AT&T taps SDN and NFV to further control for enterprises, adds new partners
AT&T is continuing to expand its software-defined networking-based Network on Demand platform, adding support for new services and bringing on new technology partners.
The telecom giant said the SDN NoD platform is now powering Managed Internet Service on Demand, targeting enterprises with greater control over their Internet service needs. AT&T claims the service eliminates the need for router hardware at locations by using network functions virtualization technology to virtualize routing in AT&T’s core and at enterprise locations.
John Donovan, SEVP for technology and operations at AT&T, noted the on-demand service allows for deployment “up to 95% faster than in the ‘business as usual’ model. We’ve reduced our equipment costs, condensed sales processes, simplified ordering and provisioning, and streamlined global customer support while increasing responsiveness. None of this would be possible if we weren’t thinking like a software company.”
The platform is set to launch in select cities later this fall, with expansion plans by year-end.
Those expansion plans are also set to include Cisco Systems, Juniper Networks and Brocade, which signed agreements with AT&T to bolster NoD services.
The deals call for the companies to tap virtualization technology for the development and deployment of solutions, including software-based customer premise equipment; software-based appliances designed to allow enterprises to run multiple virtual functions on one device; and to enable routing functions to be delivered from the cloud.
AT&T last September unveiled its NoD platform, which at the time the company said was the first SDN solution from a telecom operator available in the U.S. The solution built on AT&T’s previous work with its User Defined Network Cloud program that was announced in early 2014, which was itself built on AT&T’s Domain initiative.
AT&T followed up the NoD launch by announcing plans to virtualize and control more than 75% of its network using software architecture by 2020. AT&T earlier this year said its NoD platform is available in more than 100 markets.
Bored? Why not follow me on Twitter
Photo copyright: learchitecto / 123RF Stock Photo
