Aryaka, Cradlepoint, FatPipe Could Go Public in 2018

The outlook for software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) is growth, growth, growth.

Futuriom’s Scott Raynovich

A study by Futuriom says the revenue for SD-WAN tools and “network as a service” (NaaS) will reach nearly $1 billion by 2019 and grow to $1.6 billion by 2021. That’s a growth rate of more than 30 percent over the next five years, largely driven by a demand for cloud-based networking.

“A revolution is happening in the way that enterprises buy and consume information technology (IT) services. It’s called cloud,” writes Futuriom founder and chief analyst Scott Raynovich, who authored the report. “Cloud is not only changing the way that consumers and business professionals purchase technology, it’s changing the way networking connectivity is delivered. This is driving growth in in the [SD-WAN] market.”

The study evaluated the top SD-WAN vendors and predicted that at least four of them will hit $100 million in revenue in 2018.The “Tier 1” vendors include Aryaka, Cisco/Viptela, Cradlepoint, FatPipe Networks, and Silver Peak, Futuriom said. The study made a bold prediction: At least two SD-WAN vendors will go public in 2018. Aryaka, Cradlepoint, and FatPipe are companies Futuriom says are closest to filing an IPO. The study forecasts that plenty of the aforementioned SD-WAN companies could be strong acquisition targets.

“This new category of technology tools and services is expected to dominate growth in the market for enterprise communications services over the next decade,” Raynovich said. “With SD-WAN, complexities in buying network services, such as configuring branch-office devices, routing schemes and network addresses, is abstracted by software into the cloud and managed by the service provider, rather than the enterprise. In addition, service providers can bundle network management with connectivity, providing many opportunities in value-added services.”

You can read about Cisco’s acquisition of Viptela and how VeloCloud thinks the purchase will affect the market. Panelists at Channel Partners Evolution will instruct partners on the ins and outs of implementing SD-WAN.