MEF has released a new MEF 3.0 SD-WAN Services White Paper exploring the definition of a standardized managed SD-WAN service, use cases, service requirements for various industry verticals, and an overview of MEF’s expanding SD-WAN-related initiatives.
As the white paper states, the SD-WAN market is one of the fastest growing sectors in the communications industry. IDC estimates the global SD-WAN infrastructure market will reach $5.3 billion by 2023, while Vertical Systems Group estimates the US SD-WAN managed services market will grow to $4.5 billion by 2023.
In August, MEF published the industry’s first global SD-WAN standard, SD-WAN Service Attributes and Services (MEF 70) , to help accelerate market growth. It describes requirements for an application-aware, over-the-top WAN connectivity service that uses policies to determine how application flows are directed over multiple underlay networks.
“MEF standardization creates an open marketplace and reduces confusion in a new market that is experiencing very rapid growth,” said Daniel Bar-Lev, VP Strategic Programs, MEF. “This white paper provides a valuable overview of that standardization work, its importance to different vertical markets and upcoming MEF activities in this space. Service provider and enterprise customers reading this paper will be able to derive the true and significant value that SD-WAN services can deliver to their organizations.”