Traditional WAN SLAs count circuit availability and sometimes packet loss on a provider handoff. They do not capture the user trying to reach Salesforce over three autonomous systems — where the failure is neither the CPE nor the last mile, but something in between.
Path-aware observability shifts the question from "is the link up" to "is the path fit for this workload." That shift matters when carriers dispute tickets because their segment is technically within spec while the user experience is unusable.
Capcon customers increasingly write internal SLAs around latency and loss budgets to named SaaS and cloud regions, with evidence collected continuously rather than from a one-off trace when someone complains. The data becomes the common language between networking, security, and business stakeholders.
You do not need to rip out SNMP tomorrow. Start by defining three application-critical paths per major site, measuring them 24/7, and reviewing monthly with your providers. When numbers drift, you will know whether to escalate transit, adjust SD-WAN policy, or chase a SaaS-side issue — instead of guessing.