
Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2018. Read them in this 10th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
Contributed by Kumar Mehta, Co-Founder of and Chief Development Officer at Versa Networks
A Look Back, A Look Ahead
What
a year 2017 has been for software-defined WAN. Adoption continues to soar among
service providers and enterprises alike, as more companies seek to manage the
increase in network traffic from cloud, mobile and analytics. In fact, IDC
predicts
the SD-WAN market will grow a
whopping 69 percent compound annual growth rate to $8.05 billion in 2021 from $1.19
billion in 2017.
So,
what did we get right in our 2017 predictions? Plenty, as it turns out. Here's
a look at what we expected this year, and a few predictions for the year to
come.
Looking
Back: 2017 Predictions
SDN
Growth
What
we predicted: Software-Defined Security (SD-Security) will be the
next big revenue driver for service providers already capitalizing on SD-WAN
What we saw: In 2017
we saw the direct inclusion of additional security elements to SD-WAN solutions
in multiple ways. Traditional security vendors such as Fortinet began offering
their security technologies as an overlay on SD-WAN networks, while SD-WAN
vendors (VeloCloud is one example) increased and expanded their ecosystems to
include more security partners.
Additionally,
cloud-based security providers such as Zscaler enjoyed a surge in popularity,
which points to a growing desire for more software-based infrastructure and the
consolidation of devices to be managed.
While
SD-Security is viewed as a separate entity from SD-WAN, we also are starting to
see the two merge as the market
recognizes the need for security to be an integral element of SD-WAN
beyond simply IPsec. Case in point are acquisitions of SD-WAN vendors including
Viptela and VeloCloud into larger portfolios that have a deeper focus on
security.
And,
if that isn't proof enough, we also saw an uptick of the use of the term
"SD-Security" this year among multiple vendors including Catbird.
SD-Branch
What we predicted: Enterprises will consolidate devices in the branch
office to improve security and simplify management
What
we saw: This
idea was confirmed by research firms IDC and GlobalData through
research papers (sponsored by Versa) that show how the branch is evolving even beyond
SD-WAN. We also saw an uptick of technology vendors and solution providers
bringing to market universal CPE (uCPE) solutions, which serve as the
underlying foundational infrastructure to software-define the branch. As
operational and orchestration tools become more mature and integrated, more uCPE
solutions will be brought to market with greater force.
Virtual Deployments
What we predicted: There will be a rise in white box appliance
deployments
What we saw: In 2017, the number of vendors offering virtual
solutions for SD-WAN in the cloud increased dramatically, with many other
vendors implementing white box (open system) strategies. We believe this will
continue, as new chipsets further improve Intel-based systems and vendors
continue to increase their white box strategies. Black box (closed and/or
proprietary) solutions will remain on the radar, however, as they continue to
be the easiest point of entry into SD-WAN for many companies, despite leading
to vendor-lock-in and potentially bringing about long-term challenges of
support, maintenance and flexibility.
VNF Adoption
What we predicted: VNF adoption will gain popularity among service
providers
What we saw: Virtual network function (VNF) adoption has
indeed increased, a fact borne out by movement in the branch office space and
the ongoing shift to accommodate SD-WAN in the cloud. A recent
survey by SDxCentral found 30
percent of participants believe 40 to 60 percent of their infrastructure will
be based on NFV in five years, while 24 percent believe as much as 60 to 80
percent of their infrastructure in five years will be NFV-based. Most SD-WAN
vendors have virtualized versions of their technology, marketed as VNFs within
service provider environments.
Network
Complexity
What
we predicted: As the network gets more complex, SDN and SD-WAN
will be leveraged to help prevent outages and vulnerabilities
What
we saw:
Time and time again in 2017, we saw SD-WAN acting as the safety net in multiple
verticals for companies that need a solid and dynamic infrastructure for their
mission-critical applications. Health care, financial services, retail ... the
list goes on, as companies are realizing the myriad
benefits of SD-WAN that include increased
network reliability, completely automated data and compliance management and
accelerated time to service with centralized, zero-touch provisioning and mass
deployment capabilities.
Looking Ahead to 2018
The
future looks just as bright for SD-WAN in the coming year. We continue to see
growth of SD-WAN adoption at the service provider level, and greater levels of
adoption at the enterprise level and among branch offices. SD-Security also
will remain a technology to watch, as threats from cybercriminals and
malfeasants grow ever more insidious.
Prediction:
The new underlay - Software-Defined WAN
The forward progress of the software-defined
market will have an impact on the traditional router/underlay market. Gartner expects the forecasted revenue for the traditional router market will
decrease as much as 20 percent through 2020. Versa believes routers will evolve
into a software-defined solution or even merging directly into the SD-WAN, with
the SD-WAN becoming the new router moving forward. We're already seeing many
traditional networking vendors and even security vendors adding SD-WAN
solutions for the enterprise edge to their portfolios, as SD-WAN
becomes a table-stakes approach to deliver networking for the WAN to address multi-cloud
and distributed enterprises.
The traditional router market, isn't going away
immediately; however, as SD-WAN gathers more speed in the enterprise, customers
will start questioning the relevance of routers and other traditional
approaches to networking in an increasingly software-defined environment.
Prediction: SD-WAN is making everyone a service
provider
The beauty of SD-WAN is it is empowering. SD-WAN
technology enables providers of complementary technologies, such as managed
services providers or telecom service providers, to add data networking to
their portfolio without changing their business model in the process. We expect
providers of UCaaS, IoTaaS-any XaaS provider, really-increasingly will add SD-WAN
capability/offerings for their customers, especially as more companies adopt
technologies such as unified communications and IoT. Transport providers have
already demonstrated their interest and are making the jump first, followed by
boutique providers looking to adopt SD-WAN to improve their own services, not
to mention offer the technology as a bundled service.
Clearly, SD-WAN is an evolutionary technology,
and 2017's predictions are still coming to fruition. Eventually we will view
SD-WAN as ubiquitous; until then, however, Versa Networks revels in the promise
of what's to come and how we're going to get there.
Prediction: Machine Learning to begin to be seen
in branch connectivity solutions
With the rise of machine learning, we predict
that 2018 will see the technology integrated into branch connectivity services.
Scikit-Learn and TensorFlow as prime examples of this movement. Incorporating
ML into branch connectivity services will further increase automation and
intelligence for branch solutions, which ultimately will drive improved
infrastructures that include improved self-healing and driverless networks.
##
About the Author
Kumar Mehta is the Co-Founder of and Chief
Development Officer at Versa Networks. Kumar brings a proven track record of
leading mega-projects at startups as well as publicly traded companies. His
vision, work ethic, and leadership as VP of Engineering at Juniper Networks
resulted in multiple blockbuster product deliveries, including the
market-leading Metro and Carrier Ethernet solution, the MX series. His
leadership in design, development, and delivery of differentiated solutions
resulted in huge and continuing revenue streams for the company and brought
Kumar the prestigious CEO Excellence Award. Prior to Juniper, Kumar held
engineering management positions at Riverstone Networks and Yago Systems.