Sprint Chooses VeloCloud for SD-WAN, Comcast Picks Versa

Sprint is making a software defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) solution available to business customers.

The SD-WAN service, which Sprint says enterprises can adopt without replacing their entire network, comes through a partnership with VeloCloud.

“Sprint chose VeloCloud following a thorough vendor evaluation process and we have been working closely on customer opportunities,” VeloCloud CEO Sanjay Uppal said.

Mike Fitz, vice president of the Sprint global wireline business unit, says customers are “lined up” to adopt the SD-WAN solution. He says the technology has become one of the main answers for businesses that want to simplify their networks.

“The Sprint SD-WAN dashboard provides our customers with real-time, detailed visibility into the performance of their entire WAN and all of their applications, while single-click deployment minimizes the setup time for branch offices and temporary sites,” he said.

Sprint says it started doing customer trials with VeloCloud in the fourth quarter of 2016. VeloCloud has a well-publicized resume of SD-WAN agreements with service providers, including AT&T, Windstream and MegaPath.

VeloCloud and Sprint weren’t the only companies to make an SD-WAN announcement Tuesday. Comcast Business has begun beta testing a solution for enterprise and midmarket end users. The cable company has partnered with Versa Networks to get this done.

Comcast Business says it is the first cable company to launch an enterprise SD-WAN platform that is “carrier-grade.” The solution combines Versa’s Cloud IP Platform with Comcast’s gigabit service.

“Together, our SD-WAN and gigabit bandwidth solutions herald a new generation of networking that provides the bandwidth, scalability, reliability and flexibility needed to power the cloud applications that are transforming business operations,” said Kevin O’Toole, senior vice president of product management for Comcast Business.

Courtney Munroe, group vice president of IDC, says SD-WAN can now take advantage of effective and widely available broadband to help businesses grow.

“Now, businesses can more cost-effectively add the bandwidth they need across branch locations to succeed in today’s fast-paced digital economy,” Munroe said. “Comcast’s SD-WAN and high-speed broadband network is an innovative trial offering that can complement any existing business network.”

Versa last week announced major updates to its Cloud IP Platform. The networking provider is trying to make branch networks software-driven by incorporating integrated Ethernet and Wi-Fi switching, embedded LTE and hosted third-party virtual network functions.

VeloCloud recently unveiled a security technology partner program for SD-WAN. Channel Partners interviewed VeloCloud about the program and the vendor’s SD-WAN ambitions.