A major milestone: Launch of Smart SD-WAN powered by ngena!

Since September 10, Deutsche Telekom and T-Systems have been offering secure high-quality network services for multinational companies with “Smart SD-WAN powered by ngena”. Dr. Marcus Hacke, Managing Director of the Next Generation Enterprise Network Alliance (ngena), and Tom Heyder, SVP responsible for TC International Business at T?Systems, explain who stands to benefit the most from the new global network. Smart SD-WAN is based on ngena’s partnership model (www.ngena.net) established at the beginning of 2016 by Deutsche Telekom along with co-founding partners CenturyLink, Reliance Jio and SK Telekom. The alliance now comprises numerous other telecommunication providers, who connect their own networks to a globe-spanning infrastructure via a central platform.

Who is the software-defined network designed for?

Dr. Hacke: There are many factors for a successful digitization of business processes. It requires not just experienced partners but above all also the right infrastructure.

You need higher bandwidths and the ability to integrate global sites quickly and flexibly. The network infrastructure is designed to adapt to any changes and support future developments.

SD-WAN allows for a variety of new functions and can also be combined with an MPLS VPN. ngena’s hybrid software-defined network platform offers cost-effective internet-based as well as high-quality ethernet connections along with a wide range of other services, such as firewall services or connections to public clouds. The ngena platform integrates all services easily, letting you order and configure them via a global service catalog – quickly and flexibly. This creates great potential, which ideally complements the performance of classical MPLS VPN environments.

T-Systems’ Smart SD-WAN powered by ngena is especially aimed at meeting the needs of multinational business customers.

Heyder: Managing company networks that span multiple locations is a complex task, and providing new services is very time-consuming. But international companies have to adapt to the fast-changing market. The same applies to their network resources, which must cope equally with this dynamic.

As an ngena partner, we supply multinational companies with globally standardized network services, virtually at the click of a mouse. Smart SD-WAN from T-Systems is an international, carrier?spanning IP VPN based on SD-WAN. Our global network services are not only of the highest quality, they are also secure, quickly available and easy to manage. All products and processes are uniform around the world and are controlled by a central platform.

How reliable and secure is the technology? What makes “Smart SD-WAN powered by ngena” different from other SDNs?

Dr. Hacke: The underlying cloud and virtualization technology is provided by Cisco and takes into account the most recent technological developments. ngena provides a hybrid VPN with additional service options such as security, local Internet breakouts or Multi VPNs. It combines various technologies that are already implemented in a large base of existing Cisco installations with the latest developments. This gives customers a high degree of innovation, investment protection and security for the future.

Heyder: Through our many years of experience in the field of MPLS networks and our close partnership with ngena, we are able to integrate Smart SD-WAN into our existing portfolio, thus providing our customers with the best of both worlds. I am delighted to be able to offer our customers an innovative solution that will enable them to be well prepared for the digital transformation in the market.