U.K. Enterprises See SDN as Tool for Agility, Flexibility

ISG Provider Lenstm report sees U.K. businesses exploring vendor-agnostic solutions and the advantages SDN technologies can provide

LONDON, Aug. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Enterprises in the U.K. are looking to software-defined networking and related technologies as a way to become more agile and flexible while meeting the growing needs of critical applications, according to a new report published today by Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a leading global technology research and advisory firm.

The 2019 ISG Provider Lenstm Network ? Software Defined Solutions and Services U.K. Report finds some U.K. enterprises embracing SDN technologies, even as others are hesitant due to the complexity and hype surrounding the technology. Many enterprises are seeking an agile and step-by-step approach to move from traditional to automated and, finally, autonomous networking technologies, the report says.

The report also sees data centers driving adoption of SDN-related technologies, focused more on mobility and agility than on business case. Still, some enterprises see challenges with architectural complexity, vendor restrictions, troublesome migration and application mobility and portability constraints when moving to SDN-related technologies, the report says.

Vendor lock-ins, in particular, are still plaguing the SDN market in the U.K., the report says. Some networking technology providers are exploring vendor-agnostic solutions, and this change will make it easier for customers to leverage their existing investments while exploring SDN technologies.

Many U.K. enterprises recognize the advantages of SDN and the related network function virtualization technology, the report says. SDN can improve the application hosting landscape because multi-cloud network collaboration is necessary to cater to new network collaboration environments. Vendors are crafting SDN solutions to provide networks that offer centralized controllers to support unified visibility into the entire network infrastructure.

"The network is moving toward virtualization," said Barry Matthews, partner and head of ISG U.K. "Virtual network functions are key to unlocking meaningful automation and orchestration, and SDN-related technologies improve agility by completely doing away with racking and stacking devices."

In addition, telecom service providers are using SDN technologies to address customer preferences for mobile network service over Wi-Fi, the report says. A move toward 5G mobile services is driving customers to consider SDN to reduce the time it takes to transition from 4G networking.

SDN also helps enterprise customers reduce costs by prioritizing applications based on the bandwidth required, the report says. SDN allows customers to re-route the required bandwidth needed to balance application priorities.

Many providers of networking products and services are involved in SDN-related pilot projects and are regularly converting them to production-level deployments, the report adds. Many networking vendors are embracing SDN products as a way to improve their positioning in the marketplace.

The 2019 ISG Provider Lenstm Network ? Software Defined Solutions and Services U.K. Report evaluates the capabilities of 51 providers across seven quadrants: Managed WAN Services; Mobile Network (4G/5G) Additional (non-core) Services; SDN Transformation Services (Consulting and Implementation); SD-WAN Equipment and Services (DIY); SDN Security Services; SD Network Technologies (Core), and SD Network Technologies (Mobile to Edge).

The report names IBM and Orange Business Services as leaders in all seven quadrants, and T-Systems and Vodafone as leaders in six. BT is named a leader in five quadrants, HCL a leader in four, and Cisco, Infosys and Wipro as leaders in three. TCS is named as a leader in two quadrants and Dell EMC, Tech Mahindra and VMWare are named leaders in one.

Customized versions of the report are available from T-Systems and Wipro.

The 2019 ISG Provider Lenstm Network ? Software Defined Solutions and Services U.K. Report is available to ISG Insightstm subscribers or for one-time purchase on this webpage.

About ISG Provider Lenstm Research

The ISG Provider Lenstm Quadrant research series is the only service provider evaluation of its kind to combine empirical, data-driven research and market analysis with the real-world experience and observations of ISG's global advisory team. Enterprises will find a wealth of detailed data and market analysis to help guide their selection of appropriate sourcing partners, while ISG advisors use the reports to validate their own market knowledge and make recommendations to ISG's enterprise clients. The research currently covers providers offering their services globally, across Europe and Latin America, as well as in the U.S., Germany, the U.K., the Nordics and Brazil, with additional markets to be added in the future. For more information about ISG Provider Lens research, please visit this webpage.

The series is a complement to the ISG Provider Lens Archetype reports, which offer a first-of-its-kind evaluation of providers from the perspective of specific buyer types.

About ISG

ISG (Information Services Group) (Nasdaq: III) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 700 clients, including more than 70 of the top 100 enterprises in the world, ISG is committed to helping corporations, public sector organizations, and service and technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster growth. The firm specializes in digital transformation services, including automation, cloud and data analytics; sourcing advisory; managed governance and risk services; network carrier services; strategy and operations design; change management; market intelligence and technology research and analysis. Founded in 2006, and based in Stamford, Conn., ISG employs more than 1,300 digital-ready professionals operating in more than 20 countries?a global team known for its innovative thinking, market influence, deep industry and technology expertise, and world-class research and analytical capabilities based on the industry's most comprehensive marketplace data. For more information, visit www.isg-one.com.

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