FEATURE: SDN
S
oftware-defined networking
seeks to address the lack of
agility found in existing networks.
Applications are increasingly virtualised
and distributed, and need to support
rapid and continuous delivery, driving
a shift in communication needs within
the data centre, and transforming
IT infrastructure. Software-defined
networking simplifies and accelerates
the deployment of applications, reduces
IT costs and operational errors, and
helps make businesses more agile.
As the number of people, devices,
machines and sensors coming online
across IoT, MEA organisations require
new capabilities to lead in the delivery
of value-added, cloud-based services
and applications. Network Function
Virtualisation and software-defined
networking are the popular software-
based approaches that enterprises and
service providers are using to design,
deploy and manage their networks
and services.
According to a recent IDC forecast, the
global software-defined networking
market, which comprises physical
network infrastructure, virtualisation
control software, software-defined
networking applications, and
professional services, will be worth
nearly $12.5 billion in 2020 with a
CAGR of 53.9% from 2014 to 2020.
“Software-
defined
networking
seeks to
address
the lack of
agility found
in existing
networks.”
www.intelligentcio.com
(Left to right) Alexandre Gibouin, International Business Development,
Connectivity Business Unit, Indirect Africa, Middle East, Russia Region, Orange
Business Services; Mike Winder, Senior Vice President of Customer Service
and Operations, Tata Communications; and Mohannad Abuissa, Head of Sales
Engineering East Region, Cisco Middle East
The Africa and Middle East software-
defined networking market is estimated
to grow from $5.1 million in 2013 to
$118.0 million by 2019 at a CAGR of
77.3% according to a report by the
Micromarket Monitor. Software-defined
networking is expected to see an
increased uptake in 2017 from service
providers and enterprises.
Organisations that have embraced
cloud or virtualisation in their data
centre environment or have started the
journey down that path are the ones
that benefit most from software-defined
networking, as it gives the customers the
promise of achieving in their network
what virtualisation has given them in
the data centre. The increased emphasis
on cloud computing is placing new
demands on the network. For cloud
services to be seamless, the underlying
network must be intelligent, carrier-class
and virtualised.
Gains from Cisco approach
Software-defined networking
deployment is based on three factors:
industry segment, complexity of the
network, and culture of the organisation.
Software-defined networking is especially
effective for sectors like banking and
telecommunications, which have several
hundred locations and complex networks.
CEOs must have discussions to decide
which time is best for transitioning to
software-defined networking.
“According to internal research, we have
found our customers who have deployed
Cisco Application Centric Infrastructure
have greater business agility by
reducing network provisioning by 58%,
lowered capital expenses by reducing
capital expenditure by 25%, reduced
management costs by 21%, lowered
operating costs with a 45% reduction in
power and cooling costs, and increased
optimisation of computing and storage
by 10-20%,” says Mohannad Abuissa,
Head of Sales Engineering East Region,
Cisco Middle East.
“The telecoms sector is leading the
way when it comes to verticals and
it is the networking vendors when it
comes to the IT sector. Academia and
the scientific research community have
also successfully applied software-
defined networking to facilitate
data sharing across institutions, and
to deploy new types of distributed
computing applications. Globally,
large institutions, universities, and
governments are adopting converged
data centre architectures to optimise
application availability while reducing
costs, and we expect the Africa and
Middle East region to accelerate
adoption of software-defined
networking,” adds Abuissa.
Software-defined networking simplifies
and accelerates the deployment of
applications, reduces IT costs and
operational errors, and helps make
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