Windstream Launches SDNow for Data Center Cloud Applications
Network providers want to integrate software control over their assets so they can be more agile and operate with greater efficiency when new services are being rolled out. This control also extends to end-users, as they can adjust their services according to their needs, thus delivering better QoS and lower operational costs. The launch of Windstream's SDNow for data center cloud applications is going to leverage open orchestration capabilities to accelerate the delivery of optical wavelength services and provide superior customer experience.
Software Defined Network Orchestrated Waves (SDNow) is abstracting the complexity of service delivery to simplify the view of multi-vendor optical layers using the Windstream optical network as a programmable resource. The company has an agile, DevOps-style approach to automation development, which streamlines service provisioning as part of Windstream's continuing development for SDN deployment strategy.
Windstream, and the industry as a whole, is migrating from the constraints of custom hardware, and their limitations. Not that long ago, reliability, availability and performance meant purpose built hardware with custom silicon (ASICs). This not only made it much more expensive, but for the client it meant being locked-in for a long time with costly maintenance and upgrades.
Development in SDN and NFV has decoupled software from the hardware, so it is no longer limited by the box it comes in. With SDN and NFV,
everyone can create and develop new business models, applications and services. For services providers, telecoms, network and data center operators, and others, they now have a solution for creating new revenue generating services, lowering capital and operational expenditure, and delivering the agility and flexibility for adapting to market conditions faster than ever before.
“Providing SDNow services to our customers via multi-vendor service orchestration and automated provisioning truly differentiates Windstream in the marketplace. Consumers of SDN-provisioned services will see improvement in their customer experience through the removal of human touch-points in the service fulfillment process, and improved accuracy through automated standard configurations,” said Mike Shippey, president of Windstream Wholesale.
Organizations with hyper-scale Web content and applications needing high capacity long-haul transport services can deploy Windstream Wholesale's SDNow solution for quick access to cloud resources with high bandwidth requirements.
Windstream is making the SDNow service available at five major third-party carrier neutral data centers in Chicago, Dallas, Ashburn, Miami and Atlanta, with expansion slated for up to 50 more locations in the summer of 2017.
Edited by Alicia Young
