Riverbed this week signaled its intent to compete more broadly in the software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN) space by agreeing to add an SD-WAN platform from Versa Networks to its portfolio of networking and cybersecurity offerings.
The SD-WAN platform from Versa Networks will be offered starting in the second half of 2019 alongside an existing SD-WAN platform based on a platform that Riverbed gained in 2016 by acquiring Ocedo. The Versa platform will be targeted at enterprise-class customers, said Dante Malagrino, senior vice president and general manager for the cloud infrastructure business unit at Riverbed.
Different classes of customers require different SD-WAN capabilities, notes Malagrino. To address that issue, Riverbed is joining the ranks of rivals such as Cisco that offer multiple SD-WAN platforms, explains Malagrino.
In some case, customers only want an SD-WAN platform that connects to the public Internet, while in other cases customers require an SD-WAN platform that connects to both leased MPLS lines and the public Internet, says Malagrino.
Over time, however, partners should expect to see Riverbed converge the management planes around all the SD-WAN platforms it offers.
SD-WANs are one of the fastest growing sectors in all of IT because customers don’t want to have to backhaul all their Internet traffic back to their data centers using expense MPLS lines. SD-WANs are replacing traditional routers to enable customers to, for example, provide direct access to software-as-a-service (SaaS) applications directly from a branch office.
Less clear is the degree to which SD-WANs will be delivered as a managed service versus a capability delivered by an internal IT department. Many enterprise IT organizations don’t want to give up control of their WAN, so they are looking for the best of both worlds. They want to partner with managed service providers that give the internal IT team access to a console through which they can manage their WAN application traffic, notes Malagrino.
Competition across the category is, of course, fierce. Riverbed claims to have more than 1,000 customers for its existing SD-WAN platform. The alliance with Versa Networks promises to make it possible for Riverbed to expand that base with the help of channel partners. The issue that Riverbed and Versa Networks will naturally need to overcome is the degree to which rivals that include everyone from Cisco and Silver Peak to carriers such as AT&T and Verizon are focused on the same opportunity.
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