Sprint SD-WAN plans are designed to ease enterprise management of corporate network; trials set for year-end and commercial launch in 2017
The enterprise-focused software-defined wide area network space continues to attract telecom players, with Sprint now set to launch its own SD-WAN platform.
The carrier said it is working with VeloCloud to offer a service designed to allow enterprises to more efficiently manage corporate networks, optimize performance and enable policies to improve customer experience. The Sprint service is targeted to begin customer trials by year-end, with a global launch planned for early 2017.
“Sprint SD-WAN will transform the way our business customers use their network,” explained Mike Fitz, VP of Sprint’s Global Wireline Business Unit, in a statement. “SD-WAN enables enterprises to lower their network costs while dynamically supporting converged services such as [Session Initiation Protocol] trunking, cloud services and hosted applications.”
The platform is said to support existing Sprint multiprotocol label switching or broadband connections, as well as broadband from other providers. Sprint said the service will support the customer’s SD-WAN solution across transport vendors, with customers able to select from among various management tiers.
Security features also are part of the platform, with the carrier claiming real-time protection against “malware, viruses and cyberthreats for all sites and endpoints, including the mobile workforce.”
The carrier’s Global Wireline Business Unit was created earlier this year with “full profit-and-loss responsibility, including strategy, sales, marketing, product management, solutions engineering and operations.” Fitz was tapped to lead the organization, having previously served as VP of Sprint’s Solutions Engineering department.
Division assets include global Multiprotocol Label Switching and dedicated internet access with service in more than 155 countries; global SIP trunking and SIP toll-free voice services; a unified communications suite, including Sprint’s Workplace-as-a-Service platform; managed network and security solutions; web-based network management tools; and wireless and wireline access options. The wireless connection includes a partnership with Sprint wireless sales representatives to offer an integrated solution, which the carrier said is used by a majority of its largest customers.
The deal is the second in as many weeks for VeloCloud, which recently scored a partnership with AT&T to deliver SD-WAN services to enterprises looking to migrate networks from hardware to software. The deal calls for AT&T’s SD-WAN portfolio to include a network-based solution combining hybrid networking with multiple network access options allowing for optimized application performance based on customer-selected parameters.
IDC earlier this 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.
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