Weekly Wrap for Jan. 24, 2020

Plus, IBM scores a $1B bank deal, and a former Verizon exec launches a new security startup

Big Switch will bolster Arista's enterprise play; IBM taps Red Hat as part of a bank IT overhaul; and Privafy goes after Palo Alto, VeloCloud.

Arista Networks Buys Big Switch

IBM Secures $1.1B Contract With Banco Sabadell

Verizon Exec Launches Privafy, Challenges Firewall, SD-WAN, VPN Vendors

SDxCentral Weekly Wrap Podcast Full Transcript

Today is January 24, 2019, and this is the SDxCentral Weekly Wrap where we cover the week’s top stories on next-generation IT infrastructure.

This week’s episode of the Weekly Wrap is sponsored by Silver Peak. Learn more about the Silver Peak SD-WAN solution.

Arista Networks is buying SDN vendor Big Switch Networks in a move that will fill a big hole in Arista’s current cloud portfolio.

Sources told SDxCentral that the deal is the biggest in Arista’s history, though exact financial terms were not known.

The deal will integrate Big Switch’s Big Monitoring Fabric hybrid cloud visibility and security product into Arista’s enterprise platform.

This is important as enterprise customers increasingly adopt multi-cloud environments and need tools to monitor and orchestrate workloads across their data centers and in public clouds.

It also puts Arista in a better position to more directly compete against Cisco and its multi-cloud play.

Sources noted that Big Switch had a long list of suitors it was speaking with over the past several months that wanted to bring its technology in house.

The interested parties included several incumbent networking players like Cisco, Dell Technologies, VMware, Juniper Networks, and Extreme Networks.

Big Switch previously partnered with Dell on its open networking product line, which takes aim at proprietary vendors including Arista and Cisco.

The deal is Arista’s third acquisition following its purchase of cloud-managed WiFi firm Mojo Networks and low-latency field programmable gate away provider Metamako in mid-2018.

IBM this week scored a 10-year, $1.1 billion contract to help Spain’s Banco Sabadell modernize its IT infrastructure and migrate its applications to the cloud.

The agreement calls for IBM to migrate the financial institution’s existing applications to a hybrid cloud environment while helping the company keep up with security and regulatory requirements.

IBM will leverage several assets from its recently acquired Red Hat business, including the Kubernetes-focused OpenShift platform.

This will allow the bank to deploy an on-container architecture, cloud-native applications,

Weekly Wrap for Jan. 17, 2020

Plus, a Citrix ADC, Gateway bug is on the loose, and AT&T will deploy 5G at Nellis Air Force Base

5G competition has been rough on Nokia; Citrix promises a bug fix by month-end; and AT&T's 5G is set to fly.

Nokia Cuts 180 Jobs With More to Come

Citrix ACD, Gateway Bug Gets Even Uglier

AT&T Wins 5G Contract for Nellis Air Force Base

SDxCentral Weekly Wrap Full Transcript

Today is January 17, 2019, and this is the SDxCentral Weekly Wrap where we cover the week’s top stories on next-generation IT infrastructure.

This week’s episode of the Weekly Wrap is sponsored by Silver Peak. Learn more about the Silver Peak SD-WAN solution.

Nokia this week announced plans to cut 180 jobs in its home country of Finland as it continues to streamline its operating expenses and hinted that more cuts could be on the way.

The vendor said the job cuts could begin as early as next week and are part of its ongoing attempt to slash $556 million in operational costs by the end of this year.

Nokia counts 6,000 employees in its home country and said that it hired around 370 employees in Finland last year.

Those hires came as part of a broader commitment to increase its investment in 5G technology and automation.

But first the vendor must get through its current slump that it forecast will last through the end of this year.

Company executives have blamed its reduced near-term outlook on high costs associated with its first generation 5G products, challenges in China, and pricing pressure in early 5G deals.

The company expects its recovery efforts to result in improved financial performance in 2021, but the reduced guidance contrasts with Nordic rival Ericsson, which is forecasting growth through 2020.

Nokia said it ended 2019 with 63 commercial 5G contracts.

Citrix this week admitted that a fix for a security flaw in its Application Delivery Controller and Gateway products might not be available until later this month.

The vulnerability is present in more than 25,000 servers and was initially discovered last month.

If exploited, the bug could allow an attacker to access private enterprise networks without authentication.

Threat researchers at Bad Packets that discovered the flaw said that most of the impacted servers are located in the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

They are being used by military and government systems, schools, hospitals and health care providers, utilities, financial institutions, and numerous Fortune 500 companies.

A pair of security research groups have already released proof-of-concept exploit code for the vulnerability.

Citrix’s chief information security officer explained in a blog post that patches for the bug...

Weekly Wrap for Dec. 20, 2019

Plus, Google expands its cloud security posture; and Cockroach Labs tests the cloud

The SD-WAN space has become a numbers game; Google Cloud gets more secure; and the cloud giants are all the same.

Fortinet Leapfrogs Cisco With 21,000 SD-WAN Customers

Google Cloud Beefs Up Security With Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet

Gap Narrows Between Azure, AWS, GCP in Cockroach Labs 2020 Report

SDxCentral Weekly Wrap Full Transcript

Today is December 20, 2019, and this is the SDxCentral Weekly Wrap where we cover the week’s top stories on next-generation IT infrastructure.

This week’s episode of the Weekly Wrap is sponsored by Silver Peak. Learn more about the Silver Peak SD-WAN solution.

Fortinet this week said its FortiGate Secure SD-WAN technology has been adopted by 21,000 customers, which happens to just outpace the adoption recently reported by rival Cisco.

The company’s customer count does line up with Gartner’s latest magic quadrant WAN (ran) edge report, which estimated Fortinet had approximately that many WAN edge customers.

However, that report suggested that Fortinet's customers were primarily leveraging the company’s next-generation firewall or unified threat management capabilities.

The vendor countered that concern by stating that its customer count reflects organizations that have specifically deployed the company’s SD-WAN technology.

The platform has enjoyed steady growth over the past year as the company has earned service provider contracts at a regular clip, including lucrative contracts with Telenor Sweden, SoftBank, and Orange Business Services.

Fortinet has also delivered a slew of integrations with leading public cloud providers Microsoft, Amazon, and most recently Google to bolster its cloud capabilities.

Google Cloud announced partnerships with a handful of vendors as part of its ongoing effort to beef up its security and attract more enterprise customers to its cloud platform and services.

Those vendors include Palo Alto Networks, McAfee, Qualys, and ForgeRock.

With Palo Alto Networks, Google is developing a multi-cloud security framework for its Anthos hybrid-cloud platform and multi-cloud Kubernetes deployments.

The McAfee deal is focused on endpoint security technology for Linux and Windows workloads, and for container security on Google Cloud infrastructure.

Qualys is adding its cloud-based security and compliance p...

Weekly Wrap for Dec. 13, 2019

Plus, VMware and Silver Peak top Gartner's WAN Edge ranking; and VMware is banking on vSphere to topple Red Hat

AWS' Outposts, Wavelengths are the nail in SD-WAN's coffin; Gartner favors VMware, Silver Peak WAN Edge; and VMware is targeting Red Hat's Kubernetes lead.

Aviatrix CEO: SD-WAN Is Dead. AWS Killed It

VMware, Silver Peak Lead SD-WAN Pack; Cisco, Riverbed Lose Ground

VMware vSphere Key to Slicing Red Hat’s Kubernetes Head Start

SDxCentral Weekly Wrap Full Transcript

Today is December 13, 2019, and this is the SDxCentral Weekly Wrap where we cover the week’s top stories on next-generation IT infrastructure.

This week’s episode of the Weekly Wrap is sponsored by Silver Peak. Learn more about the Silver Peak SD-WAN solution.

Aviatrix’s bombastic CEO Steve Mullaney said that Amazon’s recent announcements tied to its on-premises infrastructure and edge initiatives could spell the end of SD-WAN as we know it today.

The executive cited Amazon’s Outposts on-premises platform that the cloud giant recently launched on a commercial basis and its newly announced Wavelengths edge platform as two that could increase the cloud focus for SD-WAN.

Mullaney explained that those platforms will allow enterprises to shrink their own data centers that have typically been the home to their SD-WAN services.

Instead, enterprises will increase their reliance on public cloud providers to host the data center and networking components that make up those services.

Mullaney said that he expects Amazon’s cloud rivals Microsoft and Google will launch similar initiatives that will increase the opportunity for enterprises to migrate their SD-WAN services into the cloud.

He did note that such a drastic move might not happen for another five years, but that at this point it’s inevitable and that today’s SD-WAN iteration is dead.

Mullaney joined Aviatrix earlier this year claiming that the public cloud networking startup was going to aggressively take market share away from market stalwarts Cisco and VMware.

VMware and Silver Peak continued to lead Gartner’s ranking of the market’s top WAN Edge infrastructure providers, while Cisco and Riverbed lost ground.

Gartner’s Magic Quadrant rankings for 2019 had VMware and Silver Peak as the only inhabitants in the highly coveted “leaders” box in the market that is also closely tied to SD-WAN services.

Those two vendors were cited for having the most complete platform available to ...

Weekly Wrap for Dec. 6, 2019

Plus, Juniper jams SD-LAN control into its SD-WAN management platform, and AWS partners with Verizon at the edge

One former Google exec replaces another at Juniper; enterprises gain a new SD-branch management option; and Verizon gets on AWS' wavelength.

Juniper CTO Bikash Koley Calls It Quits

Juniper SD-WAN Now Handles SD-LAN

AWS, Verizon Launch 5G Partnership at re:Invent

SDxCentral Weekly Wrap Full Transcript

Today is November 22, 2019, and this is the SDxCentral Weekly Wrap where we cover the week’s top stories on next-generation IT infrastructure.

This week’s episode of the Weekly Wrap is sponsored by Silver Peak. Learn more about the Silver Peak SD-WAN solution.

Juniper Networks named a new CTO that will see the vendor exchange one former Google executive for another.

The company noted in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing late last month that Bikash Koley would leave his CTO role effective January 3.

Juniper followed up that discrete announcement with an official press release this week touting the hiring of Raj Yavatkar to that position.

Yavatkar is currently an IEEE Fellow and previously headed the development of network virtualization infrastructure and products for cloud networking at Google.

Prior to Google, Yavatkar held leadership roles at VMware and Intel.

Koley joined Juniper from Google in 2017.

The hire was quite a coup for the networking vendor, which at the time had seen declining router and security business revenue and struggled to sell its technology strategy.

During his tenure with the cloud giant, Koley designed Google’s production network infrastructure, spanning data center, backbones, optical, and the content edge.

His team also oversaw Google’s SDN evolution.

After jumping ship for Juniper, he said his strategy was to make the network simple using automation and orchestration across a multi-cloud environment.

Like his predecessor, Yavatkar will be tasked with advancing Juniper’s strategy of enabling highly automated, artificial intelligence-driven networks.

Juniper this week also announced that its SD-WAN management console now includes support for its SD-LAN service that provides enterprises with a simplified approach to managing their SD-branch deployments.

The SD-WAN enhancement allows users to now provision Juniper’s EX Series switches to manage LAN fabrics and configure LAN virtualization and security policies similar to how they control their SD-WAN environment.

This should reduce the cost and complexity of managing those environments.

The newly enhanced portal can also be used to show Mist wireless access points and launch the Mist cloud product to provisio...

Weekly Wrap for Nov. 22, 2019

Plus, Nokia expanded its software platform to Amazon, and Google acquired CloudSimple

The burgeoning SASE market lures another entrant; Nokia strengthens its software ties to Amazon; and Google bought VMware-migrator CloudSimple.

Palo Alto Networks Leaps Into SASE Market

AWS Absorbs More of Nokia’s 5G-Focused Software Platform

Google Buys CloudSimple, Challenges VMware Cloud on AWS

SDxCentral Weekly Wrap Full Transcript

Today is November 22, 2019, and this is the SDxCentral Weekly Wrap where we cover the week’s top stories on next-generation IT infrastructure.

This week’s episode of the Weekly Wrap is sponsored by Silver Peak. Learn more about the Silver Peak SD-WAN solution.

Palo Alto Networks is the latest vendors to jump into the burgeoning secure access service edge bandwagon.

The security vendor’s SASE bid is through a cloud-based SD-WAN and data loss prevention service that ties into its Prisma Access platform.

The company said that the combination delivers an end-to-end networking and security service from a distributed platform that is based in the cloud.

This aligns with Gartner’s SASE definition that states such platforms stitch together elements of edge computing, security, and wide-area networking into a single cloud-managed package.

Palo Alto Networks explained that its SASE platform is different from competing SD-WAN offerings that compromise on security, add complexity, and deliver unpredictable performance when users are accessing cloud applications.

The vendor also revamped its Panorama management console to allow for easier and more consistent application of security policies, and a rebuilt workflow for configuring and managing a SASE deployment.

Others that have recently entered the nascent space include VMware, Cato Networks, Infoblox, and Open Systems.

Nokia expanded the availability of its Common Software Foundation platform to Amazon Web Services.

The vendor claims that the expansion is its first step toward delivering cloud native network functions and applications to help operators deploy 5G and digital services.

The engineering collaboration will focus on 5G platforms like mobile core, network and service orchestrion, device management, and operational support systems.

It will also push all of Nokia’s cloud-native network functions and applications to Amazon once they are released.

Nokia currently offers customer experience, service fulfillment, and orchestration services through the cloud giant.

Nokia explained that operators are increasingly looking to tap public cloud options to bolste...

Weekly Wrap for Nov. 15, 2019

Plus, Juniper tackles network monitoring, analytics, and troubleshooting, and Dell Technologies embraces an on-demand pricing model

Juniper enhances its Mist AI platform and launches a new Contrail Insights option; and Dell gives customers three ways to pay.

Juniper Guns for Cisco, Aruba With Mist AI

Juniper Targets VMware, Data Center Complexity With Contrail Insights

Michael Dell: The Future of Tech Is Autonomous

SDxCentral Weekly Wrap Full Transcript

Today is November 15, 2019, and this is the SDxCentral Weekly Wrap where we cover the week’s top stories on next-generation IT infrastructure.

This week’s episode of the Weekly Wrap is sponsored by Silver Peak. Learn more about the Silver Peak SD-WAN solution.

Juniper Networks extended its Mist artificial intelligence engine to wired networks in a move that bolsters its competitive position against similar platforms from rivals Cisco and Aruba.

The Mist platform now provides AI-powered service assurance to both wireless and wired networks within an enterprise.

It does this by feeding switch telemetry data into the Mist microservices-based cloud and AI engine that can measure the user experience and provide performance metrics for IoT endpoints.

It can also detect anomalies and proactively alert administrators when there is a deviation in switch performance.

The wired integration also allows the AI engine to identify root cause of wired and wireless problems and can automate the remediation process.

The launch is Juniper’s first step into what it calls the AI-driven enterprise space that will use AI and automation to troubleshoot and self-correct across the entire IT environment.

The company explained that this means that wireless access, wired access, data centers, SD-WAN, and security will overlap in an IT environment.

A Juniper executive also noted that the company’s Mist platform has captured large customers from rivals Cisco and Aruba, including the Orlando VA Medical Center, Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort, and the University of Texas at Dallas.

Juniper this week also launched its Contrail Insights platform that tackles network monitoring, analytics, and troubleshooting to deal with growing complexity within private cloud data centers.

The platform integrates real-time and historical data, troubleshooting analysis, and overlay and underlay correlation.

Customers can then use machine learning to see the entire data center and identify localized issues,

Weekly Wrap for Nov. 8, 2019

Plus, Amazon moves on Spain cloud data center, and Microsoft unveils multi-cloud Arc platform

Security and SD-WAN are Fortinet’s focus; Amazon is bolstering its Spain presence; and Microsoft Arc branches across clouds.

Fortinet Fortifies Firewall, SD-WAN Capabilities

AWS to Open Cloud Data Centers in Spain

Microsoft Azure Arc Arcs Data Across AWS, Google Cloud

SDxCentral Weekly Wrap Podcast Full Transcript

Today is November 8, 2019, and this is the SDxCentral Weekly Wrap where we cover the week’s top stories on next-generation IT infrastructure.

This week’s episode of the Weekly Wrap is sponsored by Silver Peak. Learn more about the Silver Peak SD-WAN solution.

Fortinet updated the performance of its firewall platform to better support the networking and security requirements of SD-WAN services.

That firewall platform includes a new security processor that supports security compute rates up to 15-times better than the industry average.

The specially designed chip also provides security gains over platforms that typically leverage generic CPUs for security.

Fortinet claims the new firewall allows customers to get around the bandwidth and latency challenges that hamper many SD-WAN deployments without compromising on security.

The hardware also consolidates security functions as well as routing and SD-WAN into a single appliance.

Fortinet was recently ranked as the number four SD-WAN vendor by IHS Markit based on appliance and software revenue.

Amazon said it will open cloud data centers in Spain in late 2022 or early 2023.

The new region will include three availability zones at launch, and it will be the cloud giant’s seventh region in Europe.

The company already has regions in Dublin, Frankfurt, London, Paris, Stockholm, and will launch a new Milan region early next year.

It currently provides 69 availability zones across 22 infrastructure regions worldwide.

In addition to Spain, Amazon plans to build 13 more availability zones and three more regions in Indonesia, Italy, and South Africa.

The company already has two edge locations and two offices in Madrid as well as an office in Barcelona.

An Amazon executive noted that developers in those two cities are already using its cloud platform to build applications that span retail management, entertainment, analytics for online advertising, investment recommendations, and social scoring.

Amazon currently holds about 40 percent of the worldwide public cloud market share, which is more than the next three cloud providers combined.

Those smaller rivals include Microsoft, Google, and Alibaba.

Microsoft launched its Azure Arc platform that extends its Azure control plane across rival cloud provider and on-premises locations.

SDxCentral Weekly Wrap for Nov. 1, 2019

Plus, HPE takes on VMware with AI-powered HCI, and Verizon touts 5G scenarios amid "worrisome signs"

Cisco’s calls IBN the next “IT girl” of networking; HPE Takes On VMware; Verizon, SAP announced joint effort to drive digital transformation

Cisco Networking Trends Report: ‘Intent-Based Networking Is Coming’

HPE Takes On VMware With AI-Powered HCI

Verizon Touts 5G Scenarios Amid ‘Worrisome Signs’

SDxCentral Weekly Wrap Podcast Full Transcript

Today is November 1, 2019, and this is the SDxCentral Weekly Wrap where we cover the week’s top stories on next-generation IT infrastructure.  

This episode of the SDxCentral Weekly Wrap is sponsored by Silver Peak.

Cisco’s 2020 Global Networking Trends Report says intent-based networking will be the next big thing in the coming years.

Intent-based networking is the concept of managing a network, end-to-end, on one interface through the use of DevOps and software-defined networking, or SDN.

The idea is that SDN provides a natural, solid foundation for an IT infrastructure evolution where added DevOps capabilities will afford network operators more control over network operations.

Cisco conducted a web-based survey of 505 IT leaders and 1,566 network strategists across 13 countries. It asked about the current state of their networks, their network aspirations over the next two years, and their network operational and talent readiness. 

The survey found maximizing business value to be IT’s number 1 priority with 40 percent of respondents naming it their top concern.

While only 28 percent of respondents indicated having implemented SDN or intent-based networking, 78 percent expect their networks to move beyond SDN or intent-based networking within the next two years. Likewise, only 4 percent indicated that their currently deployed networks are intent-based, and 35 percent plan to be within two years.

Of course, Cisco has a vested interested in promoting intent-based networking. The vendor first announced its efforts in July 2017 and has since rolled out these capabilities across its entire networking portfolio.

The next phase of software-defined infrastructure is artificial intelligence- powered hyperconverged infrastructure, according to Hewlett Packard Enterprise.

To this end, the vendor this week started shipping its HCI product SimpliVity with Infosight, its AI management tool.

HPE also added one-click HCI cluster upgrades and integration with its data protection software.

HPE expects these new AI based capabilities to help it gain market share in the hotly contested HCI sector. 

Dell EMC, running VMware software, remains the largest HCI supplier with $533.2 million in revenue and a 29.2 percent market share, according to IDC’s latest quarterly report.

HPE,

Weekly Wrap for Oct. 25, 2019

Plus, Amazon moves into data centers with VMware, and Red Hat powers IBM's Q3 results

Pensando wants to democratize the cloud; Amazon continues its enterprise push; and will Red Hat justify its price tag?

Ex-Cisco Execs Launch Pensando, Target Amazon

Amazon Moves Into Data Centers With VMware

Red Hat Shields IBM’s Woeful Q3

SDxCentral Weekly Wrap Podcast Full Transcript

Today is October 25, 2019, and this is the SDxCentral Weekly Wrap where we cover the week’s top stories on next-generation IT infrastructure.

This week’s episode of the Weekly Wrap is sponsored by Silver Peak. Learn more about the Silver Peak SD-WAN solution.

A handful of former Cisco executives finally unveiled their long-simmering plans to take on Amazon’s dominance in the cloud space.

Those efforts are based on Pensando Systems, which is the brainchild of Silicon Valley legends Mario Mazzola, Prem Jain, Luca Cafiero , and Soni Jiandani.

Former Cisco CEO John Chambers is also an investor in the venture and was named chairman of the company’s board.

Pensando is offering a distributed service platform that provides programmable, software-defined cloud, compute, networking, storage, and security services.

More importantly, they claim the platform is cloud and infrastructure agnostic, and that it outperforms Amazon’s internally used Nitro product.

Hardware for the platform includes a programmable distributed services card that can be installed in any server and scales linearly.

This allows customers to offer a number of software-defined services simultaneously, while freeing up more expensive hardware resources like general-purpose CPU cycles.

It’s also compatible with virtual machines, bare-metal servers, and containerized workloads.

The platform includes a lifecycle management tool that applies policies from a central location across all active nodes running in clouds and on-premises infrastructure.

And it can perform in-service software upgrades and provide always-on telemetry and visibility across the entire infrastructure.

Rumors of the venture first surfaced in 2017, and it has already raised $278 million in funding.

Amazon recently launched the commercial version of its Relational Database Service that runs in data centers using VMware.

The RDS platform allows customers to deploy the public cloud-native database in their on-premises VMware-based data centers.

This will support self-provisioning of databases; the ability to scale compute, storage, and memory for those databases; and deploy in high-availability configurations by replicating to different VMware clusters.