IDC predicts the Software Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) infrastructure market will grow at a 30.8% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2018 to 2023 to reach $5.25 billion.
Rohit Mehra, vice president, Network Infrastructure at IDC attributes this growth to the failure of traditional enterprise WANs to meet the needs of digital businesses, especially as it relates to supporting SaaS apps and multi- and hybrid-cloud usage.
He also noted that enterprises are interested in easier management of multiple connection types across their WAN to improve application performance and end-user experience.
"Combined with the rapid embrace of SD-WAN by leading communications service providers globally, these trends continue to drive deployments of SD-WAN, providing enterprises with dynamic management of hybrid WAN connections and the ability to guarantee high levels of quality of service on a per-application basis," concluded Mehra.
IDC defines SD-WAN as a dynamic, policy-enabled hybrid WAN that uses at least two or more connection methods (such as MPLS, broadband internet, 3G/4G, etc.) and includes a centralized application-based policy controller that provides intelligent path selection, along with an optional forwarder for routing capability.
