Verizon Deepens SD-WAN Play, Signs New Vendor

Verizon deepened its software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) portfolio with a new offering.

Silver Peak Systems joins Versa Networks and Cisco in partnering with Verizon for SD-WAN. Verizon Business will deliver the Silver Peak Unity EdgeConnect edge platform as a managed service.

Aamir Hussain, Verizon Business’ senior vice president of business products, said WAN edge architecture management has changed drastically in recent years – and especially in 2020.

“Legacy networks simply can’t keep up with the requirements of today’s cloud-first enterprises and the addition of the Silver Peak EdgeConnect platform to Verizon’s SD-WAN portfolio is yet another achievement in driving value to businesses looking for rapid deployment of SD WAN and WAN Optimization experiences,” Hussain said.

Verizon’s Aamir Hussain

Silver Peak Founder David Hughes called Verizon’s managed services “industry-leading.”

Silver Peak’s David Hughes

“As enterprises continue to advance digital transformation initiatives, many are realizing that an intelligent WAN architecture is critical to achieving maximum value from existing and ongoing cloud investments,” said Hughes, who now leads Aruba’s WAN business.

Verizon offers an even deeper SD-WAN portfolio as a result of the new offering.

Verizon started working with Cisco IWAN in 2015 and added Viptela (which Cisco later acquired) in 2016. Verizon partnered with Versa Networks for SD-WAN and SD-Branch in 2017.

A Leading Vendor

Silver Peak made headlines this summer when HPE acquired it and situated the pure-play vendor within the Aruba business unit. HPE executives said Silver Peak’s SD-WAN technology would pair well with Aruba’s branch and remote worker solutions.

Silver Peak has held a position in the Gartner WAN Edge Magic Quadrant leader’s quadrant three years in a row.

Verizon recently drew partners’ attention when it announced the hiring of Wendy Taccetta as its channel chief. The carrier also consolidated its partner program into a centralized unit.

“Our mission is clear: to enable improved partner experiences, expand our sales distribution and revenue opportunities through new partnerships and drive incremental solutions to our direct sales customers,” Taccetta said.