Verizon Business says that it is extending its network-as-a-service (NaaS) capabilities by adding software-defined wide-area network (SD-WAN) based services from Cisco that include options for both 4G and 5G connectivity.
The new offerings, which are built upon Cisco’s managed services portfolio, consist of three major elements:
The first is a Managed Cisco SD-WAN for the Cisco Catalyst 8000 Edge Platforms family and Integrated Services Router (ISR) 1000 and 4000 series. The offering includes management of the Cisco cellular Pluggable Interface Modules (PIM) and Cisco Catalyst Cellular Gateways. This supports 4G and 5G cellular for gigabit connectivity to distributed cloud workloads.
The second element is a Cisco SD-WAN performance suite including Cisco Umbrella for cloud security, Duo for zero trust application access and Thousand Eyes for network observability.
Finally, the service provider is offering cloud collaboration services with what it says are carrier-grade quality, reliability and security via Verizon’s fully private connection to Cisco Webex Calling and Webex Contact Center. The private integration can be accessed through wireline and wireless networks with Verizon Private IP and Verizon Wireless Private Network Traffic Management.
“Organizations are challenged with finding flexible and secure networking solutions that enable the rapid transition to hybrid cloud and hybrid work while maximizing application performance for their users,” Massimo Peselli, Verizon Business’s Senior Vice President, Global Enterprise, said in a press release. “The addition of these Cisco solutions builds on our longstanding history of co-innovation and provides customers with the agility and scalability to meet today’s needs while future-proofing their operations.”
Verizon Business and Cisco have a shared history. In February, Verizon extended an already existing relationship with the vendor with three additions to its SD-WAN offerings. The three are a co-managed option based on Cisco’s Viptella technology, a product geared to branch office operations also based on Viptela and the addition of managed service tiers based on Cisco Meraki SD-WAN technology.
