The promise of software-defined wide area networks (SD-WANs) has been touted for several years, but most organizations have yet to adopt the technology: fewer than 1% of enterprises have deployed SD-WANs as of the end of 2015 (Market Guide for Software-Defined WAN, Gartner, Dec 1, 2015). A recent survey of IT professionals by consulting group Ashton, Metzler & Associates (When will SD-WANs ‘cross the chasm’?, Jim Metzler, PhD, TechTarget, 2016) reveals some of the obstacles that prevent greater adoption of SD-WAN in organizations:
- 25% of respondents are concerned about how to integrate software-defined networks into their current infrastructure
- 25% of respondents feel there isn’t a strong business case for implementing SD-WAN
- 25% of respondents believe enabling technologies for SD-WAN are immature
With the introduction of the industry-first Avaya SDN Fx™ + FatPipe® SD-WAN integrated solution, Avaya customers can now expect the simplicity, security and scalability of SDN Fabric Connect in their LANs extended via FatPipe across the entire Unified Communications network or hybrid WAN. This converged solution from two technology innovators addresses the main concerns about implementing a software-defined network:
- Support for a multitude of connection types and legacy systems – MPLS, broadband, wireless, satellite, T1/E1 and more—allows for cost-effective, in-place implementation that easily integrates with an organization’s network investments
- Multi-line compression and WAN optimization increase bandwidth availability of existing lines by up to 70%, yielding large cost savings on expensive MPLS lines; and aggregation of a variety of paths presents options for additional cost savings and extra capacity for future growth, thereby strengthening the business case for an SD-WAN deployment
- With 11 patents and 180 technology claims, FatPipe has been in the SD-WAN business for more than 15 years and has successfully deployed 10,000+ devices world-wide, thereby assuring enterprises that the SD-WAN technology is mature and ready to implement
As connected devices proliferate, data flows continue to expand and security concerns rise. Software-defined networks solve many of the problems that come with the increasing complexity of today’s networks. Legitimate concerns about SD-WAN have hindered wide-spread adoption to date, but the Avaya SDN Fx + FatPipe SD-WAN solution alleviates issues and presents enterprises with options for a next-generation hybrid wide area network. From Datacenter-to-Desktop™, Avaya SDN Fx + FatPipe SD-WAN delivers the benefits of software-defined networking today.
