Connect. Secure. Manage.
SD-Access Readiness Assessment
Check whether existing Cisco hardware, software, identity services and operational processes are ready for an SD-Access deployment.
Devices supported
across the UK
Client locations
supported
Traffic handled
at peak time
Average
response time
Average response is not a resolution time or a contractual guarantee. Support scope and response commitments are agreed for each engagement.
An SD-Access readiness assessment checks what is ready and what must change before you build a Cisco fabric. We review the network, identity services and the team’s ability to support it. You get a basis for the next decision: the work needed first, likely disruption and risks that still need to be resolved.
Cisco-focused engineering
Design around the platform, traffic and failure behaviour you actually operate.
Change with evidence
Use pre-checks, acceptance criteria and a documented route back.
Operational handover
Keep the configuration, diagrams and responsibilities understandable after delivery.
Agree the assessment boundary
We find the buildings, sites, users and apps being considered for the fabric. The scope includes retained infrastructure and connections to services outside it. A campus with one data centre, several third-party links and a mixed endpoint estate needs a different assessment from a greenfield office with a small number of standard devices.
The engagement also establishes access to reliable evidence. We may need inventories, topology diagrams, software versions, addressing plans and relevant identity-policy information. Where records are incomplete, discovery and validation become clear tasks. We do not treat an old spreadsheet as a confirmed description of the production network.
Standards & partnerships
Confidence in the team behind your network.
Cisco Partner
Cisco Meraki
Cyber Essentials
Cyber Essentials PlusMCI Network Services is operated by Proxar Ltd. Certifications apply to the certified legal entity and the scope of its certificates. View accreditation information
Check the solution combination, not just individual devices
Supported hardware roles, software releases, controller versions and licensing must align. We review the exact models and intended roles against the applicable Cisco compatibility information. A switch may support ordinary campus routing while being unsuitable for the proposed fabric function or scale.
We record gaps as specific decisions: retain, upgrade, replace, redesign or investigate. This helps separate necessary work from optional improvements. The report should explain the consequence of each gap, such as an unsupported role, insufficient capacity or a migration dependency, rather than labelling every older component as an automatic replacement candidate.
A useful starting point
Tell us what is happening.
A short description of the problem is enough for an initial discussion.
Examine the underlay and shared services
The fabric depends on a reliable IP foundation. We review physical topology, routing, addressing, MTU needs and resilience. Cable paths and power arrangements matter when the customer expects a particular failure to be tolerated. Automation can configure supported devices. But it cannot create physical diversity that the installation does not provide.
DNS, time synchronisation, certificates, DHCP and management reachability are examined as service dependencies. Their ownership and change process should be clear. A rollout can be delayed by an unavailable certificate service or an undocumented firewall rule even when all switches have been delivered. Identifying those tasks early prevents avoidable pressure during the rollout window.
Different environments. The same care.
Built around the work
your network supports.
Finance, banking and the wider private sector. We start with the systems and people that depend on your connections.
Finance & banking
Market-data paths, routing and provider coordination on clients’ behalf.
Financial-market services ↗Offices & multi-site teams
Reliable access between people, workplaces and business applications.
Office network design ↗Data centres & cloud
Network boundaries, workload connections and operational ownership.
Data centre networks ↗Test identity and endpoint assumptions
An access-policy design depends on how endpoints will be identified and admitted. We review the available directory, certificate and authentication services, including the role of Cisco ISE where required. Endpoint types are considered separately: managed laptops, phones, printers, building systems and contractor equipment may not support the same onboarding method.
The assessment identifies exceptions and failure behaviour. What should happen when an authentication service is unavailable? Which devices need restricted fallback access, and who approves it? These decisions should not be left to a generic template. They influence both usability and the strength of the intended segmentation.
Review the migration and operating model
We examine how current VLANs, gateways and external routes would coexist with the new fabric during a staged transition. Dependencies that cross a proposed migration boundary are highlighted. Wireless integration, specialist multicast and non-standard apps may require separate pilot testing rather than being assumed to work because ordinary web traffic succeeds.
The support team is part of readiness too. We review access permissions, backup arrangements, monitoring, change authority and the ability to investigate fabric-specific faults. Training or service handover may be a project prerequisite. A technically deployable solution can still be a poor investment if nobody is prepared to maintain it.
Produce an actionable readiness report
Findings are prioritised by their effect on rollout and service risk. The report separates blockers from recommendations and records evidence, owners and dependencies. An item that requires a vendor decision is not silently marked as resolved. Assumptions remain visible until someone with the appropriate authority confirms them.
The outcome may be to proceed, proceed after defined remediation, run a limited proof of concept or retain a simpler design. We explain the basis for that recommendation. This gives management a useful decision document and gives engineers a preparation list that can be turned into controlled work packages.
Use the assessment to shape the next stage
A successful readiness review leads into SD-Access fabric design with fewer unknowns. It can also narrow the project to the sites where the benefits are clearest. MCI does not require the assessment to become a full rollout engagement. The deliverable should stand on its own. Provide the proposed scope and the business reason for considering SD-Access, and we can define the evidence and workshops needed to reach a defensible decision.
Talk to a specialist
Need a specialist view?
Tell us what is affected, what changed and what your team has already checked. A short outline is enough to start.
+44 203 196 6566Choose option 1
sales@proxar.co.ukUK-wide service.
Most of our engineers are based in Kent, with a focus on London, Sussex, Essex and Berkshire.
Existing customers should use their agreed support and escalation channels. This form is for service enquiries, not a monitored emergency ticket.
Tell us what you need.
A short outline is enough. Please do not include passwords or sensitive network details.
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