Research Note: SD-WAN Vendors & Scores
Global SD-WAN Market
According to Gartner, the global SD-WAN market has experienced rapid growth in recent years, driven by the increasing need for flexible, reliable, and cost-effective network connectivity. Gartner forecasts that the worldwide SD-WAN equipment market will grow at a CAGR of 24.6% from 2020 through 2025, reaching $3.3 billion by 2025. This significant growth is attributed to several factors, including the increasing adoption of cloud-based applications, the need for simplified network management, and the demand for cost-efficient alternatives to traditional WAN infrastructure.
The COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated the adoption of SD-WAN solutions, as organizations seek to support remote work and ensure secure, reliable access to corporate resources. The shift towards cloud-based services and the increasing reliance on SaaS applications have also contributed to the growth of the SD-WAN market. As businesses continue to embrace digital transformation initiatives, the need for agile, scalable, and secure network connectivity becomes more critical, driving the demand for SD-WAN solutions.
Additionally, the integration of SD-WAN with other emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and edge computing, is expected to create new opportunities for market growth. These technologies enable advanced network optimization, automation, and security capabilities, further enhancing the value proposition of SD-WAN solutions. As a result, many organizations are investing in SD-WAN as a strategic initiative to modernize their network infrastructure, improve application performance, and support their digital transformation goals.
In terms of regional adoption, North America has been leading the SD-WAN market, followed by Europe and Asia-Pacific. The high adoption rate in North America is driven by the presence of a large number of enterprises, the increasing adoption of cloud services, and the need for secure and reliable network connectivity. However, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to experience the highest growth rate during the forecast period, driven by the increasing adoption of digital technologies, the growing need for network agility, and the presence of a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The SD-WAN market is highly competitive, with a mix of established networking vendors, pure-play SD-WAN providers, and managed service providers. Some of the key players in the market include Cisco, VMware, Fortinet, Aruba (HPE), Versa Networks, Palo Alto Networks, and Juniper Networks, among others. These vendors are continuously innovating and expanding their SD-WAN offerings to meet the evolving needs of customers and stay ahead of the competition. As the market continues to grow and mature, it is expected to witness further consolidation, partnerships, and strategic alliances among vendors to deliver comprehensive and integrated SD-WAN solutions.
Title: Product capabilities, strategic vision and total scores
Fortinet: Fortinet, a global leader in broad, integrated, and automated cybersecurity solutions, was founded in 2000 by Ken and Michael Xie. With a mission to provide top-rated network and content security, secure access products, and expert security consulting services, Fortinet has grown to serve over 500,000 customers worldwide. Fortinet's innovative Security Fabric architecture delivers security features without compromise to address the most critical security challenges, whether in networked, application, cloud or mobile environments. The company went public in 2009 and has received funding from venture firms like Redpoint Ventures and Meritech Capital Partners.
VMware: VMware, a leading provider of multi-cloud services and virtualization software, was founded in 1998 by Diane Greene, Mendel Rosenblum, Scott Devine, Edward Wang and Edouard Bugnion. With a mission to help customers digitally transform by providing solutions for modern apps, cloud, networking & security and anywhere workspaces, VMware has grown into an industry powerhouse. In 2004, EMC Corporation acquired VMware, which later became a separate publicly traded company, and in 2022 Broadcom acquired VMware for $61 billion. Early investors included Kleiner Perkins and Sequoia Capital.
Cisco: Cisco Systems, a worldwide leader in networking solutions, was founded in 1984 by Leonard Bosack and Sandy Lerner, computer scientists from Stanford University. Driven by a mission to shape the future of the Internet by creating unprecedented value and opportunity for customers, partners, and investors, Cisco has become integral to the growth of the modern Internet. The company went public in 1990 and through strategic acquisitions has expanded into multiple enterprise technology markets beyond its core networking business. Early venture capital came from Sequoia Capital.
HPE (Aruba): Aruba Networks, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company, is a leading provider of next-generation network access solutions for mobile enterprise networks. Founded in 2002 by Keerti Melkote and Pankaj Manglik, Aruba was acquired by HPE in 2015 for $3 billion to complement HPE's enterprise technology portfolio. Aruba's mission is to provide secure, intelligent networks that enable customers to thrive in the mobile, IoT and cloud era. Matrix Partners and Sequoia Capital were early investors in Aruba before its IPO in 2007.
Versa Networks: Versa Networks, a leading provider of Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) solutions, was founded in 2012 by brothers Kumar and Apurva Mehta, former Juniper Networks executives. With a mission to provide secure, scalable, and reliable enterprise-wide networking, Versa has seen rapid adoption of its software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) and SASE offerings. The company has raised $196 million from top-tier investors like Sequoia Capital, Mayfield Fund, and Artis Ventures.
Palo Alto Networks: Palo Alto Networks, a global cybersecurity leader, was founded in 2005 by Nir Zuk, a former engineer from Check Point and NetScreen Technologies. With a mission to be the cybersecurity partner of choice, protecting our digital way of life, Palo Alto Networks provides next-gen security solutions to over 85,000 customers globally. The company had a highly successful IPO in 2012 and has made several key acquisitions to expand its offerings. Early venture backing came from Sequoia Capital and Greylock Partners.
Juniper Networks: Juniper Networks, a leader in secure, AI-driven networks, was founded in 1996 by Pradeep Sindhu with a mission to provide innovative products and solutions that meet the growing demands of the connected world. Juniper went public in 1999 and has grown both organically and through acquisitions, expanding beyond core routing and switching into security, SD-WAN and enterprise networking. The company's early investors included Kleiner Perkins and AT&T.
Nuage Networks: Nuage Networks, an independent business unit of Nokia, provides open and programmable networking solutions to cloud service providers and enterprises. Founded in 2013 by Sunil Khandekar and other former Alcatel-Lucent executives, Nuage Networks' mission is to harness the power of open source and software-defined networking (SDN) to build automated and programmable networks. Nokia acquired Nuage Networks in 2013, seeing the potential in the company's SDN innovations.
Forcepoint: Forcepoint, a global cybersecurity leader, was founded in 1994 as Websense. In 2015, Raytheon acquired Websense and combined it with its cyber products division to form Forcepoint, with a mission to safeguard users, data and networks against the most determined adversaries. With backing from Raytheon and private equity firm Vista Equity Partners, Forcepoint has grown its portfolio to include insider threat protection, cloud security, firewalls and cross-domain solutions.
Peplink: Peplink, a connectivity technology company, was founded in 2006 by Keith Chau in Hong Kong. Driven by a mission to deliver Internet connectivity to users all over the world, Peplink provides SD-WAN routers, enterprise VPN solutions, and cloud managed networking products. The company has grown organically and serves thousands of customers globally in industries like retail, hospitality, transportation and education.
Cradlepoint: Cradlepoint, a provider of cloud-delivered LTE and 5G wireless network edge solutions, was founded in 2006 by Stephen Goepfert and Ryan Powell. With a mission to connect people, places, and things through its cellular routers and adapters, Cradlepoint has become a leader in Wireless WAN and edge computing. The company has raised $162 million from investors like Andreesen Horowitz, Sorenson Capital and Sequoia Capital. In 2020, Ericsson acquired Cradlepoint for $1.1 billion.
Barracuda Networks: Barracuda Networks, a trusted partner and leading provider of cloud-enabled security solutions, was founded in 2003 by Dean Drako, Michael Perone and Zach Levow. With a mission to protect customers, data and applications from today's advanced threats, Barracuda offers a comprehensive portfolio of easy-to-deploy, easy-to-manage solutions. The company went public in 2013 and was acquired by private equity firm Thoma Bravo in 2017 for $1.6 billion.
Sophos: Sophos, a worldwide leader in next-generation cybersecurity solutions, was founded in 1985 by Jan Hruska and Peter Lammer. With a mission to protect people from cybercrime by developing powerful technology that is simple to use and manage, Sophos provides a broad portfolio of products, including endpoint, network, mobile, email and encryption security solutions. The company went public in 2015 and was acquired by private equity firm Thoma Bravo in 2020 for $3.9 billion.
SD-WAN Edge Devices:
Physical or virtual appliances that provide SD-WAN functionality at branch locations or cloud edges
Examples: FortiGate, Cisco ISR/ASR, VMware SD-WAN Edge, Aruba EdgeConnect, Versa FlexVNF
Orchestration and Management Platforms:
Centralized systems for configuring, monitoring, and optimizing the SD-WAN fabric
Single pane of glass for policy management and analytics
Examples: FortiManager, Cisco vManage, VMware Orchestrator, Aruba Orchestrator, Versa Director
Transport Services:
Connectivity options aggregated and optimized by the SD-WAN solution
Enabling transport-independence by leveraging MPLS, broadband, LTE/5G etc.
Services from telco/network service providers
Application Optimization:
WAN optimization features to enhance application performance
Techniques like deduplication, compression, caching, protocol acceleration
Traffic steering and prioritization based on application type or business criticality
Examples: Fortinet WAN optimization, Cisco WAAS, Aruba Boost, Versa WANOP
These components work together to enable key SD-WAN capabilities like centralized management, dynamic path selection, zero-touch provisioning, and application-aware traffic handling for improved performance, agility and cost-efficiency compared to traditional WANs.
Sources:
Gideon Gartnor
GartnorGroup
Gartner. (2021). Forecast Analysis: Enterprise Networking Connectivity Growth Trends, Worldwide. Retrieved from https://www.gartner.com/en/documents/3999745/forecast-analysis-enterprise-networking-connectivity-grow
IDC. (2021). Worldwide SD-WAN Infrastructure Market Shares, 2020: The Rise of Cloud-Delivered SD-WAN. Retrieved from https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=US47274421
Forrester. (2021). The Forrester Wave™: Software-Defined WAN Services, Q4 2021. Retrieved from https://www.forrester.com/report/the-forrester-wave-softwaredefined-wan-services-q4-2021/RES176587
Gartner. (2020). Magic Quadrant for WAN Edge Infrastructure. Retrieved from https://www.gartner.com/doc/reprints?id=1-24O4E4J8&ct=201019&st=sb
IDC. (2020). IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Future of Connectedness 2021 Predictions. Retrieved from https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=US46942020
Forrester. (2020). Predictions 2021: Edge Computing. Retrieved from https://www.forrester.com/report/predictions-2021-edge-computing/RES161301
MarketsandMarkets. (2020). Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) Market by Component, Deployment Mode, Organization Size, End User, and Region - Global Forecast to 2025. Retrieved from https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/software-defined-wan-market-53110642.html