25 September 2018

Juniper Networks CEO Rami Rahim says the prospect of digital transformation for many enterprises is "enticing and daunting in equal measure".

Vodafone has selected Juniper Networks as one of its SD-WAN vendors for its enterprise-focused Ready Network SDN portfolio.

Vodafone says its portfolio will comprise flexible, cloud-based services that are designed to underpin digital business at scale, helping enterprises to compete effectively using agile, open and fast infrastructure with zero-touch deployment.

Juniper will provide a secure, virtualised and dynamic network platform for one of the company’s SD-WAN offerings. 

The vendor says its solution is built upon universal customer premises equipment that allows multiple virtualised network functions to be delivered from a single device. 

It includes Contrail Service Orchestration (CSO) which, says Juniper, operates within a multi-vendor, multi-tenant environment, and ensures secure implementation, analysis and management of each unique network. 

The vendor adds that CSO is designed to unite policies and security controls across hybrid WAN connections, including IPSec, MPLS, broadband internet and LTE.

Juniper’s NFX Series network services platform is deployed at each customer location to enable dynamic, virtualised WAN service creation.

It will also host the virtual next-generation firewall and advanced cloud-based threat protection capability in a single unit.

Juniper says its software-driven NFX Series enables zero-touch, secure service creation, enabling new branches to be brought online easily and cost-effectively with a single keystroke.

As a result, Vodafone’s enterprise customers will now have a self-care portal providing real-time, end-to-end visibility and analysis of network performance, as well as centralised selection, provisioning and management of their required WAN services. 

For example, Juniper says bandwidth-on-demand can be dialled up and down to suit traffic flows across the WAN in response to changing business requirements, and centralised security policies can be adjusted and enforced across the network.

Juniper Networks CEO Rami Rahim says: “The advent of 5G, the transition of applications and resources to the cloud, and the prevalence of IoT in the workplace, make the prospect of digital transformation for many enterprises enticing and daunting in equal measure. 

“Juniper’s focus on simplifying the network will enable Vodafone’s enterprise customers to more easily leverage the advantages of multicloud and a growing mobile workforce, without being burdened by the growing complexities of WAN connectivity. This will free their customers to focus on the most important aspects of their business.”