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Gartner: Magic Quadrant for Data Center Networking
Gartner: Magic Quadrant for Global Network Services has Orange Business #1
Summary:
Driven by cloud IT service adoption, the market for global enterprise network services is undergoing a generational shift in both technologies and the provider landscape. Infrastructure and operations leaders must adapt their network sourcing approaches to reflect this transformation.
Market Definition/Description:
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WAN transport services, used to form hybrid WANs and underpin managed software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) services — These include MPLS, Ethernet services and internet services, including dedicated internet access (DIA), broadband and cellular.
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Carrier-based cloud interconnect — This refers to direct MPLS, internet and/or Ethernet connections to leading providers of cloud services, including infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS) and software as a Service (SaaS). These services improve the performance, availability and security of connectivity to critical cloud services, compared with generic public internet access. The option to insert network functions, such as firewalling and WAN optimization (which are often virtualized), into these connections is increasingly common.
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Managed software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) services — While some enterprises are renewing their existing MPLS or hybrid WANs, virtually all new managed global network deployments seen by Gartner in 2018 were managed SD-WAN networks, a trend we expect to see continue through 2019 and beyond. These services are based on edge devices with zero-touch configuration, able to dynamically route traffic over different links based on policies under central policy management control (see “Technology Insight for Software-Defined WAN [SD-WAN]”). SD-WAN improves WAN agility by allowing easier and faster deployment of new sites, flexibility in the link types used, and simplified addition of new applications to the network. In addition, SD-WAN services typically provide significantly enhanced levels of application visibility compared to traditional managed router services.
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Network on-demand services — Network on-demand services from NSPs enable enterprises to make real-time changes to access/port bandwidth, change the WAN service types delivered over a network port and, in some cases, even add and remove endpoints, such as connections to cloud providers all under software control. They are controlled by the enterprise, via the provider’s web portal or APIs. Many providers are using software-defined networking (SDN) to deliver this functionality.
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Network function virtualization (NFV) services — This functionality is the replacement for purpose-built hardware devices, such as routers, security devices or WAN optimizers, with software running on industry-standard hardware equipment (see “Network Function Virtualization Will Enable Greater WAN Agility and Flexibility”). It can be run in virtual customer premises equipment (vCPE), which consists of on-site x86-based servers, supporting multiple virtualized network functions. Alternatively, some functions can run NFV service nodes, located in the provider’s network; although, in this case, some form of on-premises device will still be needed. NFV allows network functions to be activated on demand and consumed on an “as a service” basis, seeking to improve both the agility and cost-effectiveness of the enterprise WAN.
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vCPE — vCPE is the use of industry-standard, x86-based servers, rather than function-specific appliances, at enterprise premises to deliver enterprise network edge functions, such as WAN edge routers, including SD-WAN, WAN optimization controllers (WOCs), and security functions such as firewalls. (See “Innovation Insight for Virtual CPE.”)
What’s Changed?
The inclusion and exclusion criteria for this year’s Magic Quadrant, although similar to prior years, have been adjusted to reflect these trends.
Magic Quadrant
Figure 1. Magic Quadrant for Network Services, Global
Source: Gartner (February 2019)
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https://www.gartner.com/document/code/354862?ref=ddisp&refval=354862
Gartner: Enterprise Network Service Prices Continue to Decline
Prices for enterprise fixed and mobile network services around the globe have declined from 2017 through 2018 by up to 20%, with further declines expected through 2019. Highlights:
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Since 2012, overall network service prices in the developed world have declined by 5% to 20% annually, depending on the specific service and geography, but enterprises often fail to achieve the full potential savings.
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Prices for nonstandard or legacy network services see little decrease or even increases.
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Although network technology improvements can reduce an operator’s cost of delivering service, network service providers (NSPs) will only pass on savings to customers when they’re pressured to do so.
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By 2020, 10 Mbps Ethernet access to Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) or internet services will be priced lower than T1 or E1 access to the same services, from a premium of up to 1.5 times today’s T1/E1 price.
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By 2020, MPLS pricing in mature markets will equalize with business-grade internet services, down from the 10% to 20% premium in 2018.
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By 2020, the cost of 5G enterprise cellular services will be priced at a premium of 10% or less above 4G cellular services.
There is considerable country-to-country variation within regions. The countries with a greater degree of competition (three or more viable choices for a service) have seen larger price decreases than countries that have little or no competition. We have noted with an asterisk (*) the regions in which there is either too little data or where large variations in pricing exist, negating any meaningful “average” price trend.
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The North American telecommunications market is very mature, with highly competitive conditions. Within all five service group categories, there are more than three providers. Since the competitive landscape has seen some consolidation, the only truly viable way for Gartner clients to take advantage of these conditions is to create a competitive RFP.
- T1 or any other TDM-based access to any network services should be treated as legacy and only used when no other access services are available. These prices are not changing, and Gartner predicts they could possibly increase in the near future as providers are eager to shed those amortized assets.
- The pricing of MPLS and direct internet access, over optical Ethernet access, continues to converge with internet access typically not more than 10% to 15% cheaper than MPLS, while Ethernet services remain significantly cheaper. Broadband internet access pricing is not decreasing significantly, although average speeds are continuing to increase, as are the number of providers in the market.
- SIP trunking is fully mature, and existing ISDN lines should be replaced with SIP as soon as the contractual opportunity arises.
- Cellular is a mature service, with 4G LTE the default network technology for most voice, messaging and data plans. While 3G network fallback still is available for areas of weak 4G coverage, providers do not differentiate service plans or prices for the two technologies. Data plan cost reductions primarily have occurred due to more competitive negotiated discounts from standard or rate card prices. Standards-based 5G technology providing higher data speeds, lower latency and the ability to support significantly higher cellular endpoint density than 4G LTE will begin commercial availability in 2020 and later.
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Avoid sourcing services that are not part of provider’s standard portfolio, even if this means accelerating the depreciation of nonstandard devices or losing some functionality of nonstandard configurations.
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Migrate away from legacy network services, even if it means replacing edge devices, while seeking improved pricing from the provider in return for adopting the current offerings.
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Ensure you are fully aware of any end-of-life announcements for network services you are using and aim to migrate away from such services.
IHS Markit: Cloud and Mobility Driving Enterprise Edge Connectivity in North America
IHS Markit Survey: Cloud and mobility driving new requirements for enterprise edge connectivity in North America
By Matthias Machowinski, senior research director, IHS Markit, and Joshua Bancroft, senior analyst, IHS Markit
Highlights
- By 2019, 51 percent of network professionals surveyed by IHS Markit will use hybrid cloud and 37 percent will adopt multi-cloud for application delivery.
- Bandwidth consumption continues to rise. Companies are expecting to increase provisioned wide-area network (WAN) bandwidth by more than 30 percent annually across all site types.
- Data backup and storage is the leading reason for traffic growth, followed by cloud services
- Software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) is maturing: 66 percent of surveyed companies anticipate deploying it by the end of 2020.
- Companies deploying SD-WAN use over 50 percent more bandwidth, than those who have not deployed it. Their bandwidth needs are also growing at twice the rate of companies using traditional WANs.
Analysis
Based on a survey of 292 network professionals at North American enterprises, IHS Markit explored the evolving requirements for enterprise edge connectivity, including WAN and SD-WAN. The study revealed that enterprise IT architectures and consumption models are currently undergoing a major transformation, from servers and applications placed at individual enterprise sites, to a hybrid-cloud model where centralized infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) complements highly utilized servers in enterprise-operated data centers. This process allows organizations to bring the benefits of cloud architectures to their own data centers – including simplified management, agility and scalability – and leverage the on-demand aspect of cloud services during peak periods. Respondents also reinforced the viewpoint that the hybrid cloud is a stepping stone to the emerging multi-cloud.
Changing business demographics is sparking the trend of more centralized applications: enterprises are moving closer to their customers, partners, and suppliers. They are adding more physical locations, making mobility a key part of their processes and taking on remote employees to leverage talent and expertise.
Following the current wave of application centralization, certain functions requiring low latency will migrate back to the enterprise edge, residing on universal customer premises equipment (uCPE) and other shared compute platforms. This development is still in its infancy, but it is already on the radar of some companies.
Hybrid cloud is an ideal architecture for distributed enterprises, but it is also contributing to traffic growth at the enterprise edge. Extra attention must be paid to edge connectivity, to ensure users don’t suffer from slow or intermittent access to applications. Performance is a top concern, and enterprises are not only adding more WAN capacity and redundancy, but also adopting SD-WAN.
The primary motivation for deploying SD-WAN is to improve application performance and simplify WAN management. The first wave of SD-WAN deployments focused on cost reduction, and this is still clearly the case, with survey respondents indicating their annual mega-bits-per-second cost is approximately 30 percent lower, with costs declining at a faster rate than in traditional WAN deployments. These results show that SD-WAN can be a crucial way to balance runaway traffic growth with budget constraints.
SD-WAN solutions not only solve the transportation and WAN cost reduction issue, but also help enterprises create a fabric for the multi-cloud. Features like analytics to understand end-user behaviour, enhanced branch security and having a centralized management portal all make SD-WAN an enticing proposition for enterprises looking to adopt a multi-cloud approach.
Enterprise Edge Connectivity Strategies North American Enterprise Survey
This IHS Markit study takes explores how companies are advancing connectivity at the enterprise edge, in light of new requirements. It includes traditional WAN and SD-WAN growth expectations, growth drivers, plans for new types of connectivity and technologies, equipment used, feature requirements, preferred suppliers, , and spending plans.
NTT Communications leads APAC telco cloud market; Telstra and Orange close behind
Japanese telecommunications network provider NTT Communications is the market leader in the Asia-Pacific telecom cloud segment, and is well placed to maintain its position, according to GlobalData. In a new report, the market research company said NTT Communications has carved out a lead due to its software-defined capabilities, wide network and data center coverage and an expanded portfolio thanks to its integration with sister companies. According to the report, the cloud market landscape is evolving in the Asia-Pacific region. While web-scale players such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Alibaba are continually expanding in the regions, telecoms operators are carving out a niche by offering integrated network and cloud services.
NTT Communications is the leader in the APAC telco cloud services market with the highest overall score based on four categories – cloud portfolio, data center footprints, software-defined infrastructure and supplemental services.
“Cloud products offered by telcos are comparable in terms of technical capabilities and ecosystem partners,” GlobalData analyst Alfie Amir said. “What differentiates NTT Communications from the rest is its wide footprint and presence in the region to address data residency and latency requirements, as well as its software-defined capabilities which offer better workload management and service orchestration,” he added.
Australia-based Telstra and France-based Orange Business Services are in second and third place. While these providers have similar capabilities to NTT Communications, they are slightly behind with their footprints in the region. However, they are rapidly closing the gap, with Orange Business Services having partnered with Huawei to drive expansion in the region – particularly in China, and Telstra recently announcing a partnership with Equinix for direct access to more infrastructure globally.
The initiatives by telco cloud providers to add software defined capabilities, expand their footprints and enhance service capabilities are in-line with enterprises’ digital transformation directions. Enterprises today are looking for cloud providers with extensive cloud portfolios, not just the traditional IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS, but also cloud-based IT services such as IoT platform, UCaaS, security and marketplace that offer various horizontal and vertical applications.
“The APAC cloud market is still growing fast as the market emerges, while the competition is getting more intense driven by the web-scale players,” Amir said. “Telcos need to continue to leverage their network strengths and at the same time, include latest technologies such as self-service tools, analytics and AI in their offerings to gain competitive advantage,” he added.
Above illustration courtesy of K-Hits which has a report on the global telecom cloud market.
Reference:
SP Telecom deploys VeloCloud/VMware’s SD-WAN technology in Singapore
SP Telecom has launched Singapore’s first software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN). It’s based on VMware NSX SD-WAN by VeloCloud which VMware acquired last year. This will provide businesses with a low latency wide-area network that is automated and infrastructure-independent, to deliver robust and more secure networking services. Coupled with SP Telecom’s network management and consultancy services, this collaboration will expand SP Telecom offerings to meet growing customer demand to more securely run, manage, and connect any application from cloud to device.
The new SD-WAN services will provide businesses with the ability to automate and prioritize business-critical traffic to travel over faster, more secure connections, as well as set backup options for downed traffic links. This optimization of high traffic volume that enables near real-time access to rapidly changing data, is a key benefit crucial for mission-critical industries such as telecommunications, financial services, and the media and entertainment verticals.
In a multi-cloud era, where businesses operate in an increasingly complex environment, VMware NSX SD-WAN combined with SP Telecom’s diverse and utility-base data network provides simplicity, enabling greater flexibility to:
- support virtualized services from the cloud, connecting branch offices and mobile users to any type of data centers such as enterprise, cloud, or software-as-a-service;
- enable bandwidth expansion economically;
- provide optimal connectivity and access to the cloud and on-premises;
- accelerate new site deployments through zero-touch automated deployment.
SP Telecom’s data network is truly diverse, with network paths running along the Singapore power grid, enabling network resiliency for business-critical functions. Furthermore, this data network is enhanced with superior latency performance for more efficient processes. This reduces the risk of outage that could occur due to power or active equipment failure. Part of its network consultancy services, SP Telecom analyses and optimizes the network to deliver cost savings and efficiency. The connectivity and consultancy services, bundled with the new SD-WAN offering, will enable businesses to innovate fast and more securely by delivering robust performance for cloud applications, all through zero-touch deployment, the automation of network infrastructure implementation. Velocloud says their SD-WAN reduces the branch office footprint with a single click with seamless insertion and chaining of virtualized services on premise and in the cloud.
SP Telecom has more than 1M km of fiber connecting more than 100 sub-stations (data centers and commercial buildings) in Singapore as per this graphic:
Figure above courtesy of SP Telecom
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“Smart and discerning businesses are competing to offer differentiated end-user experiences, and with advanced connectivity, they can go-to-market quickly and roll out new innovations to meet the changing demands of customers,” said Titus Yong, Chief Executive Officer of SP Telecom. “This is precisely why we are enhancing our portfolio with VMware’s NSX SD-WAN on VeloCloud, a game-changer that will provide our enterprise customers with the best-in-class network infrastructure that they need to sharpen their competitive edge and win in a digital era.”
NSX SD-WAN is touted by Velocloud as the industry-leading SD-WAN solution. One that enables customers to deliver better cloud and application performance with full visibility, metrics, control, and automation of all devices and user endpoints, and lower overall costs. VMware NSX SD-WAN provides an extensible platform for enterprises and telcos to integrate both on-premise and cloud services under the same consistent business policy framework. It’s said to eliminate data center backhaul penalties with a cloud-ready network to provide an optimized direct path to public and private enterprise clouds.
“We are shifting from a model of data centers to centers of data at the network’s edge. This new networking approach, virtual cloud networking, is required to manage the hyper-distribution of applications and data,” said Sanjay K. Deshmukh, vice president and managing director, Southeast Asia and Korea, VMware. “By deploying VMware SD-WAN by VeloCloud as part of a Virtual Cloud Network, SP Telecom can provide enterprise customers with consistent, pervasive connectivity and intrinsic security for applications, data, and users from the data centers to the cloud and the branch. VMware SD-WAN will enable their customers to streamline the digital transformation journey by providing superior application performance with significantly reduced network complexity,” he added.
References:
Gartner strategic roadmap for networking
The future-state network is an aspirational view of how enterprise network architectures should evolve to meet emerging business requirements and align more closely to critical business objectives.
The primary external forces driving network change are the adoption of digital business and the concept of “digital to the core.” This will result in increased adoption and investments in hybrid-cloud-based infrastructure, platform and application services to meet dynamic business requirements, and a greater focus on always-on service delivery to clients. Digital to the core will also drive IoT deployments to richer, more complex business models and processes, which will compound the pressure of increasing user expectations for consistently strong network performance, quality, reliability and security. This is overlaid with the fact that we anticipate increased pressure from the business to maintain flat networking budgets.
As expectations of greater network dynamism become the norm, network service providers will also follow suit with rapid delivery of new enterprise network services. These will be delivered through network function virtualization (NFV) capabilities, deployed on customer-located vCPE platforms, or within the service planning network, in next-generation, Central Office Re-architected as a Datacenter (CORD)-based architectures. We will see a continued trend to leverage software-based, virtualized network solutions deployed with enterprise networks — as xSP services and available as over-the-top (OTT) services from a growing number of players.
After decades of focusing on speed, network performance and features, future network innovation will target operational simplicity and business models that closely align with elastic cloud-based services. These services are becoming more prevalent in — and demanded by — organizations with strong digital transformation agendas. The evaluation of networking technology within the most successful enterprises will balance between functional, financial and operational requirements. Understanding when “good enough” is actually good enough will be critical to architecting networks that are ready for digital business.
Gartner Group: Enterprise WAN Recommendations & Predictions
Key Findings:
- As enterprises increasingly rely on the internet for WAN connectivity, they are challenged by the unpredictable nature of internet services.
- Enterprises seeking more agile WAN services continue to be blocked by network service providers’ terms and conditions.
- Enterprises seeking more agile network solutions continue to be hampered by manual processes and cultural resistance.
- Enterprise’s moving applications to public cloud services frequently struggle with application performance issue
Recommendations:
IT leaders responsible for infrastructure agility should:
- Reduce the business impact of internet downtime by deploying redundant WAN connectivity such as hybrid WAN for business-critical activities.
- Improve WAN service agility by negotiating total contractual spend instead of monthly or annual spend.
- Improve agility of internal network solutions by introducing automation of all operations using a step-wise approach.
- Ensure the performance of cloud-based applications by using carriers’ cloud connect services instead of unpredictable internet services.
- Improve alignment between business objectives and network solutions by selectively deploying intent-based network solutions.
NTT Com expands North American operations with PoP in Toronto, Canada
Japan’s NTT Communications has expanded its North American footprint with the establishment of a new point of presence (P0P) in Toronto, Canada.
NTT Com Group has more than 30 companies in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and the Americas.
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NTT Com will use the new PoP to scale its offerings to ISPs, content providers and cloud, hosting and CDN providers in the Canadian market.
The expansion of its global IP network footprint will also help the operator meet growing demand for IP services from global companies and organizations with a Canadian presence.
Michael Wheeler, executive vice president of the NTT Communications Global IP Network at NTT America, said the company plans to particularly target the nation’s financial services, commercial, distribution, media and industrial sectors.
“We are thrilled to extend our footprint into one of North America’s fastest growing technology hubs,” he said.
“Internet-centric businesses and organizations operating in the area will have direct access to our tier-1 global backbone and the high-performance IP solutions they need for their content, online video, hosting, gaming and other bandwidth-intensive applications,” he added.
About NTT Communications
NTT Communications solves the world’s technology challenges by helping enterprises overcome complexity and risk in their ICT environments with managed IT infrastructure solutions. These solutions are backed by our worldwide infrastructure, including industry leading, global tier-1 public and private networks reaching over 190 countries/regions, and more than 400,000m2 of the world’s most advanced data center facilities. Our global professional services teams provide consultation and architecture for the resiliency and security required for your business success, and our scale and global capabilities are unsurpassed. Combined with NTT Data, NTT Security, NTT DOCOMO and Dimension Data, we are NTT Group.
www.ntt.com | Twitter@NTT Com | Facebook@NTT Com | LinkedIn@NTT Com
About NTT Communications Global IP Network
Consistently ranked among the top networks worldwide, NTT Com’s Tier-1 Global IP Network covers North and South America, Asia, Europe and Oceania, and provides the best possible environment for content, data and video transport through a single autonomous system number (AS 2914).
NTT Com was recently named Best North American Wholesale Carrier at the Global Carrier Awards 2018 for the fifth consecutive year. The company has also won the Best Global Wholesale Carrier (Data) award twice in the last five years.
D-Link announces 5G NR Gateway, but not which “5G” networks it’s compatible with
D-Link’s DWR-2010 “5G NR” Enhanced Gateway is one of the first gateway available for pre standard 5G broadband networks. D-Link claims it delivers speeds up to 40x faster than typical fixed broadband speed in the U.S. The average U.S. fixed-line broadband speed is around 70Mbps, the company claimed, citing a Forbes report.
Editor’s Note:
D-Link has not revealed which pre-standard 5G network this device will be compatible with. One would assume it would be for fixed broadband wireless access, which Verizon already offers but that service is based on their V5GTF proprietary spec. Verizon has said it would transition its (fake) 5G fixed service to 5G NR (3GPP Release 15)in the near future but has not said when that might be. C-Spire also offers a proprieatary fixed 5G service, but again it’s not compatible with 5G NR. Hence, we wonder where this D-Link device could actually be used.
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“With expanded spectrum and new applications, 5G is going to bring more competition to the broadband market within the coming years,” said Raman Bridwell, vice president of product and services, D-Link Systems, Inc. “This gateway will help more people access that network in more places with the same wireline experience we have today.”
As “fake 5G” adoption accelerates within the coming year, more people may be turning to wireless carriers as their home internet provider. D-Link’s 5G gateway will help them take full advantage of the new wireless capability.
The DWR-2010 also offers customization options for service providers, making it suitable for deployment on a range of network configurations. The gateway features an embedded 5G NR (New Radio) NSA module and can operate on the sub-6 GHz or mmWave frequencies in 200 MHz (2 x 100 MHz) or 800 MHz (8 x 100 MHz) configurations. Complete with remote management (TR-069) and FOTA, the DWR-2010 provides hassle-free operation and a better customer experience.
Device Overview:
Embedded 5GNR NSA module (3GPP Rel.15)
◼ Qualcomm SDX55 Chipset
◼ Sub-6 GHz or mmWave frequency compatible
◼ 5 Ethernet Ports
• 1x 2.5Gbps LAN
• 1Gbps LAN
• 1x 1Gbps WAN/LAN
◼ AC2600 Dual Band Wi-Fi (800 + 1732 Mbps) with MU-MIMO
◼ 4 external antennas for LTE/5G NR
◼ Whole home coverage with D-Link Wi-Fi Mesh
◼ Auto Firmware Upgrade
◼ Supports VoLTE
◼ Supports Remote Management (TR-069)
Availability and Pricing
The 5G NR Enhanced Gateway will be available in the second half of 2019. Pricing will vary depending on preferred service providers (?).
About D-Link
D-Link designs, develops, and manufactures award-winning solutions for homes, businesses, and service providers. The global leader in connectivity implements and supports unified network solutions that integrate switching, wireless, broadband, IP Surveillance, and cloud-based network management. For more, visit us.dlink.com, or connect with D-Link on Facebook, Twitter, and D-Link’s Blog.