ePLDT adopts SDN technology in data centers to further improve customer experience

PLDT Group digital enterprise arm ePLDT has deployed its Software Defined Networking (SDN) technology in its data center network to further improve customer experience. (Photo: PLDT/Facebook)

MANILA—PLDT Group digital enterprise arm ePLDT has deployed its Software Defined Networking (SDN) technology in its data center network to further improve customer experience.

ePLDT Group Chief Operating Officer Nerisse Ramos said SDN was vital for business to establish digital infrastructure amid emerging trends in information technology (IT), such as cloud computing, mobile technology, Big Data analytics and the rise of the Internet of Things.

“SDN will simplify configuration, control and management of enterprise networks. By enabling our VITRO Data Centers with SDN, our entire infrastructure can address these needs with enhanced efficiency, flexibility and security,” she added.

Data center networks are comprised of large number of switches and routers that direct traffic based on the limited view of each device making them independent from each other.

SDN is an approach to networking in which control of network policies and resources are decoupled through a single SDN controller. Organizations can utilize commodity hardware from various vendors without compromising performance.

“With this approach, traffic flow is managed through software, allowing optimization and tuning which is not available in traditional or locally-managed switches and routers. Clients who demand certain changes and updates to their subscribed service can now receive them immediately and in an efficient manner,” according to PLDT/ePLDT Head of Disruptive Business Nico Alcoseba.

Faster service delivery is achieved through SDN to services such as load balancers, firewalls, and Intrusion Detection Systems are placed appropriately on the traffic path which allows users to customize their services based on their needs. SDNs can handle increasing security demands that are not possible with hard-wired networks.

“With SDN, we can provide our services to clients faster,” Dave Simon, ePLDT Group Chief Technology Officer said. “Our previous provisioning standard to our clients may range anywhere between 5 and 15 days depending on the scope but now with SDN, our standard services can be provisioned to customers in a matter of hours.”

The shift to SDN technology is expected to provide high quality service and superior customer experience as it is expected to install 10 data centers by 2018.

According to a study by the International Data Corporation, the worldwide data center SDN market is expected to reach USD 12.5 billion by 2020, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 53.9 percent from 2014 to 2020.