Four Providers of Datacenter Software-Defined Networking Named IDC Innovators

　　International Data Corporation (IDC) today published an IDC Innovators report focusing on four technology providers that are considered key emerging vendors in the software-defined networking (SDN) market. The four companies named as IDC Innovators are Apstra, Inc., Big Switch Networks, Inc., Plexxi, and Pluribus Networks.

　　SDN, and its evolutionary extension into intent-based networking (IBN), represents an architectural approach to datacenter networking in the cloud era. It is defined by an abstracted architectural model that better aligns network infrastructure with the needs of application workloads through automated (thereby faster) provisioning, programmatic network management, pervasive application-oriented visibility and, where needed, direct integration with cloud orchestration platforms. These capabilities can translate into significant operational savings while providing organizations with the means of faster time to business outcomes and revenue realization.

　　"Given the imperative of digital transformation and the need to support cloud-native applications and to deliver cloud-like agility, enterprises are compelled to modernize their datacenter-network architectures and operational models. Fortunately, practical and viable options for datacenter SDN and IBN are available, addressing requirements associated with a broad range of workloads and use cases. This IDC Innovators report profiles four vendors that take varied approaches to addressing the need for datacenter networking in the cloud era," said Brad Casemore, research vice president, Datacenter Networks.

　　Apstra offers a vendor-agnostic datacenter-network operating system and intent-based analytics that provide real-time, continuous closed-loop validation. Big Switch Networks offers a fabric-based SDN solution that is designed to make the datacenter network intelligent, agile, and flexible. Plexxi offers a programmable, workload-driven Ethernet/IP-based datacenter fabric that enables convergence of discrete networks into an intelligent datacenter fabric serving all workloads. Pluribus Networks offers a dynamic, scale-out architecture that enables organizations to build a next-generation private or public cloud that is optimized to support mission-critical environments.