Service Provider SDN Deployments Near Universal, IHS Markit Finds

Software-defined networks are accelerating the transition from hot prospect to established star, and by the end of last year, SDN deployments by service providers was nearly universal.Research firm IHS Markit’s latest “Carrier SDN Strategies Service Provider Survey” found that all of the the 23 service providers surveyed plan to deploy SDN. In total, 78 percent had done so by the end of last year, another 9 percent will deploy SDN this year, and 4 percent in 2020 or later. The remaining 9 percent will deploy, but did not say when.The survey reinforces the success of the technology. IHS Markit has conducted six of its annual surveys, each showing an increased number of deployments.Seventy-eight percent of respondents in the latest survey cited SD-WAN as a key deployment goal in their efforts to generate revenue. It was followed by 48 percent who aim to use network slicing for IoT to make money. The service providers also are looking to SDN to create efficiencies. Automation and cutting capex and opex are the leading drivers