PCCW Global, a leading telecommunications service provider, has expanded its advanced Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) services to include both Universal Customer Premise Equipment (uCPE) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV) technologies, supporting companies that plan to leverage the benefits of digital transformation and cloud-based services.
Businesses around the world have been migrating from traditional WAN networks that connect regional offices to more advanced SD-WAN infrastructure that improves user experience by avoiding backhaul traffic and simplifies management with a centralized single portal to manage branch connectivity. In addition, dynamic SD-WAN network technology is able to integrate and serve multiple types of connectivity, including traditional MPLS, standard Internet and mobile networks. As a result, SD-WAN networks are also more cost-effective – fully integrating available links and offloading non-mission-critical applications to Internet-based connections.
PCCW Global has now expanded the inherent advantages of its SD-WAN service by including uCPE and NFV technologies, bringing a new level of user experience, enhanced security, automation and simplified management. PCCW Global’s flexible uCPE hardware provides additional advanced networking options and the hosting of related NFV technologies that are able to replace physical devices such as firewalls and routers. In addition, the new services have the potential to greatly improve provisioning lead times as well as the reduction of logistical costs. Moreover, users are able to avoid the expensive up-front investment in their own complicated hardware infrastructure.
Various uCPE and NFV combinations offered by PCCW Global can fully address customer challenges during SD-WAN deployment and are available for customer procurement:
- uCPE with SD-WAN
- uCPE with SD-WAN and Virtual Router
- uCPE with SD-WAN and Virtual Firewall
- An option to provide uCPE with SD-WAN network functionality, where the customer chooses and supplies their own NFV service, will be made available later this year
PCCW Global also provides a dedicated team with the technical expertise to support customers throughout their digital transformation journey, both before and after network migration, enabling them to focus on their core business.
Users are able to leverage PCCW Global’s SD-WAN gateway, which is hosted in a fully managed digital solutions platform and is linked to the company’s Tier 1 international MPLS and global Internet network. As a result, users also benefit from better reliability and performance to both cloud and remote service sites across a true end-to-end managed global SD-WAN solution.
Jordick Wong, senior vice president, innovation, planning & procurement, PCCW Global, said, “We are excited about the expansion of our SD-WAN services to include uCPE and NFV technologies and the benefits they will bring to our users. Our service already brings a true end-to-end managed global SD-WAN solution that is fully supported by our international network.”
