CEO, Versa Networks
May 10, 2017
Enterprise CIOs are preparing for a digital transformation by developing strategies that “software define” different aspects of their architecture, processes and organization. In general, this strategy includes creating and adopting new, nimbler operational processes that are automated and provide better total cost of ownership in all aspects of the business. This transformation began in enterprise application and data center domains a couple of years back. Many enterprises adopted new Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) models and began moving business-critical applications to public cloud infrastructures. Consequently, today’s enterprise data center and IT application environments are simpler. The popularity of Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure…
Versa Networks
April 24, 2017
On Monday, May 15, the telecommunications community will gather at Brazos Hall in Austin, Texas for the 13th annual Leading Lights awards — the telecom industry’s most credible and authoritative awards program. The event will honor companies across 25+ categories for their commitment to innovation, business acumen and diversity in the communications industry. Because we have a strong commitment to our customers and their success, we are very proud that Colt and Tata Communications were announced as finalists in the Most Innovative SDN/SD-WAN Deployment Strategy (Network/Data Center Operator) category. Colt, an on-demand network and communications provider, leverages Versa’s SD-WAN platform…
Versa Networks
March 29, 2017
The channel is known for sometimes adapting to change at a snail’s pace. Their business has, for years, been served well by technology vendors who relied on them as conduits for their hardware sales (and sometimes installation services). And, for those resellers—whose sales can add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars per transaction—there hasn’t been a good reason to change. The technology landscape is evolving, however, and more resellers are waking up to a new reality. Technology trends such as cloud applications and resources, along with the Internet of Things, are putting intense pressures on traditional networking infrastructure, and…
Versa Networks
February 16, 2017
In our last post, we talked about the benefits of network function virtualization (NFV) for managed service providers. Taking a step further, we’ll now examine how providers that deploy NFV can further benefit from this rapidly growing industry trend of evolving previously hardware-centric networks by leveraging security technologies into software-based services. A core element of NFV is the virtualized network function (VNF), which is a software-based or virtualized version of a specific function such as a next-generation firewall (NGFW). Employing VNFs goes far beyond just converting from point hardware to virtualized software instances such as an NGFW. VNFs, which are…
Versa Networks
February 2, 2017
Software-defined wide area networks (SD-WANs) and network function virtualization (NFV) are among the most talked about technologies in the networking and communications industries, and in this first of a two-part series, we will explore the benefits they bring to service providers. Part two will explain how service providers can leverage software-defined security (SD-Security). Providers understand that to gain market share and deal with the constant evolution of enterprise and consumer demands for new services, they are going to have to re-architect their networks. Interestingly, providers are quickly realizing that, while initial advantages and drivers towards virtualization were reduction in Capex…
Versa Networks
January 12, 2017
WAN optimization technologies have for years been the go-to solutions for improving enterprise application performance across the WAN. The WAN is changing though, and traditional WAN optimization technologies may soon not be enough on their own. The rise of software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) provides enterprises with greater control over WAN operations, promising more efficiency and effective application management across the entire corporate WAN infrastructure. Traditional WAN optimization technologies aren’t about to disappear of course, but the challenges presented by the current — and future — state of the WAN beg for more than basic application optimization. That’s where SD-WAN technologies can…
Founder and CDO, Versa Networks
December 20, 2016
It’s been an exciting year for SD-WAN technology. Not only have the leading industry analysts been bullish, but this year saw a major uptick in the number of high-profile service providers adopting the technology for their customers. I firmly believe the pace of SD-WAN adoption is only going to accelerate and further evolve into new markets. What follows are my top five predictions for SD-WAN in 2017. 1. Software-Defined Security (SD-Security) will be the Next Big Revenue Driver for Service Providers Already Capitalizing on SD-WAN Industry Solutions According to IDC, by 2020, the SD-WAN industry solutions market will grow to…
CEO, Versa Networks
November 17, 2016
New Versa CEO Kelly Ahuja talks about the pace of change in business and technology, and how every company needs to move with speed and scale to win. The world of cloud, mobility and applications has gotten us on a path to the Internet of Everything. The need for speed is driving every business to rethink their infrastructure and network. The benefits of Cloud have made it compelling for businesses to adopt a ‘shrinking data center’ approach. This, combined with the increased adoption of cloud-based applications by lines of business, requires a change in architecture of the wide-area network and…
Versa Networks
November 17, 2016
As with any startup, the courage and sacrifices necessary to make an endeavor successful are difficult to justify, because the possibility of success is equally balanced with a likelihood of disappointment– and therein lies the dilemma. As such, it isn’t often that one can see their vision come to fruition. And yet, four years after starting Versa, it has become one of the most formidable companies in the Software Defined WAN and SD-Security landscape. In 2012, Apurva and I began recognizing the macro-trend developing in which the future of networking would be software-based. Expensive and proprietary hardware was going to…
Chief Security Architect, Versa Networks
October 26, 2016
In February, Versa announced major feature and performance enhancements to the software-defined security (SD-Security) used in its branch security offering. The enhanced SD-Security enables service providers and large enterprise IT teams to deliver a wide range of layered security services for branch offices, including advanced functions such as domain name system (DNS) security and secure web gateways (SWG), coupled with full multi-tenancy. Analysts Understand the Need for SD-Security According to industry analysts, branch offices are increasingly becoming a targeted point of entry into corporate networks, with attack volume growing more than 500 percent over the last three years. Gartner’s 2012…
