CloudGenix, Inc., the software-defined wide-area network (SD-WAN) leader, and AHEAD, a consulting company that helps enterprises transform how and where they run applications and infrastructure, today announced they have signed a partnership agreement. With this alliance, CloudGenix extends its reach into AHEAD's Midwest and Southeast customer base, while AHEAD builds out its branch portfolio of products with the industry's first and only application-defined SD-WAN solution, CloudGenix Instant-On Networks (ION).

Headquartered in Chicago with offices in the Midwest and Southeast, AHEAD creates tailored cloud solutions for enterprises at all stages of the cloud adoption and acceleration journey and is a proven leader in offering software-defined solutions for the data center. Its partnership with CloudGenix pushes AHEAD forward with software-defined WANs for the branch office -- a market that is surging as compared with a steep decline in the legacy branch office router market. Indeed, adoption of SD-WANs is expected to spike by a CAGR of 57 percent through 2020, placing CloudGenix and its partners at the forefront of the change.

The CloudGenix Instant-On Networks (ION) product family is designed for the needs of modern applications, including SaaS- and cloud-based apps such as Office365, AWS, Azure, Unified Communications and VoIP. It simplifies network configurations by up to 90 percent, and allows network managers to set up business rules and app-SLAs instead of working with arcane networking protocols. With ION, network performance is based on app-criteria, including performance, security and compliance. And, the network acts as a centralized database storing 100 percent of network and app flows, reducing fragmentation across devices, and providing access to application and network insights.

"AHEAD and CloudGenix are united in our goal to help organizations innovate like a startup and operate like an enterprise." said Tim Frank, Executive Vice President of Sales at AHEAD. "By partnering with CloudGenix, AHEAD offers a next-generation SD-WAN solution that meets our customers' requirements for cost savings and high performance in the modern enterprise."

"Our partnership with AHEAD is a strategic win for CloudGenix, as we are aligning with a leader in the industry whose sterling reputation and regional stronghold in the Midwest are unmatched," said Kumar Ramachandran, CEO of CloudGenix. "We anticipate great success as word spreads that AHEAD is now offering CloudGenix ION, the industry's first and only application-defined SD-WAN solution."