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BT Launches Cisco Backed SD-WAN Managed Service

BT has announced the global launch of a new software defined wide area network (SD-WAN) managed service using Cisco technology. The launch further expands BT’s enterprise customers’ choice of Cisco-based software defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualisation (NFV) solutions.

BT Connect Cisco SD-WAN provides customers with a clear view of data flows across their WAN, allowing them to optimise traffic to suit business needs — balancing performance and cost. The improved control reduces risk when migrating applications and data to the Cloud.

BT’s orchestration capabilities are an essential part of the new service. They allow it to correlate data from across a customer’s hybrid network, providing a complete picture of incidents and causes to manage day-to-day network operations effectively.

The announcement comes just months after the company announced plans to add two new Cisco-based solutions to its portfolio: a customer premises equipment virtualisation solution managed by BT (BT Connect Edge) and a network automation and orchestration software platform integrating BT and Cisco technology (BT Connect Services Platform).

“We have a wealth of know-how and experience in designing hybrid networks and a global infrastructure engineered for SD-WAN and NFV service delivery. Organisations looking at taking their first step to SD-WAN can be reassured that in BT, they have an established, trusted Cisco partner able to give professional services advice to plan, build and evolve secure and reliable hybrid networks globally.”

Scott Harrell, senior vice president and general manager, Enterprise Networking Business, Cisco, said: “BT is offering the complete portfolio of Cisco SD-WAN-based solutions as managed services — and doing so on a truly global scale. Cisco SD-WAN, built on Viptela technology, is a great example of how intent-based networking is fundamentally changing the blueprint for networking.”

The new managed service is being launched within BT’s wide reaching Dynamic Network Services programme, designed to give customers more choice, security, resilience, service and agility in the roll-out of networks based on the latest SDN and NFV technologies.