The SD-WAN market is on a tear – expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of almost 33% until 2023! There are numerous reasons – increased security, redundancy and continuity. Cost-savings can be a factor as well. Many of the players in the market sell their own solutions but a few are trying to differentiate themselves by being players who support multiple solutions.
To learn more we had an exclusive interview with Ben Niernberg – the Senior Vice President of MNJ Technologies. He joined the company in 2017 after proving himself at numerous companies such as Canon Business Solutions.
17 years ago, the Chicago based MNJ started as a VAR with ex-CDW employees and later bought a Cisco MSP/CLEC.
Three years ago we broke the news about the company’s partnership with Silver Peak.
“The MNJ/Silver Peak partnership extends the power of SD-WAN into the MNJ cloud access network,” said Marcus McEwen, MNJ Technologies’ executive vice president of services at the time. “We will be able to integrate low-cost DIA connections with SLA-backed MPLS services so that clients can cost-effectively leverage all available bandwidth without sacrificing quality. The Silver Peak SD-WAN solution, combined with the MNJ network, creates cost-effective, efficient, and reliable connectivity for our clients.”
At this point, they started to focus on SD-WAN to help “rightsize broadband,” he explained.
From there – they began to be relied on as an agnostic provider of SD-WAN solutions from other companies including Talari, now Oracle.
They have a 24×7 NOC which is English speaking… They have global customers but sell nationally.
We asked about competition and he said they compete with AT&T and Verizon – VeloCloud and Versa Networks.
“There will be $16 billion in MPLS erosion in the next three years,” he exclaimed. “Carriers are pivoting… Not dead.”
We asked how they differentiate and he says they ask customers if they enjoy their customer experience working with large carriers. They then make it personal… “What is it like when a circuit is down and you are sitting on hold?”
At this point, they emphasize their position as an agnostic provider – they advise clients on the best solution to meet their needs such as a typical business, call center, healthcare, etc.
MNJ does the procurement and management as well.
“For us, it is about the customer experience,” he exclaimed. “SD-WAN allows customers to take control of the WAN – this allows them to be more intelligent about how they move data, allowing for a better customer experience.”
He continued, “SD-WAN is not plug-and-play.”
Learn about the latest in everything IT needs! UCaaS, the Channel, IT, IOT, Edge, Cybersecurity, AI, SD-WAN, and the Future of Work at the world’s only SD-WAN Expo and MSP Expo, part of the ITEXPO #TechSuperShow, Feb 12-14, 2020 Fort Lauderdale, FL.
