Suggested citation
Netify Managed SD-WAN Provider Evaluation Schema 2026.1, Netify, available at https://www.netify.co.uk/sd-wan/managed-service-provider-evaluation/
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Methodology version | sdwan-vendor-filter-2026.1 |
| Scoring model version | sdwan-scoring-model-2026.1 |
| Capability taxonomy version | sdwan-capability-taxonomy-2026.1 |
| Filter schema version | sdwan-vendor-filter-schema-2026.1 |
| Last reviewed | 2026-05-20 |
| Canonical URL | /sd-wan/managed-service-provider-evaluation/ |
| Machine-readable JSON | https://www.netify.co.uk/wp-json/netify/v1/sd-wan/msp-evaluation-schema |
| Publisher | Netify, https://www.netify.co.uk/ |
| Licence | Public methodology. Reuse permitted with attribution to Netify and the canonical URL. |
Evaluation areas
Design and consultancy
- Pre-sales solution design
- Underlay design and procurement
- Security architecture
- Migration planning
Project delivery
- Named project manager
- Documented build runbook
- Site acceptance tests
- Customer hypercare period
Operations
- 24x7 service desk
- Incident management with severity matrix
- Change management workflow
- Quarterly service reviews
- Optimisation reporting
Coverage
- UK presence and tier
- Global support footprint
- Field engineering coverage
- Out-of-hours coverage
Accreditations and partnerships
- Vendor accreditation level
- Number of certified engineers
- Independent ISO/SOC reports
- Customer evidence at buyer scale
MSP red flags
- No named escalation engineer.
- Unclear demarcation between MSP and direct vendor support.
- No published service catalogue.
- Reliance on subcontractors with no audit trail.
- No quantified case studies at the buyer estate size.
How to apply the schema
- Score each evaluation area on the same 0 to 10 scale used by the main scoring model.
- Apply the evidence multiplier from the scoring model. MSP claims about operating capability should be supported by named references and quantified outcomes.
- Use the buyer question bank in the service delivery and evidence sections to gather the underlying answers.
- Treat any of the listed red flags as a reason to ask follow-up questions before signing.