link — whether MPLS, broadband, or 4G/5G — SD-WAN delivers enterprise-grade performance and reliability at half the cost of traditional WAN.
At P.J. Networks, we have deployed SD-WAN solutions for 100+ Indian enterprises across BFSI, manufacturing, retail, logistics, IT/ITeS, and education sectors. Our primary SD-WAN platform is Fortinet Secure SD-WAN, which uniquely converges next-generation firewall security with SD-WAN capabilities in a single appliance. This eliminates the need for separate firewalls at branch offices, reducing both capital expenditure and operational complexity.
The business case for SD-WAN is compelling. Our clients consistently achieve 40-60% reduction in WAN costs by replacing or augmenting expensive MPLS links with bonded broadband connections. Application performance improves dramatically — Microsoft 365 traffic latency reduced by 50-80% in many deployments. Branch office operations are simplified with zero-touch deployment and centralised management. Security is enhanced with integrated NGFW at every location.
The digital transformation imperative — cloud applications, video conferencing, remote work, and real-time data analytics — demands a WAN that is agile, intelligent, and secure. Traditional WAN architectures, designed for data centre-centric traffic patterns, cannot meet these demands. SD-WAN is not just a cost optimisation — it is a strategic enabler of digital business.
Our SD-WAN assessment identifies exactly where you can save costs, improve performance, and enhance security. We design, deploy, and manage SD-WAN solutions that deliver measurable results from day one. With 30+ years of networking experience and NSE-level certified engineers, P.J. Networks is your trusted SD-WAN partner.
Key Features & Capabilities
Fortinet Secure SD-WAN
Fortinet Secure SD-WAN combining next-generation firewall capabilities with SD-WAN functionality. Integrated security (IPS, anti-malware, web filtering) eliminates the need for separate appliances at branch offices.
Application-Aware Routing
Intelligent traffic steering based on application type, performance requirements, and link quality. Business-critical applications (SAP, Office 365, Zoom) automatically routed over the best-performing link while bulk traffic uses cost-effective links.
WAN Cost Optimisation
Reduce MPLS costs by 40-60% by augmenting or replacing expensive MPLS links with broadband and 4G/5G connections. Application-aware routing ensures critical traffic maintains SLAs over cost-effective links.
Built-in Security (NGFW + SD-WAN)
Converged security and SD-WAN eliminates the need for separate firewalls at branch offices. FortiGate SD-WAN appliances include NGFW, IPS, anti-malware, web filtering, and SSL inspection — all managed centrally.
Cloud On-Ramp for SaaS/IaaS
Optimised direct internet access (DIA) for cloud applications like Microsoft 365, Salesforce, AWS, and Azure. SD-WAN automatically selects the optimal path to cloud services, reducing latency and improving user experience.
Centralised Orchestration & Visibility
Single-pane-of-glass management through FortiManager with real-time visibility into application performance, link quality (latency, jitter, packet loss), bandwidth utilisation, and security events across all sites.
Seamless Failover & Link Redundancy
Automatic failover between MPLS, broadband, 4G/5G, and hybrid links with sub-second convergence. Stateful failover preserves active sessions, ensuring zero disruption to voice and video traffic during link failures.
WAN Optimisation & QoS
Traffic shaping, QoS marking, de-duplication, compression, and protocol optimisation to maximise WAN link efficiency. Guaranteed bandwidth for critical applications even during link congestion.
Multi-Site & Branch Connectivity
Secure interconnectivity between headquarters, data centres, branch offices, and remote workers. Hub-and-spoke, full-mesh, or hybrid topologies with automated VPN provisioning and zero-touch deployment for branch offices.
Zero-Touch Deployment
Branch office appliances shipped pre-configured with zero-touch provisioning. Plug-and-play deployment — branch staff simply power on the device, and it automatically connects to the orchestrator for configuration.
SD-WAN Assessment & Design
Comprehensive assessment of your current WAN architecture, application traffic patterns, link utilisation, and business requirements. Detailed SD-WAN architecture design with link selection, routing policies, and security architecture.
SD-WAN Security Integration
Integrated security for SD-WAN including IPS, anti-malware, web filtering, application control, SSL inspection, and next-generation firewall capabilities. Centralised security policy management across all sites.
Our Engagement Process
1 SD-WAN Assessment & Discovery
We assess your current WAN architecture including site connectivity, application traffic patterns, link utilisation, performance baselines, and business requirements. This phase identifies opportunities for cost reduction, performance improvement, and security enhancement.
2 SD-WAN Architecture Design
Detailed SD-WAN architecture including site topology (hub-spoke, full-mesh, hybrid), link selection and bonding, application-aware routing policies, QoS configuration, security architecture, and management platform design.
3 Pilot Deployment & Validation
SD-WAN is piloted at select sites before full rollout. We validate application performance, failover behaviour, security controls, and management visibility. Performance is compared against pre-deployment baselines to demonstrate improvements.
4 Full Deployment & Migration
Site-by-site deployment across your entire WAN with zero downtime during migration. MPLS augmentation or replacement with broadband/4G. All sites benefit from application-aware routing and integrated security from day one.
5 Performance Optimisation
Post-deployment, we fine-tune routing policies, QoS configurations, and security rules based on real traffic patterns. Application performance monitoring ensures SD-WAN policies are delivering expected results.
6 Ongoing Management & Support
24×7 SD-WAN management including performance monitoring, policy updates, firmware management, troubleshooting, capacity planning, and quarterly optimisation reviews.
Frequently Asked Questions
SD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Network) decouples network management from hardware, enabling centralised control of distributed networks. Unlike traditional WAN that requires manual configuration of MPLS routers at each site, SD-WAN provides application-aware routing, automatic failover, and centralised policy management. Key benefits: reduce MPLS costs by 40-60%, improve application performance through intelligent routing, simplify branch operations with zero-touch deployment, and integrate security directly into WAN connectivity.
Yes, for many organisations. With SD-WAN bonding multiple broadband and 4G/5G links, you can achieve MPLS-comparable reliability and performance at 40-60% lower cost. SD-WAN provides sub-second failover between links, ensuring voice and video sessions survive broadband outages. However, for organisations with strict latency requirements or regulatory constraints, a hybrid approach (MPLS + broadband) is often the optimal transition strategy.
We primarily deploy Fortinet Secure SD-WAN (FortiGate-based, our most deployed solution), and also support Cisco SD-WAN (Viptela), VMware Velocloud, and Versa. Fortinet SD-WAN is our recommended solution because it uniquely integrates full NGFW security within the SD-WAN appliance, eliminating the need for separate security appliances at branch offices and reducing total cost of ownership.
Microsoft 365 performance is significantly improved by enabling direct internet access (DIA) from branch offices instead of hairpinning traffic through a central data centre. SD-WAN automatically detects Microsoft 365 traffic and routes it directly to the nearest Microsoft point of presence via the best-performing local link. This reduces latency by 50-80% for M365 applications including Teams, Exchange Online, and SharePoint.
Fortinet Secure SD-WAN integrates full next-generation firewall capabilities — IPS, anti-malware, URL filtering, application control, DNS filtering, and SSL inspection — into each SD-WAN appliance. This means every branch office gets enterprise-grade security without separate hardware. Security policies are centrally managed through FortiManager, ensuring consistent enforcement across all sites. Traffic can be routed through cloud-delivered security services (FortiGate-as-a-Service on AWS/Azure) for additional protection of branch internet access.
SD-WAN typically reduces WAN costs by 40-60%. For an Indian enterprise with 10 branch offices: MPLS cost is approximately ₹80,000-1,50,000 per site per month. SD-WAN with bonded broadband (two connections per site at ₹5,000-15,000 each) costs ₹10,000-30,000 per site plus the SD-WAN appliance (one-time or monthly). The payback period for SD-WAN investment is typically 3-8 months.
For a 10-site deployment: assessment and design takes 1-2 weeks, pilot deployment at 1-2 sites takes 1 week, and full rollout at remaining sites takes 2-4 weeks (can be parallelised). Total timeline: 4-8 weeks from project start to all sites operational. Zero-touch deployment means each branch site can be set up in under 30 minutes on-site.
The Business Case for SD-WAN in India
The Indian enterprise WAN landscape is undergoing a fundamental transformation. With cloud adoption accelerating, SaaS applications like Microsoft 365 and Salesforce becoming ubiquitous, video conferencing traffic growing exponentially, and branch office networks becoming more complex, traditional MPLS-based WAN architectures are struggling to meet modern business demands. SD-WAN addresses these challenges directly, delivering measurable improvements in cost, performance, and operational efficiency.
The cost savings from SD-WAN are compelling and well-documented. By augmenting or replacing expensive MPLS circuits with bonded broadband connections, Indian enterprises typically reduce WAN costs by 40-60%. For an organisation with 20 branch offices spending ₹1 lakh per site per month on MPLS, SD-WAN can save ₹8-12 lakh per month — nearly ₹1 crore annually. These savings are not theoretical. Our clients consistently achieve these results through careful design and implementation.
Performance improvements are equally significant. By enabling direct internet access (DIA) at branch offices and implementing application-aware routing, SD-WAN dramatically improves the performance of cloud applications. Microsoft 365 traffic — including Teams, Exchange Online, and SharePoint — sees latency reductions of 50-80% because traffic is routed directly to the nearest Microsoft point of presence instead of being hairpinned through a central data centre. Video conferencing quality improves with sub-second failover that preserves active sessions even when links fail.
Transform Your WAN with SD-WAN
Call us today for a free consultation and discover how P.J. Networks can secure your business.