Networking Pros Show Strong Bias for Open Source in Software-Defined Networks, Survey Finds

95 percent of respondents want open source in their SDN solutions

SAN FRANCISCO, March 19, 2014 – The OpenDaylight Project, a community-led and industry-supported open source platform to advance Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Functions Virtualization (NFV), commissioned a survey to understand the importance of openness in SDN and NFV to enterprises and service providers. The data confirmed that networking professionals believe open source is critical to driving adoption of SDN and NFV by creating de facto standards through common code development.

“As SDN moves from theory to practice, one thing is clear: networking pros want SDN now and are looking at open source to make it attainable,” said Neela Jacques, executive director, OpenDaylight Project. “It’s great to see users demanding openness and interoperability in the solutions they’re looking to consume. They believe SDN can fix their toughest challenges and that open source can help them experience the benefits faster.”

The first of its kind, the SDN, NFV, and Open Source: The Operator’s View report provides a comprehensive view from enterprises and service providers of the drivers, barriers, timelines and targets for SDN and NFV, and the role that open systems and open source play in its advancement and adoption. Key findings include:

  • Networking pros show a strong bias for open source. 95 percent want open source in their SDN and NFV solutions. It represents to them greater choice, more functionality and interoperability, and lower costs. Open source SDN also represents an opportunity for vendors rather than a threat, as 76 percent of respondents prefer to consume open source through commercial suppliers.
  • Networking pros want SDN to solve a multitude of challenges. The top four concerns are security (72 percent), network utilization (64 percent), network deployment and management (62 percent), and network operating expense (61 percent). They think open source can deliver benefits of SDN faster by overcoming traditional barriers of adoption for emerging technology like migration and interoperability.
  • SDN deployment timelines are aggressive. Over 50 percent of respondents intend to deploy SDN and NFV in 2014, and 97 percent by 2015. The primary initial target for enterprises is wide area network (WAN), while for service providers it is the data center.

A new video launched today illustrates the impact that open source is already having on the transformation in networking as end users and developers share their passion for the change. The OpenDaylight Project launched in April 2013 with a goal of delivering open source code and blueprints for SDN and NFV. Its first open source software release, called Hydrogen, was delivered in February 2014 with three editions targeting a range of use cases.

Surveys for the report SDN, NFV, and Open Source: The Operator’s View, commissioned by the OpenDaylight Project, were conducted by third-party research firm Gigaom Research and surveyed 600 IT decision makers and technologists in medium to large organizations within enterprise (300) and service provider (300) organizations in North America. Research was conducted in December 2013.

About the OpenDaylight Project

The OpenDaylight Project is a collaborative open source project that aims to accelerate adoption of Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and create a solid foundation for Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) for a more transparent approach that fosters new innovation and reduces risk. Founded by industry leaders and open to all, the OpenDaylight community is developing a common, open SDN and NFV platform consisting of code and blueprints. Get involved: www.opendaylight.org.

OpenDaylight is a Collaborative Project at The Linux Foundation. Linux Foundation Collaborative Projects are independently funded software projects that harness the power of collaborative development to fuel innovation across industries and ecosystems. www.linuxfoundation.org

Additional Resources
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Media Inquires
Melissa Logan
OpenDaylight Project
pr@opendaylight.org