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Optimize Your Edge Performance with QOS Networks Managed Services

QOS Networks provides managed SD-WAN and edge networking solutions for distributed enterprises, delivering superior visibility and control through an automated, service-driven platform.

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Overview

QOS Networks is a leading managed services provider (MSP) specializing in SD-WAN, SASE, and edge networking solutions. Based in Irvine, California, and now operating as a division of Zayo Group, the company serves large-scale, distributed enterprises across sectors such as retail, healthcare, finance, and manufacturing. QOS Networks was founded to address the complexities of legacy wide-area networking by leveraging software-defined technologies to provide greater flexibility and cost-efficiency.

The company’s core offering centers on the design, deployment, and 24/7 management of global wide-area networks. They act as a strategic partner for organizations transitioning away from rigid MPLS architectures toward more dynamic, cloud-ready infrastructures. Their portfolio includes managed SD-WAN, managed security services (SASE), cloud on-ramp solutions, and comprehensive edge visibility tools.

Over the past decade, QOS Networks has established a significant market presence by successfully executing some of the largest SD-WAN deployments in the world. Their focus is not merely on connectivity, but on the intelligent orchestration of data across the network edge. By combining top-tier hardware partnerships with their own specialized management software and Network Operations Centers (NOCs), QOS Networks delivers a turnkey solution for enterprises that require high performance and high availability for their mission-critical applications.

Positioning

QOS Networks positions itself as the "Expert at the Edge," targeting the high-end enterprise market that requires more than just a standard connectivity provider. Their positioning strategy focuses on solving the "complexity gap" that arises when organizations attempt to deploy software-defined networking at scale.

In the competitive landscape, QOS differentiates itself from Tier 1 telecommunications carriers by emphasizing agility, specialized expertise, and superior customer support. While major carriers often struggle with bureaucratic processes and "one-size-fits-all" solutions, QOS positions itself as a nimble, tech-forward alternative that offers bespoke network designs and white-glove implementation.

Their key messaging revolves around three pillars:

  1. Operational Excellence: Highlighting their ability to manage thousands of endpoints with zero-touch provisioning and proactive monitoring.
  2. Intelligence and Visibility: Positioning their proprietary platform as the essential tool for gaining clarity in complex, multi-cloud environments.
  3. Partnership over Procurement: Moving the conversation from "buying a circuit" to "architecting a business outcome."

By aligning their brand with the shift toward digital transformation and cloud-first strategies, QOS Networks appeals to CIOs and IT Directors who view the network as a strategic asset rather than a utility.

Differentiation

The primary technical differentiator for QOS Networks is their proprietary management platform, which provides a "single pane of glass" visibility across disparate network technologies. While many managed service providers (MSPs) simply resell vendor software, QOS has developed an advanced orchestration layer that integrates deeply with industry-leading SD-WAN solutions like VMware (VeloCloud), Palo Alto Networks (Prisma), and Versa.

Key product-level advantages include:

  • Advanced Automation: Their platform automates the deployment and configuration of edge devices, significantly reducing the time-to-value for large-scale enterprise rollouts.
  • Granular Analytics: QOS provides deep-packet inspection and real-time telemetry that goes beyond basic uptime metrics, offering insights into application performance and end-user experience.
  • Network Agnostic Design: Their solutions are designed to work across any transport medium—be it MPLS, broadband, LTE, or Satellite—normalizing the management experience regardless of the underlying circuit provider.
  • Integrated Security: By weaving SASE (Secure Access Service Edge) frameworks directly into their SD-WAN offerings, they provide a unified security and networking stack that simplifies the edge architecture for distributed organizations.

Ideal Customer Profile

The ideal customer for QOS Networks is a distributed enterprise with 50 to 2,000+ locations that views the network as a critical business enabler rather than just a cost center.

  • Industry: Particularly strong in Retail, Healthcare, Finance, and Manufacturing where site uptime is directly tied to revenue.
  • Technical Maturity: Organizations that have moved (or are moving) to a Cloud-First strategy and are frustrated by the limitations of traditional telco-managed services or the complexity of DIY SD-WAN.
  • Budget & Size: Mid-market to large enterprises that value an "Opex-heavy" model and want to repurpose their internal high-level engineers for strategic projects rather than circuit troubleshooting.
  • Team Composition: IT teams that are lean and require a partner to act as an extension of their global networking department.

Best Fit

QOS Networks excels in the following scenarios:

  • Complex Multi-Vendor Environments: When an organization wants to mix different hardware (e.g., VMware Velocloud, Palo Alto, Cisco) but needs a single "pane of glass" for management and monitoring.
  • High-Growth Distributed Enterprises: Companies rapidly opening new branches or retail locations that require standardized, "zero-touch" deployment at scale without hiring local IT staff.
  • Bridge to Managed Services: Organizations that want to retain some control over their network policy but want to offload the "day-to-day" grunt work of circuit monitoring, troubleshooting, and hardware replacement.
  • Performance-Critical Applications: Businesses running real-time voice, video, or cloud-heavy workloads that require sophisticated edge-to-cloud path optimization and sub-second failover.

Offerings

QOS Networks offers several tiers and specialized packages:

  • Managed SD-WAN: The core offering. Includes design, hardware staging, deployment, and 24/7 management of the SD-WAN fabric.
  • Managed SASE: An integrated security and networking package that adds cloud-based firewalling, secure web gateways, and zero-trust network access (ZTNA).
  • Intelligent Network Platform (SaaS): The visibility and analytics software-as-a-service that provides a unified view of the entire network estate.
  • Professional Services: Short-term engagements for network audits, migration planning, and technology bake-offs.
  • Carrier Management: An add-on service where QOS manages the relationships, billing, and troubleshooting for all third-party internet service providers.

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Buying Guide: QOS Networks

Everything you need to evaluate QOS Networks— from features and pricing to implementation and security.

Introduction

Welcome to the evaluation guide for QOS Networks, a leading Managed Service Provider (MSP) specializing in SD-WAN and SASE solutions. In an era where the network perimeter has dissolved into the cloud, QOS Networks differentiates itself by providing a "platform-driven" approach to managed services. Rather than just acting as a reseller of hardware, QOS offers a sophisticated management layer—the Intelligent Network Platform—that provides deep visibility and automation across complex, global edge environments.

This guide is designed for IT leaders, network architects, and procurement professionals who are looking to move away from legacy MPLS or unmanaged DIY SD-WAN. You will learn about QOS’s unique ability to integrate multi-vendor environments, their high-touch deployment model, and how their managed services can reduce the operational burden on internal IT teams while improving application performance at the branch.

Key Features

  • Intelligent Network Platform (INP): A proprietary management layer that aggregates data from multiple vendors and circuits into a single dashboard, providing actionable insights rather than just raw data.
  • Multi-Vendor SD-WAN Management: Expert design and management for industry-leading platforms including VMware SD-WAN (Velocloud), Palo Alto (Prisma SD-WAN), and Versa Networks.
  • Global Zero-Touch Deployment: A comprehensive logistics and staging service that ensures hardware arrives pre-configured, allowing for "plug-and-play" installation at remote sites without on-site technicians.
  • Predictive Analytics: AI-driven monitoring that identifies potential circuit degradation or hardware failures before they impact the end-user experience.
  • Edge-to-Cloud Connectivity: Optimized "on-ramps" for SaaS applications (O365, Salesforce) and IaaS environments (AWS, Azure), ensuring the shortest path and highest performance.
  • 24/7/365 Managed NOC: A proactive Network Operations Center that handles carrier management, ticket opening, and troubleshooting for all global circuits.

Use Cases

  • Retail Digital Transformation: A national retailer replaces legacy MPLS with QOS-managed SD-WAN to support guest Wi-Fi, cloud-based POS, and real-time inventory management across 500+ stores, resulting in 40% cost savings.
  • Healthcare Telehealth Expansion: A regional hospital system uses QOS to deploy high-availability network edges at rural clinics, ensuring jitter-free video consultations and secure access to EMR records.
  • Manufacturing Supply Chain Resilience: A global manufacturer leverages QOS to stabilize connectivity between production plants and cloud-based ERP systems, using automated failover to prevent costly production line downtime.
  • Financial Services Hybrid Work: A mid-sized bank uses QOS to secure "Branch of the Future" locations, integrating SASE security to protect sensitive customer data while providing fast access to SaaS applications.

Pricing Models

QOS Networks typically operates on a "Managed Services" recurring revenue model:

  • Monthly Recurring Cost (MRC): A flat monthly fee per site, which usually includes the management platform access, NOC support, and hardware maintenance.
  • Tiered Pricing: Costs are often tiered based on bandwidth requirements (e.g., 50Mbps vs. 1Gbps) and the level of service (e.g., Essential vs. Premium Managed).
  • Non-Recurring Costs (NRC): Upfront fees for design, staging, shipping, and initial implementation/installation.
  • Hardware Options: Clients can often choose between a CapEx model (buying the hardware) or an OpEx model (leasing the hardware through QOS).
  • Carrier Aggregation: While QOS is carrier-agnostic, they can provide consolidated billing for multiple ISP circuits, simplifying the finance workflow.

Technical Requirements

  • SD-WAN Gateway/Edge Hardware: Compatible appliances from supported vendors (VMware, Palo Alto, etc.).
  • Circuit Requirements: At least one (preferably two for redundancy) internet or private (MPLS) circuits per site.
  • Browser Support: Modern web browsers (Chrome, Edge, Firefox) for accessing the Intelligent Network Platform.
  • Network Access: Outbound HTTPS (port 443) access for edge devices to communicate with the QOS management controller.
  • Power/Space: Standard rack space and power requirements for edge appliances at each branch location.

Business Requirements

To successfully partner with QOS Networks, organizations should meet these internal prerequisites:

  • Stakeholder Alignment: Buy-in from both the Network Engineering team (who will share control) and the Procurement team (who will manage the consolidated billing).
  • Process Readiness: A clear understanding of internal "Day 2" support flows—identifying exactly where the QOS NOC's responsibility ends and internal IT responsibility begins.
  • Network Documentation: While QOS helps with discovery, having an existing inventory of site locations, current bandwidth providers, and critical application priorities will significantly accelerate the design phase.
  • Change Management: Readiness to move from a "CLI-heavy" manual configuration culture to an orchestrated, policy-driven SD-WAN model.
  • Project Lead: A dedicated project manager or lead network architect to act as the primary point of contact during the initial design and global rollout phases.

Implementation Timeline

A typical QOS Networks implementation follows a structured 12–20 week journey:

  • Discovery & Design (Weeks 1-4): Technical deep-dives to map application flows, security requirements, and site profiles. Development of the "Gold Template."
  • Staging & Lab Testing (Weeks 5-8): Hardware procurement and staging in QOS facilities. Testing the configuration template against edge cases in a controlled environment.
  • Pilot Phase (Weeks 9-12): Deployment to 3-5 representative sites to validate real-world performance and refine the "Zero Touch Provisioning" (ZTP) process.
  • Global Rollout (Weeks 12+): Scaled deployment across all remaining sites. The timeline here depends on site volume, but QOS can often handle 20-50+ sites per week.
  • Handover & Go-Live: Final verification of monitoring dashboards and transition to the 24/7 Managed Services support structure.

Support Options

QOS provides an enterprise-grade support ecosystem:

  • Proactive NOC: Unlike reactive support, the QOS NOC monitors circuit health and automatically opens tickets with ISPs when brownouts or outages occur.
  • Dedicated Account Management: Enterprise customers are assigned a Technical Account Manager (TAM) for regular business reviews and roadmap planning.
  • Online Portal: Access to the Intelligent Network Platform for real-time visibility, ticket tracking, and performance reporting.
  • On-Site Support: While ZTP is the standard, QOS can coordinate "smart hands" for complex physical installations globally.
  • Training: Comprehensive onboarding for internal IT teams to ensure they can navigate the dashboard and understand the policy framework.

Integration Requirements

QOS Networks focuses on high-level orchestration and visibility integration:

  • API-First Approach: Deep integration with SD-WAN vendor APIs (like VMware or Versa) to pull telemetry data into the QOS Intelligent Network Platform.
  • ITSM Integration: Ability to push alerts and tickets directly into customer ITSM tools such as ServiceNow or Jira via webhooks or REST APIs.
  • Cloud On-Ramp: Native integration capabilities with AWS (Transit Gateway), Azure (Virtual WAN), and Google Cloud to extend the SD-WAN fabric into the VPC/VNet.
  • Security (SASE) Integration: Support for integrating cloud security layers (SSE) like Zscaler or Netskope into the branch edge workflow.
  • Data Formats: Support for SNMP, NetFlow, and IPFIX for granular traffic analysis and reporting.

Security & Compliance

QOS Networks integrates security into the fabric of the network:

  • SASE Framework: Support for Secure Access Service Edge architectures, combining SD-WAN with cloud-delivered security (FWaaS, SWG, CASB).
  • Compliance Alignment: Solutions designed to help customers meet PCI-DSS (for retail), HIPAA (for healthcare), and SOC2 requirements through encrypted overlays and segmented zones.
  • Zero Trust Access: Integration with identity providers to ensure network access is based on user identity and device posture.
  • Data Residency: Options to ensure management data and telemetry stay within specific geographic regions to satisfy GDPR or local regulations.
  • Physical Security: Staging and configuration performed in secure, audited facilities.

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