- Claire McRobert
In today’s digital landscape, global enterprises continue to embrace an expanding and dispersed user base through hybrid or remote work models, leading to an increased dependence on digital systems. This results in a high sensitivity to latency, new connectivity requirements, and heightened end-user experience expectations – whether in the office or at a busy cafe.
Approximately 330 million people work remotely worldwide, with many companies adopting either full-time remote or hybrid workforces. As this trend accelerates, numerous enterprise applications still have significant barriers to overcome, such as latency, jitter, and packet loss. These challenges that have become even more pronounced in a global connectivity arena disrupted by AI and regional infrastructure limitations.
For example, in regions with poor quality or limited local internet connectivity, the internet may not deliver the required quality outcomes. In 2025, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Azure rerouted traffic for enterprise customers after Red Sea cable outages slowed connectivity in parts of Asia and the Middle East.
This example illustrates how even leading cloud platforms are vulnerable to regional infrastructure limitations. Enterprises need high availability plans to build resilience into their network strategy and reduce reliance on public internet services and traditional private networks. Doing so will ensure consistency in global network performance.
The arrival of a Software-Defined Cloud Networking (SD-WAN) backbone to replace the MPLS core
According to Gartner, cloud spending is expected to rebound in 2026, fueled by late‑2025 budget surges and ongoing enterprise migration and modernization initiatives.
Additionally, the rising demand for AI-enabled solutions is projected to accelerate public cloud service growth to around 21% in 2026, with the market forecasted to reach $1.48 trillion by 2029.
To meet incoming cloud demands and requirements, a well-structured cloud networking strategy is required. A cloud strategy is now critical to ensure a stable user experience, regardless of geographical location or internet connectivity.
When crafting and refining your cloud strategy, enterprises must focus on establishing a strong digital foundation that enables the transition away from legacy technology, like MPLS. By replacing MPLS with a software-defined networking backbone, enterprises gain flexible, on-demand capacity aligned to business needs.
When integrated with cloud infrastructure, this approach can unlock diverse internet peering options, further improving network performance and application responsiveness. Removing the MPLS core will eliminate the challenges of inflexible and costly telco procurement models characterized by rigid long-term contracts and fixed bandwidth.
Questions to ask:
As enterprises evaluate software-defined networking alternatives, these questions can help identify potential challenges and opportunities:
- Where is our MPLS‑centric architecture silently limiting cloud adoption, SaaS performance, or user experience? What are the business outcomes being constrained as a result?
- Which elements of our current network cost base are structurally fixed, regardless of demand, and how much of that spend is tied to historic design decisions rather than current usage?
- If bandwidth demand or application criticality doubled in a specific region tomorrow, how quickly and at what cost could our network realistically respond?
- How closely does our network architecture align with the way hyperscale cloud providers build and operate their backbones? Where does misalignment introduce latency, fragility, or operational friction?
- To what extent are routing, traffic optimization, and cloud access driven by policy and intelligence versus static design and manual intervention?
Bridging the cloud divide with CSP backbones aided by an SD-WAN layer
There are several benefits to connecting directly across major CSP backbones. Enterprises will gain a significant boost in speed, reliability, and security enabled by a dedicated pathway that avoids unpredictability with the public internet.
This approach not only streamlines network management but also allows for more economical and scalable cloud utilization. It gives enterprises a competitive edge in today’s complex ecosystem.
Today, enterprises have two choices when it comes to direct access to major CSP backbones:
- Option one is a dedicated private connectivity between the enterprise WAN environment (often MPLS) and cloud providers, like ExpressRoute or DirectConnect. While this model offers predictable performance, it is typically costly, inflexible, and requires a long-term commitment.
- Option two is a software-defined approach like SD-WAN. By leveraging SD-WAN, enterprises can direct internet-based connectivity from branch sites to cloud-hosted workloads, using intelligent path selection to steer traffic based on real-time performance and availability.
Four key reference points to consider:
When evaluating your enterprise modern network strategies, IT leaders should consider the following:
1. Procurement and commercial model
- How flexible is the network sourcing model, and how well does it align with business needs?
- What is the balance between long-term contracts versus consumption-based models?
- How quickly can services be scaled, modified, or terminated?
- What are the cost trade-offs between predictable private connectivity and software-defined alternatives?
- How dependent is the organization on a single provider versus a multi-vendor ecosystem?
2. Cloud connectivity strategy
- How effectively does the network support access to cloud and SaaS environments?
- Where are your critical applications hosted?
- Does the architecture rely on centralized backhaul, or enable local breakout to the internet / cloud?
- Where is internet-based access sufficient or preferable? Is a hybrid model (private and internet) more appropriate?
- Are there regional latency constraints that will affect design decisions?
3. Performance, resilience, and traffic flow design
- How is application performance managed across the network?
- How are routing decisions made – static, policy-based, or dynamic – based on real-time conditions?
- What mechanisms exist to handle failover, congestion, and degradation?
- How does the design support different workload types (SaaS, real-time apps, bulk data, etc.)?
4. Application and user experience control
- How well does the network align with application and user requirements?
- Is traffic treated uniformly, or is there application-level awareness and prioritization?
- Can policies be enforced based on application, user, device, or location?
- How is end-user experience measured and monitored?
- Does the architecture support evolving needs such as remote work, edge locations, and cloud-native apps?
Key considerations
A well-designed and dynamic cloud strategy supports digital business initiatives and improves the value of cloud investments. According to Gartner, more than 50% of organizations will use industry cloud platforms to accelerate their business initiatives by 2029. This underlines the important role cloud computing will have in shaping the future of digital business operations.
Additionally, when an enterprise teams up with a co-managed networking provider, they can expect support and the necessary governance required, as well as solutions that work in hard-to-reach locations. However, appropriate experience in this area matters greatly.
Partners like Coevolve can not only provide a reliable cloud adoption blueprint based on their expertise but also manage potential blockers, such as reimagining traditional network architectures that fall short of cloud demands and require new strategies. The co-managed operating model, combined with Smart Services integration, boosts network management for enterprise requirements and bridges any knowledge gaps.
Keep your enterprise from falling behind in the digital landscape and instead empower your business with the tools to evolve your cloud connectivity. Act now and secure your enterprise’s digital future with Coevolve’s expert cloud services.
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FAQ: Ensuring consistent user experience across global networks
What causes inconsistent user experience in global networks?
Inconsistent performance is typically caused by a combination of latency, jitter, packet loss, and inefficient routing between users and applications. These challenges are more pronounced in globally distributed enterprise networks or regions with limited internet connectivity. The root cause is often not a single factor, but how the overall network architecture handles application traffic across the entire network.
How does SD-WAN improve network performance?
SD-WAN improves performance by enabling dynamic, policy–based routing across multiple network paths, automatically selecting the fastest and most reliable route for each application. This allows traffic to be steered according to application requirements. While the exact outcomes depend on underlying network conditions, SD-WAN can greatly improve consistency and visibility when designed and implemented effectively.
Why are enterprises replacing MPLS?
Enterprises are not replacing MPLS but reassessing its role in a cloud-first environment. Due to region-specific contracts and staggered renewal cycles, most organizations transition gradually, adopting a hybrid model that combines MPLS with a software-defined approach. This reduces reliance on MPLS. With software-defined networking, enterprises gain greater flexibility, scalability, cost efficiency, and better access to cloud applications.
What are the benefits of direct connectivity to Cloud Service Provider (CSP) backbones?
Direct Cloud Service Provider or CSP connectivity can provide more predictable performance, improved reliability, and controlled access to cloud environments compared to public internet paths. Such connections are particularly valuable for latency-sensitive or high-throughput workloads. However, they are typically used alongside internet-based access as part of a broader connectivity strategy, rather than as a standalone solution.
How can enterprises ensure a smooth cloud network transition?
A successful transition to cloud requires aligning connectivity design with application requirements, user locations, and operational constraints. This involves rethinking traffic flows, bringing greater visibility, and adopting a mix of connectivity models. A co-managed partner like Coevolve offers experience in hybrid architecture design, performance optimization across regions, and integration with cloud-native and security frameworks.