Updated: Dec 01, 2025
CIOs in India are under pressure to modernise networks that were built for a different era. MPLS was designed when the data centre sat at the centre of gravity. Today, that gravity has shifted to SaaS, public cloud, and distributed work. User traffic no longer flows toward a hub. It flows outward. Yet many architectures still pull everything back to the old core.
Cisco SD-WAN is not a replacement for MPLS. It is a replacement for the assumptions MPLS was built on. Once you look at today’s traffic patterns, security expectations, and Indian branch realities, the gap becomes obvious.
SD-WAN is a software-defined overlay that evaluates link quality in real time, selects the best path for each application, and applies security and segmentation policies from a central control plane.
MPLS is a private, carrier-managed underlay that provides fixed paths and predictable latency under controlled conditions. It was never designed for cloud-first networks or identity-driven security.
The question for CIOs is simple:
Which architecture aligns with the way your business will operate next year, not last decade?
Branch performance in India is shaped less by theory and more by last-mile reality. Provisioning MPLS circuits can take weeks or months, depending on the city. Many Tier 2 and Tier 3 locations struggle with consistent last-mile performance. Dual carriers improve reliability but do little to improve user experience when all traffic backhauls to a central point.
Cloud adoption makes this worse. Hairpinning SaaS traffic through the data centre slows down Office 365, Salesforce, Webex, and internal applications. Users see this as application failure, not network design.
SD-WAN changes the model. It uses broadband, DIA, and 4G together. It measures jitter, loss, and latency constantly. It routes traffic based on real-time quality rather than carrier contracts. This is where MPLS loses ground.
MPLS assumes control at the core.
SD-WAN assumes control at the edge.
This matters because security, identity, and application performance now depend on decisions made as close to the user as possible. SD-WAN integrates with cloud edges, identity systems, and Zero Trust controls. MPLS relies on separate firewalls and legacy hub designs.
In a cloud-first environment, edge-first routing wins.
MPLS promises predictable latency. But predictability on paper does not always match performance on the ground. Last-mile conditions vary across Indian ISPs. A single dependency creates a single-point failure, even with redundant routers.
SD-WAN treats reliability as a function of diversity. It blends links, evaluates their quality, and shifts flows when conditions change. Instead of depending on a circuit, SD-WAN depends on information.
Cisco’s SD-WAN adds another layer: deep application visibility and a control plane that separates routing decisions from link behaviour. It responds to real conditions, not fixed assumptions.
MPLS offers isolation but not security. Traffic still requires inspection at the edge or the hub. As remote access, BYOD, and IoT grow, relying on the perimeter becomes a high-risk model.
SD-WAN aligns with Zero Trust. It applies segmentation, inspects traffic closer to the user, and integrates with cloud security services. Cisco’s SD-WAN extends this with rich identity integration, encrypted traffic analytics, and policy consistency across all paths.
This shift mirrors how enterprises now think about risk: every session, every user, every device.
MPLS scales linearly with branches. As networks grow, cost grows with it. Broadband and DIA give SD-WAN a material cost advantage in India, especially when paired with dual-carrier designs.
Operationally, SD-WAN gives CIOs more control. Policy changes push across all sites. Visibility improves. Troubleshooting becomes a data-driven process rather than an escalation chain with the carrier.
If your branches depend heavily on cloud applications, SD-WAN offers a clearer path. If your network struggles with last-mile issues or provisioning delays, SD-WAN improves reliability. If your security model is shifting toward identity and Zero Trust, SD-WAN fits better.
MPLS still has value where strict route isolation is mandatory. But these cases are shrinking as enterprises shift to hybrid and cloud-first designs.
SD-WAN matches how applications behave, how users connect, and how teams want to operate. This is why global and Indian enterprises alike are making the shift.
Proactive designs SD-WAN architectures that account for the realities of Indian networks: dual-ISP dependence, cloud edge integration, and branch diversity. If you want a structured path from MPLS to SD-WAN with clear operational gains, our team can help you plan and execute the transition.
