The rise of virtualization introduced the software-defined data center. Three pillars—server virtualization, software-defined networking and software-defined storage—created a new paradigm in which software took control of the entire data center operation thanks to its much more flexible and adaptable nature. The move empowered companies with speed and nimbleness that was unfathomable before, leaving them adequate time and resources to concentrate on the applications that drive business while the agile software layer did all the heavy lifting for them. It also allowed them to deliver the fourth pillar of a software-defined data center—a modernized security model.

Key highlights from this report include:

• Software-defined data center architecture enables companies like Google and Facebook to expand and contract their webscale infrastructures seamlessly while delivering a reliable service.
• Non-webscale enterprises are increasingly looking to replicate this approach for their own data center infrastructures.
• Regulatory compliance mandates, performance, and security considerations may prevent some organizations from using the public cloud for some or all of their applications.
• In applying the software-defined approach to private infrastructure, organizations have two choices: build their own solutions from individual components or leverage a turnkey solution.

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Wide-area networking (WAN), the part of the enterprise network between applications and end-users, is traditionally slow, expensive, and inflexible — and hence, ripe for innovative new approaches. SDN is broadly applicable to other parts of the networking requirement, so offering up a pool of resources that can be programmatically controlled by software should be explored in different contexts and settings.

This report lays out a conceptual approach whereby SDN can be applied to the WAN to drive cost savings, agility, and flexibility for enterprise customers. It will help IT executives and network teams understand how the growing SDN trend permits more flexible networking and agile IT departments.

Key findings include:

• SDN has been applied to problems with data-center networking, but is also applicable to comparable peripheral services.
• WAN deployments are typically complex to configure and deploy, inflexible, and offer a low return on investment.
• Applying the SDN framework to WAN deployment increases flexibility and decreases costs.

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This report is aimed at both enterprise IT practitioners as well as data-center operators, and gives the audience some historical background, technical context, and specific issues to think about when in SDN.

Key highlights from this report include:

• SDN is a trend of growing importance to anyone involved in data-center design, management, or utilization. Almost every technology vendor in the networking arena now has an “SDN story.”
• SDN is a disruptor to traditional networking approaches. However, a hybrid approach towards SDN delivers real benefits for organizations with existing networking assets.
• In this early stage, not surprisingly, SDN has some barriers to adoption. A hybrid approach that embraces smaller proof-of-concept trials while looking at broader deployment is the best way to approach the SDN opportunity.

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Rather than be drowned by the feeling of impending doom, however, organizations should look to cloud computing, the promise of big data, and new approaches for research and development such as crowdfunding to remain competitive, increase efficiency, and generate new business.

In times of change, opportunities for disruption abound. Using these new technologies as well as embracing a culture of agility will help ameliorate the risk of disruption for existing businesses and give new organizations opportunities to prove to be a disruptor in the marketplace.

Key highlights in the report include:

• Several technologies and macro trends threaten traditional organizations with disruption while offering new businesses ways to disrupt the existing vendor status quo. Examples abound of disruption occurring on an almost daily basis. This is both a threat and an opportunity.
• If organizations ignore the changes swirling around them, they will be threatened over time. Similarly, if firms don’t leverage the newer technologies and approaches, they will find it increasingly difficult to gain traction.
• Big data, cloud computing, and crowdsourcing approaches give new as well as established organizations the ability to create new products, increase their efficiencies, and deliver better products, services, and outcomes for their customers. But while big data introduces opportunities, it also creates challenges that need to be overcome.
• Organizations need to increasingly be innovative and improve their agility. In order to do so there is a move toward large enterprises mimicking the way the lean startup works and introducing similar approaches to the way it creates ideas.
• At the same time, organizations are increasingly looking outside the firm for new innovations and ideas, and there are many examples of existing businesses moving much of their R&D outside the traditional organizational confines.
• All of these technology shifts create a multitude of valuable insights that are just waiting to be harvested. While facing a fundamentally new way of doing business may seem challenging at first, firms considering this a time of exciting opportunities will be well-placed to take advantage of the opportunities.
• By leveraging new technologies, creating a more collaborative corporate culture, and focusing on opportunities to differentiate, firms can remain relevant and prosper and meet the needs of their various stakeholders.

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