Several telecom operators are evaluating strategies for software-defined network (SDN) and network function virtualization (NFV) projects for deployment in 3 years, said Infonetics Research.
Plans to deploy SDN network are under evaluation for telecom operators (telecoms). Telecoms are planning to deploy SDN in the next 3 years, according to a global survey.
The survey indicates that both SDN and NFV are not a significant focus for telecoms at present.
Michael Howard, co-founder and principal analyst for carrier networks at Infonetics Research, said: “For the most part, carriers are starting small with their SDN and NFV deployments, focusing on parts of their network, what we call contained domains, to ensure they can get the technology to work as intended.”
However, there is optimism with Infonetics Research saying momentum for more widespread use of SDN and NFV is strong.
Operators focus areas in SDN
Majority of operators plan to deploy the technologies in key parts of their networks, from the core to aggregation to customer access.
The drivers include carriers’ desire for service agility resulting in quicker time to revenue and operational efficiency.
As per another research report, between 30 and 40 percent of networking spend could be influenced by SDN over the next six years, which means the total SDN market could reach $35 billion by 2018.
According to Infonetics, telecoms plan to deploy SDNs and NFV by 2014 within data centers, between data centers, operations and management, content delivery networks (CDNs), and cloud services.
86 percent of operators are confident they will deploy SDN and NFV technology in their optical transport networks as well at some point, once standards are finalized.
Study participants rated CDNs, IP multimedia subsystems (IMS), and virtual routers/security gateways as the top applications for NFV.
SDN growth
Adoption of SDN technology has accelerated in recent years from sales of $10 million in 2007 to $252 million last year. Companies are turning to new software-centric approaches to control their computer networks as they move beyond traditional network infrastructure that wasn’t designed for today’s cloud computing, according to SDNCentral.
The emergence of the software-defined networking market is supported by growth in venture capital investment in SDN-focused companies. Venture capital funding of SDN-related companies rose from $10 million in 2007 to $454 million in 2012.
SDN future
Doyle Research and GigaOM Research say that the enterprise SDN market will reach $320 million in 2014 and grow to $2.45 billion by 2018.
This growth will be driven by the increased use of SDN technologies to improve enterprise network operations in the data center, WAN, campus, and branch. Networking hardware (Layer 2-7) will remain the largest market segment, representing 66 percent in 2014 and declining to 47 percent in 2018 as SDN software and service revenues increase.
As the SDN market grows, it will offer substantial business opportunities for a range of providers of SDN network equipment, software, and services.
The market will grow from under $100 million in 2012 to over $2.4 billion by 2018.
Asia Pacific to drive SDN
A telecom research report by MarketsandMarkets says the global Software Defined Networking market will grow from $198 million in 2012 to $2.1 billion in 2017.
This represents a CAGR of 60.43 percent from 2012 to 2017. North America is estimated to be the biggest market for SDN solutions. Over the next five years, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to witness increased market traction, to become the most lucrative SDN market globally.
Baburajan K
editor@telecomlead.com