Windstream said it now has 3,200 SD-WAN customers representing over 27,000 endpoint locations.

Former Arris and CommScope exec comes aboard following recent departure of former Ribbon CEO Fritz Hobbs and Ribbon's merger with ECI.

Orange's Laurent Perrin says the uCPE is part of Orange's strategy to 'move in a new direction of merging the network and IT world.'

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Orange Egypt dons Red Hat for NFV; cable wars in Germany; ETSI launches fixed 5G group.

Providing open solutions that minimize vendor lock-in are keys to the continued growth of SD-WAN services, writes Heavy Reading's Jim Hodges.

The new cloud-based edge router, built on Intel's x86 architecture, is targeted at small and midsized businesses and distributed enterprises that want to migrate to SD-WAN on an open, virtualized platform.

Find out about the latest companies to have announced they won't be at this year's Mobile World Congress.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Deutsche Telekom tells Nokia to shape up; Orange to spend €1.5 billion on retraining exercise; Cellnex boosts coverage at Etihad Stadium.

This podcast examines how service providers are revamping their managed services and how Windstream is evolving from a traditional telco to a true managed services provider.

Light Reading/Heavy Reading and MEF have teamed up once again to launch a global SD-WAN Strategies Survey focused specifically on the opportunities for managed SD-WAN services offered by network operators to enterprise customers.

128 Technology, a startup founded by the founders and former officers of Acme Packet, aims to separate from the herd with a novel approach to SD-WAN by utilizing session-based routing.

A managed service provider offers thoughts on workplace collaboration and SD-WAN, two hot markets where enterprise spending is up, and the number and type of competitors is proliferating.

Formerly glam SDN startup does the walk of shame.

Cato says simple SD-WAN doesn't cut it anymore for enterprise customers, who need SD-WAN combined with security, mobile and cloud connectivity, delivered over the cloud. It's all about a new industry buzzword: Secure Access Service Edge (SASE).

VMware will acquire networking startup to extend SD-WAN optimization to the LAN, helping service providers build enterprise business.

SD-WAN, multicloud connectivity and security services are among the technologies CenturyLink will bring to bear for the agency's more than 65,000 employees, 280,000 volunteers and 2,400 operating locations.

Startup flexiWAN debuts customizable, open source SD-WAN software, to give service providers an alternative to reselling the same SD-WAN services as everybody else.

Masergy's Shadow IT Discovery service tracks 4,300 SaaS applications and provides insight into the risk level these applications present to customers' network security.

SD-WAN has emerged as the essential glue connecting services running in the public cloud, as well as emerging 5G and Internet of Things applications.

Cable operators are expanding their business services reach well beyond the traditional government, education and medical sectors to take in verticals like hospitality, agribusiness and even e-gaming.

Podcast: Service providers and their enterprise customers face new opportunities and challenges as SD-WAN moves from DIY to cloud service, says Sunil Khandekar, founder and CEO of Nokia's Nuage business unit.

Samir El Rashidy explains Multisourcing Service Integration (MSI) – Orange's approach to helping companies select and manage the right network services and technology suppliers.

David Strauss of Broadband Success Partners dives into new research that explores which new verticals, such as e-gaming and hospitality, will keep cable's business services engine humming in the years to come.

Charter Spectrum Enterprise's Satya Parimi discusses the cableco's rollout of SD-WAN and virtualized security services, the lessons learned and the challenges still ahead.

New Silver Peak automation tools are designed to help enterprises – and the service providers working on their behalf – deploy networks to hundreds of thousands of locations worldwide.

Light Reading's Alan Breznick and Jeff Baumgartner look at the future and past of cable business services.

Developed by a startup linked to the Comcast/NBCU Lift Labs incubator, an app running on a verrsion of X1 tailored for bars and restaurants enables patrons to play an interactive game based on making sports predictions.

Heavy Reading's Sterling Perrin discusses new SD-WAN research he presented at MEF19 in Los Angeles, and why it's significant that cloud providers aren't part of MEF (yet).

Edge computing, 5G and the cloud are drivers of and enablers of multivendor SD-WAN services, said Heavy Reading's Jennifer Clark, in a discussion about the progress of SD-WAN standardization.

Many enterprise customers want to operate their own SD-WAN, but they risk driving into a ditch.

Dunne explains why enterprises are interested in utilizing managed SD-WAN services to simplify deployment and continued management of the service.

On Day 2 of MEF19, Heavy Reading's Sterling Perrin highlights how MEF's carrier members are early adopters in SD-WAN. Meanwhile, Perrin, along with Heavy Reading's Jennifer Clarke discuss the implications of bringing cloud computing providers into the MEF ecosystem.

It's all about the people.

But if the industry at large supports MEF specifications and commits to certified SD-WAN services, how will service providers and vendors differentiate in an already crowded market?

Microsoft honcho says Office 365 transformed enterprise networks. Bold claim – but partly true.

The managed SD-WAN market is also predicted to exceed $6.5 billion by 2023 – a massive leap for such a new technology, says Honnachari.

Enterprise customers struggle with too many SD-WAN choices, says Robert Victor, Comcast Business SVP of product management.

By defining and certifying services and service providers, MEF aims to build SD-WAN's market momentum.

SD-WAN specialist launches suite of 'SmartServices' and introduces a regional connectivity option to complement its global network.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Orange turns to Fortinet for secure SD-WAN; ADVA interconnects in Austria; UK gets new 5G working group; BT combines with NHS on blood donation.

Is it a pizza or a pie? Light Reading's Mitch Wagner and Phil Harvey muse on fun food analogies, MEF's new SD-WAN certifications and why service providers need standards.

Light Reading's podcast features guest Sunil Khandekar, who examines where the SD-WAN market might be headed in 2020, as well as the potential impact of standards on the market.

Over 60% of 121 survey respondents listed 'better security' as a primary driver for managed SD-WAN services.

What did our analyst colleagues and fellow editors think of all the big booths, meetings and crowded corridors?

'This is the next big technology transformation in the communications world and I think it's going to completely upend some companies' business models.'

John Isch says today enterprises are demanding improved application performance and user experience for their SD-WAN services.

Teridion can now offer its enterprise customers a 'compliant' cloud-based SD-WAN service in mainland China.

The MEF 70 service attribute standard for the SD-WAN industry is good… but is it enough?

The groups, representing service providers and enterprises, are teaming on SD-WAN specifications to help telcos satisfy enterprise needs – and make money doing it.

Sanjay Srinivasan, Vonage VP and chief architect, talks with Light Reading's Mitch Wagner about the company's VoIP strategy and explains why SD-WAN is important to Vonage.

Bigleaf provides cloud-based SD-WAN as a service for small businesses with big connectivity needs, inspired by a conversation with a church IT director.

DALLAS -- Scott Irwin, senior director of SD-WAN for Frontier Communications, explains how Frontier's customers are increasingly moving to a more centralized managed SD-WAN platform.

Gunnar Peters from Spectrum Enterprise discusses how the company listens to customers and decides what services to offer next.

The SD-WAN vendor is looking to increase sales through service providers, as enterprises turn to SPs to outsource networking needs.

Big vendors' acquisition of SD-WAN specialists mean service provider and vendor interests are often at odds, says Orange Business Services' John Isch.

As the enterprise market stagnates for telcos, SD-WAN promises revenue growth.

As the editors recap Light Reading's event series on network functions virtualization (NFV) and software-defined networking (SDN), technologies like 5G and edge computing arrive just in time to hurry the industry along its path to more modern networks and add plenty of drama.

Aryaka launches SD-WAN service over the public Internet for cases where 'best effort' is good enough for enterprise connectivity, complementing its existing global, private network that offers guaranteed SLAs.

Light Reading editors Mitch Wagner, Kelsey Ziser and Phil Harvey gathered to empty their notebooks and recap the NV & SDN event at the Dallas Marriott Las Colinas.

Enterprises demand SD-WAN from telcos, and SD-WAN won't work without SDN, says Ray Watson, Masergy's innovation VP.

NFV has many naysayers, but it's alive, kicking and thriving, with SD-WAN as a significant catalyst.

Our series on the state of the SD-WAN market continues with a discussion on what's holding back some companies in the space and how standards and new technologies are advancing the cause of SD-WAN.

The MEF 70 standard looks to clarify the definition of SD-WAN and pave the way for carrier interoperability, certification and faster deployment times for SD-WAN services.

The satellite network operator is looking to the Open Networking Automaton Platform (ONAP) to automate connecting its space-based network with terrestrial operators.

In a recent podcast with Light Reading, John Isch discusses how Orange 'co-innovates' with SD-WAN customers, and shares several case studies on what this process looks like by describing collaborations with its SD-WAN customers Siemens and Sony.

As 5G takes off, service providers must plan ahead for its impact on SD-WAN. In addition, Ely says growing demand for 'co-managed' SD-WAN services creates challenges around scalability.

SES Networks is using Amdocs to implement the Open Network Automation Platform (ONAP) on Microsoft Azure, to allow its telco customers to seamlessly extend to SES's satellite service.

Light Reading's Kelsey Ziser discusses the world of SD-WAN, why there are so many vendors and whether enterprise 'white glove' services are handled by butlers.

AT&T's Rupesh Chokshi says the case for disaggregated routers at the edge goes beyond the usual examples of increased business agility, network visibility and performance.

QOS Networks' contract with the State of California is its first foray into the government space for SD-WAN.

Cato offers self-service, co-managed and now fully managed options for its cloud SD-WAN service.

Microsoft is partnering with eight managed service providers, including SD-WAN startup Aryaka, to connect enterprises with applications in the Azure cloud.

Ovum and Heavy Reading explain how MEF has stepped in to create SD-WAN specifications to provide clarity in the market, and how this service definition could impact the industry.

International wholesale operator wants to play a bigger role with enterprise customers but adding services such as data center interconnect and SD-WAN requires additional operational and business support tools.

In addition to kicking around the idea of 5G's impact on SD-WAN, Heavy Reading's Sterling Perrin shares insights on how the SD-WAN market might evolve this year.

Telcos need new ways to monitor their services and networks and some are turning to the open source community for inspiration.

Japanese operator pulls together multiple units to form a single international ICT service provider with annual revenues of $11 billion.

During Cisco's recent corporate trade event, Cisco Live, the company's CEO Chuck Robbins devoted roughly half an hour to a Q&A session with reporters, covering everything from Cisco's position on the world's geopolitical stage to the company's latest networking products.

Cisco's Jonathan Davidson is the chief executive of the company's service provider business. During the company's Cisco Live event, he offered some commentary on how Cisco is looking at the nascent but potentially explosive 5G opportunity, and how that might play into Cisco's business, including its SD-WAN activities.

Light Reading attended the recent Cisco Live event, where 28,000 people descended on San Diego's convention center to learn everything they could about Cisco's products and business strategy.

John Isch of Orange Business Services said the company is talking about SD-WAN with virtually all of its multinational clientele. However, he said the 5G part of that conversation is still at a very early stage.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Telefónica and Fortinet combine on Virtual Firewall service; Telia offers comfort to Swedish bus passengers; Orange connects Russian shipping fleet.

A visit to Vodafone UK's headquarters in Newbury reveals what's on the operator's mind – and it's not keen on the prospect of 6G...

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Huawei launches ad campaign as Trump tightens the UK's security thumbscrews; Scottish QoE specialist Ciqual acquired; Kinnevik divests shareholding in Millicom.

MEF creates a definition for SD-WAN and its attributes, so enterprises know what they're buying and service provides know what they should be selling.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Deutsche Telekom's honeypots highlight hacker horrorshow; Ericsson sets up 5G hub in Moscow.

Oracle sells to Asian telco Circles.Life; Microsoft partners with Sony on gaming; VMware acquires Bitnami for multicloud, and more telco cloud news this week.

Several privately held companies – including Versa Networks, CUJO AI, Synamedia and Pluribus Networks – have grown their businesses and set themselves up for success in the last 12 months.

Oracle, Momentum Telecom and Lumentum all made interesting, well-timed acquisitions, divestitures, partnerships and other deals in the past 12 months.

Find out which vendors devised the most innovative SD-WAN product or platform during the past year.

Aryaka's war chest now totals $184 million for its SD-WAN service, which runs on its own private network.

With momentum running strong in the SD-WAN market, the Leading Lights award for the 'Most Innovative SD-WAN Service' received a flood of entries.

CloudGenix says it provides an alternative to NFV for telcos and communications service providers looking for a platform to deploy services over the cloud.

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: German auction latest; US takes 'softer' approach on Huawei front; how the Notre-Dame fire confused YouTube's algorithm.

Juniper extends into a crowded market, but claims greater scalability and breadth than its competitors.

In addition to potentially increasing SD-WAN adoption, 5G could enable new use cases such as a network slice dedicated to SD-WAN.

Infovista refreshes its Ipanema SD-WAN. But can the underdog defeat giant incumbents like VMware and Cisco?

The SD-WAN specialist has a healthy bed of customers and partners but has yet to make a significant impact in Europe. It's looking to change that.

Aided by speed upgrades, the troubled company added 14,000 broadband subs in 2018, reversing the 45,000 losses it absorbed in the previous year.

AT&T Business Chief Product Officer Roman Pacewicz describes how edge computing, 5G and network virtualization are required for next-generation applications that can deliver new business opportunities for the operator.