The Coming of Age of NFV-based Virtual Network Services

As businesses embrace SD-WAN, they are quickly realizing that a holistic approach to enterprise WAN virtualization is critical, and several aspects of traditional WAN edge or branch infrastructure will need to change to make the WAN truly agileNFV-based virtual network services have been available in the market since 2016, with slow market adoption due to several factors: high cost of the uCPE, complexities involved in service chaining and orchestrating multiple virtual network functions (VNFs) across multiple domains, lack of clear understanding among network decision makers on the true value of uCPE approach, to list a few. However, virtual network services have evolved greatly in the last couple of years to address the past challenges, and now offer several benefits over previous offerings. In this report, we look at the market trends driving the need for virtual network services and the revenue growth potential it holds, and summarize key service provider offerings.

Author: Roopashree Honnachari