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I work for a company with a handful of small-to-medium branches spread across OR, WA, and AZ. We currently utilize a MPLS network to connect all the branches together, which was our recommended solution several years ago. We aren't doing anything special or complicated with regards to networking; the MPLS design simply provides us with a meshed network, where all branches can communicate with one another and QoS is maintained throughout(if we ever go to VoIP/video conferencing), but that's about it and we are paying high monthly costs for those MPLS lines.<br />
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My question is whether or not this is still best practice for a small/medium business. How does site-to-site VPN tunneling over the internet, for example, stack up? I've been looking into Cisco's Meraki lineup and it sounds like these types of solutions can easily connect branches with cheap internet lines, reducing the monthly networking and management costs. Thoughts?
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I work for a company with a handful of small-to-medium branches spread across OR, WA, and AZ. We currently utilize a MPLS network to connect all the branches together, which was our recommended solution several years ago. We aren't doing anything special or complicated with regards to networking; the MPLS design simply provides us with a meshed network, where all branches can communicate with one another and QoS is maintained throughout(if we ever go to VoIP/video conferencing), but that's about it and we are paying high monthly costs for those MPLS lines.

My question is whether or not this is still best practice for a small/medium business. How does site-to-site VPN tunneling over the internet, for example, stack up? I've been looking into Cisco's Meraki lineup and it sounds like these types of solutions can easily connect branches with cheap internet lines, reducing the monthly networking and management costs. Thoughts?

MPLS -  Is there a better (cheaper) solution?

Network Management involves issues that are independent of specific hardware or software, including email policies, upgrade planning, backup scheduling and working with managed service providers for Desktop-As-A-Service (DaaS), Software-As-A-Service (SaaS) and the like through the use of tools, coupled with manufacturer standards, best practice guidelines, policies and procedures plus all other relevant documentation. Network management also includes monitoring, alerting and reporting, management reporting, planning for device or service updates, the backup of configurations, the setting of key performance indicators and measures (KPIs/KPMs), associated service level agreements and problem records as part of the IT Service Management (ITSM) framework.

Network Management

Networking is the process of connecting computing devices, peripherals and terminals together through a system that uses wiring, cabling or radio waves that enable their users to communicate, share information and interact over distances. Often associated are issues regarding operating systems, hardware and equipment, cloud and virtual networking, protocols, architecture, storage and management.

Networking

Networking software modules are interfaced with a framework implemented on the machine's operating system that implements the networking functionality of the operating system. The best known frameworks are the TCP/IP model and the OSI model. Systems typically do not use a single protocol to handle a transmission. Instead they use a set of cooperating protocols, sometimes called a protocol family or protocol suite.[9] Some of the best known protocol suites include: IPX/SPX, X.25, AX.25, AppleTalk and TCP/IP. Other protocols indirectly related to networking include the hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) and its related technologies, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), Domain Name Server (DNS) and other Internet protocols.