Sr. Market Analyst
Research Vice President
Leaders
CiscoFeatured Vendor
Fortinet
Vmware
HPE Aruba Networking
Palo Alto Networks
Major Players
Versa
Juniper Networks
Huawei
H3C
Nokia
This IDC MarketScape provides a view of the leading software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) infrastructure vendors operating within Asia/Pacific. The research is based on the IDC MarketScape process, with deeper focus on Asia/Pacific’s ability to execute and leverage heavily the global SD-WAN Infrastructure IDC MarketScape for technical and strategic capabilities. “The COVID-19 pandemic created a new class of remote applications and identities, many of which can benefit from the efficiencies that SD-WAN can deliver,” says Simon Piff, VP for Research, IDC Asia/Pacific. “The continued use of cloud, combined with the growing adoption of edge computing, will ensure that this critical element of the technology landscape will continue to be of critical focus for enterprises in the region,” he adds.
The COVID-19 pandemic drove the adoption of hybrid work and the sudden increase in remote working capabilities across Asia/Pacific and the world. This rapidly surfaced key issues with accessibility, network latency, and security that was initially addressed by the adoption of cloud-based security services (known as secure access service edge [SASE]) but also led to an increased focus on the capabilities of software-defined WAN (SD-WAN).
Over time, as knowledge of SD-WAN capabilities grew, there has been focus on how this technology can deliver a wide range of cost-effective and secure networking capabilities to a broad range of end users and endpoint devices, as well as provide increased performance and security.
The SD-WAN infrastructure market is a competitive one. IDC’s global study identified the following:
This study assesses the capability and business strategy of 10 SD-WAN infrastructure vendors. The evaluation is based on a comprehensive framework and set of parameters expected to be most conducive to success in providing SD-WAN infrastructure solutions to enterprises within the Asia/Pacific markets.
The focus of this document is around local presence, execution, and support as it relates to Asia/Pacific. For more details on technology capabilities, product strategy, and global capabilities, please refer to the document “IDC MarketScape: Worldwide SD-WAN Infrastructure 2023 Vendor Assessment.”
SD-WAN is a technology that provides a cost-effective method of deploying WANs, with IDC research indicating that savings around 15–20% over existing more traditional methods of deploying such technologies. For technology buyers across the region, the need to connect across markets and geographies is accelerating because of the focus on digitally delivered business models, increasing regional and global physical presence, and current focus on deployment of edge technologies to facilitate data monetization through such processes as AI and business intelligence.
Organizations in Asia/Pacific that have a remote and distributed working environment can benefit from SD-WAN technologies. Whether these are remote locations across the region, such as branch offices or retail outlets, or a remote workforce that do not or cannot work from a central office environment, SD-WAN is a solution that can help secure reliable connections to the critical applications and services that many need. As more organizations embrace cloud computing, this also applies.
When adopting SD-WAN with the accompanying SASE technologies, the offerings can help reduce risk as well.
SD-WAN can also offer both on-premises and off-premises management tools, depending on vendor selection, providing end users with a range of options that suit their specific needs.
When considering the vendors included within this study, technology buyers need to weigh up the significant size of the China market and understand that for many international vendors, having presence within this market is challenging. At the same time, for the China vendors, they are challenged because of the current geopolitical situation to have presence in a couple of key markets within the region and in other markets globally.
This section briefly explains IDC’s key observations resulting in Cisco’s position in the IDC MarketScape. The description here provides a summary of the vendor’s strengths and opportunities.
Cisco Systems is positioned in the Leaders category in the 2023 IDC MarketScape on Asia/Pacific SD-WAN Infrastructure 2023 Vendor Assessment.
Architectural principles of Cisco Systems SD-WAN include creating secure, end-to-end virtual overlay networks that are flexible and scalable; centralized management and orchestration of globally distributed SD-WAN deployments; integrated visibility, analytics, and AIOps; multicloud optimizations; and a focus on security, including integrated security capabilities and hosted security tools, as well as integrations with third-party security tools.
The company’s strengths include:
Cisco Systems has two SD-WAN product offerings in the market, so it may not be immediately apparent to technology buyers about which is its preferred route. Streamlining this approach would be beneficial.
Cisco Systems has an extensive portfolio of networking and security solutions as well as a significant footprint and number of partnerships across the region. For many, this will bring with it significant familiarity with the organizations and will create an extension of existing relationships, skills, and understanding.
The research covers 10 SD-WAN infrastructure players whose revenues are tracked by IDC across the region and worldwide, and how they have some form of physical footprint within the region.
All SD-WAN products featured in this IDC MarketScape have a core set of features. These include WAN routing, management of multiple WAN links (e.g., broadband, MPLS, and 4G/LTE), dynamic WAN path selection, application-based policy controls, and application steering and prioritization.
Beyond these features, most SD-WAN offers on the market today include additional features, such as direct connections to public clouds (infrastructure as a service [IaaS] and software as a service [SaaS]), WAN link visibility and analytics, end-user experience monitoring, zero-touch provisioning, integrated security, and cellular routing options.
The assessment leverages the global document from a product and strategy perspective but focuses on the in-region capabilities that are always so important to customers based within Asia/Pacific markets.
For the purposes of this analysis, IDC divided potential key measures for success into two primary categories: capabilities and strategies.
Positioning on the y-axis reflects the vendor’s current capabilities and menu of services and how well-aligned the vendor is to customer needs. The capabilities category focuses on the capabilities of the company and product today, here and now. Under this category, IDC analysts will look at how well a vendor is building/delivering capabilities that enable it to execute its chosen strategy in the market.
Positioning on the x-axis or strategies axis indicates how well the vendor’s future strategy aligns with what customers will require in three to five years. The strategies category focuses on high-level decisions and underlying assumptions about offerings, customer segments, and business and go-to-market (GTM) plans for the next three to five years.
The size of the individual vendor markers in the IDC MarketScape represent the market share of each individual vendor within the specific market segment being assessed.
IDC MarketScape criteria selection, weightings, and vendor scores represent well-researched IDC judgment about the market and specific vendors. IDC analysts tailor the range of standard characteristics by which vendors are measured through structured discussions, surveys, and interviews with market leaders, participants, and end users. Market weightings are based on user interviews, buyer surveys, and the input of IDC experts in each market. IDC analysts base individual vendor scores, and ultimately vendor positions on the IDC MarketScape, on detailed surveys and interviews with the vendors, publicly available information, and end-user experiences in an effort to provide an accurate and consistent assessment of each vendor’s characteristics, behavior, and capability.
IDC’s definition for SD-WAN infrastructure encompasses the hardware and software infrastructure products offered commercially by vendors. SD-WAN provides automated management of hybrid WANs, defined as at least two WAN connections from each branch office leveraging two or more underlying transport networks (e.g., MPLS, broadband internet, and 4G/LTE/5G).
SD-WAN includes a centralized, application-based policy controller; a software overlay that abstracts underlying networks; analytics and/or telemetry for application and network visibility; and an optional SD-WAN forwarder (routing capability). Together, these provide an intelligent path selection across WAN links based on the application policies defined on the controller.
Accordingly, SD-WAN software and hardware infrastructure includes the following:
As such, the SD-WAN infrastructure addressed in this IDC MarketScape excludes the following:
