According to IDC the Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) infrastructure market is set for rapid growth-- with revenues for the 2017-2022 period reaching $4.5 billion at a CAGR of 40.4%.
SD-WAN is defined as architecture leveraging a hybrid WAN using at least 2 or more connection types (MPLS, broadband internet, 3G/4G). It includes a centralised application-based policy controller providing intelligent path selection, alongside an optional forwarder for router capability.
"The emergence of SD-WAN technology has been one of the fastest industry transformations we have seen in years. Organisations of all sizes are modernising their Wide Area Networks to provide improved user experience for a range of cloud-enabled applications," the analyst says. "Incumbent networking vendors have quickly realigned their routing and WAN optimization portfolios to take on the growing cadre of startups in this market. Enabled by a rapid uptake across the service provider domain, SD-WAN infrastructure will continue to grow rapidly in the coming years, providing a beachhead for other software-defined networking and security functions in the enterprise branch."
SD-WAN infrastructure revenues are up by 83.3% in 2017, reaching $833 million. The market is currently very competitive, with traditional networking vendors looking into M&A strategies to either complement existing offerings or gain a foothold in the market. Cisco currently holds the largest share of the market, thanks to an extensive routing portfolio used in SD-WAN deployments, as well as Meraki offerings and August 2017 acquisition Viptela.
VMware is the 2nd biggest SD-WAN infrastructure market, in part due the December 2017 acquisition of VeloCloud, followed by Silver Peak, Riverbed, Aryaka and Versa.
