CenturyLink Launches Hybrid SD-WAN Offerings

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CenturyLink is rolling out managed software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) packages that will serve hybrid environments.

The communications provider says the services will facilitate traffic flow across private MPLS networks and broadband Internet connections. “Application-aware routing” uses information like application requirements and network latency to decide which path the workloads should take.

Members of the CenturyLink Alliance Advantage partner program can sell the solution.

CenturyLink’s John DeLozier

John DeLozier, CenturyLink’s vice president of channel alliances, says partners are now better equipped to help customers that have a single service provider and need hybrid WAN.

“With CenturyLink Managed Hybrid SD-WAN solutions, our partners can now offer their customers complete, ‘as-a-service’ hybrid SD-WAN offerings with CenturyLink providing the SD-WAN platform and management, along with transport (MPLS and broadband Internet) and management of the entire WAN for a single bundled price,” DeLozier told Channel Partners.

Troy Trenchard, CenturyLink’s vice president of product management, says the new offerings will bring businesses security and high performance for their cloud-hosted applications.
“Businesses are looking to evolve their networks to better support their mission-critical business and cloud initiatives,” Trenchard said. “Our Managed Hybrid SD-WAN solutions enable businesses to leverage their existing investments in MPLS while adding next-generation network capabilities.”

CenturyLink says the solutions have build-in encryption, security policy control and segmentation, and it is possible to integrate the company’s managed security services into the offerings. The company said in its announcement that it is one of the few service providers offering WAN packages for a monthly as-a-service fee.

“CenturyLink Managed Hybrid SD-WAN solutions allow businesses to accelerate their transformation to next-generation networks by alleviating the integration, operations and performance management complexities associated with creating hybrid WAN environments,” the company wrote in its announcement Tuesday. “CenturyLink provides core infrastructure, design and implementation, security, transport and provider management, along with centralized monitoring and management.”

CenturyLink announced a managed SD-WAN service last month, but the hybrid capabilities are what distinguish today’s announcement.