VeloCloud provides insight into the current SD-WAN market, noting strong uptake by telecom operators and enterprises.
The ongoing development and deployment of software platforms by telecommunication providers under the guise of software-defined networking, network functions virtualization and cloud technologies continues to roll across the market. However, much of the actual work remains in the hands and laboratories of larger players that have the resources to drive those efforts.
One area that is seeing a more diverse set of players is the software-defined wide area network space, which is attracting deployments from telecom operators and service providers of various sizes as well as enterprises looking to take more control over their networking needs.
IDC last year forecast the SD-WAN space to reach $6 billion in technology and service sales by 2020, with a compound annual growth rate of more than 90% over the next five years.
Versa Networks late last year released results of a survey conducted by Dimensional Research that found network professionals at large-sized enterprises claimed maintaining security policies and practices, network devices and complexity due to cloud and mobile applications was the most difficult aspects of managing the WAN. The survey also noted 97% said they face multiple challenges to managing their WAN, with the three biggest being managing network and security devices at branch locations; mitigating information security risks at branch locations; and deploying new network and security solutions at branch locations.
VeloCloud is one of the vendors that has seen recent traction from companies looking to deploy a SD-WAN platform. The company over the past several months has scored deployment deals with the likes of Windstream, AT&T and Sprint.
Mike Wood, VP of marketing at VeloCloud, provided some insight into the current pace of development and deployment of SD-WAN platforms, and challenges the company sees facing the industry as it continues to roll towards greater software control of operations.
RCR Wireless News: What’s your view on the current pace of development and deployment of SD-WAN platforms?
Mike Wood: Early developers of SD-WAN solutions with scalable architectures, which encompass advanced capabilities such as sub-second packet steering; link remediation; 100% GUI (no CLI required) orchestrators; a distributed cloud presence at the front doorstep of cloud services; scalable encryption; and true multitenancy are able to respond to adjustments in new capability requests for SD-WAN. These are the most successful SD-WANs seeing the broadest deployments in this very exciting time for SD-WANs.
As we have seen, since the early days of SD-WAN in 2012, an incredible wave of companies has pivoted or changed their messaging to jump on this opportunity. No doubt there will be market consolidation as larger vendors hope to benefit from market projections, which will inevitably slow the development momentum of those pure play SD-WAN innovators as they shift focus to integration.
Adoption of SD-WAN has reached an inflection point and nearly every distributed business is deploying, evaluating or planning SD-WAN as part of their IT vision.
SD-WAN solutions, which have a zero-touch, automated deployment model, are benefiting from rapid deployment of SD-WAN. SD-WANs not built on a cloud-delivered architecture are attempting to bolt on cloud as a feature, which telcos see through during evaluations.
RCRWN: What’s VeloCloud’s view on why the SD-WAN space has been gaining traction from telecom operators?
Wood: Forward thinking and progressive telecom operators are taking a proactive approach to offering SD-WAN solutions. They realize that there is an opportunity to increase revenue with existing customers by offering faster access speeds, delivering value added cloud services and strengthening business with their existing customers.
RCRWN: What sort of mix is VeloCloud seeing in terms of customer wins/deployments between the telecom space and the enterprise space?
Wood: The current mix is approximately 60% enterprise and 40% service provider/telecom, but this is shifting to 50/50.
RCRWN: What sort of challenges or surprises has VeloCloud seen in terms of integrating its product into telecom operations?
Wood: Integration can be a challenge, but VeloCloud has addressed this challenge by building a new [software development kit] to enable the creation of a single pane of glass for self-service ordering, provisioning, management, services, monitoring and visibility. Telecom operators like Windstream have been very successful at leveraging the VeloCloud SD-WAN suite of [application programming interfaces] and avoid traditionally required additional work to integrate.
RCRWN: How important is collaboration in terms of SD-WAN platform among the vendor community, and what’s VeloCloud’s view on that level of collaboration?
Wood: It is very important. VeloCloud established the SD-WAN Security Technology Partner Program with an initial emphasis on security. The overall program includes an extensible SD-WAN API (orchestration, control and data) and SDK for Technology and Channel Partners; a framework for [virtual consumer premise equipment] [virtual network function] integration and service insertion and cloud security service insertion; interoperability with VeloCloud cloud-delivered SD-WAN gateways; and interoperability and API integration with partner security management solutions.
The program is driving interoperability with vendors such as IBM, Fortinet, Check Point and Zscaler, with more to follow.
RCRWN: What are some of the bigger challenges still facing the SD-WAN space in terms of continuing to gain traction among telecom operators?
Wood: To successfully implement SD-WAN, telecom operators require solutions that are architected for true multitenancy, segmentation, network integrated at the [multipoint label switching] backbone, hardware-independent VNF, distributed cloud extension and have an extensive API. Most of these elements require foresight to be architected as part of a vendor’s solution from the beginning versus as an afterthought or bolt-on feature.
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