A software-defined approach to wide-area networking is seeing an increased interest among organizations.
A new study released by Riverbed Technology shows that 77% of survey respondents said that their organizations are at some level of participation with software-defined networking solutions within their data center (SDN), including 13% that have already deployed SDN.
The survey found that 29% are exploring similar architectures for their remote branch office locations (SD-WAN), including nearly 5% who have fully implemented SD-WAN solutions today.
The top three drivers for adopting a software-defined approach to networking in order of importance are (1) being able to deploy new applications and services more quickly (7% said this was somewhat/extremely important), (2) reducing costs (69% of those pursuing) and (3) reducing mistakes when deploying applications and services (68%).
“The new Riverbed Software-Defined survey shows that with the increasing complexity in today’s hybrid IT environments, organizations seek better ways to have full visibility and deliver applications across their distributed enterprise,” said Paul O’Farrell, senior vice president and general manager of the SteelHead and SteelFusion business units at Riverbed Technology.
“With the rise of SaaS applications, coupled with an insatiable demand for more bandwidth, traditional approaches to wide-area networking no longer meet the needs of business. The emerging area of SD-WAN allows applications to be delivered securely and optimally across hybrid networks and hybrid clouds with reduced cost, increased speed/agility and streamlined management.”
He said Riverbed expects that over the next 3-5 years many organizations will deploy a SD-WAN solution as a modern replacement for traditional branch networking solutions.