Orange Business Services gained the top spot on Vertical Systems Group’s first global SD-WAN ranking for midyear 2021.

Vertical Systems Group’s Global Provider Carrier Managed SD-WAN Services Leaderboard lists Orange Business Services atop its peers with the largest number of customer sites installed. AT&T ranked No. 2, followed by Verizon, NTT, BT Global Services, Telefonica Global and Vodafone.

This is the first SD-WAN ranking that measures global provider market presence based on multinational managed SD-WAN customer sites. It ranks companies that hold a 5% or higher share of billable retail sites outside of their respective home countries.

Vertical Systems Group’s SD-WAN coverage analysis for five regional markets – North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa/Middle East, Asia/Pacific – shows that all seven companies ranked on this leaderboard have good to strong coverage in at least three of these regions.

Rick Malone is principal of Vertical Systems Group.

Vertical Systems Group’s Rick Malone

“Enterprises with business-essential applications that span multiple regions of the world are choosing SD-WAN solutions from network operators with the global infrastructures, experience, partnerships and technical expertise necessary to deliver world-class services,” he said.

COVID-19 Impact

COVID-19 continues to appreciably impact every region of the world. Global SD-WAN operators cited workforce health protection and tracking the shift back from remote to office environments among challenges. They also cited service disconnects due to business closures, and supply chain disruptions.

Most multinational managed SD-WAN customer implementations are hybrid network configurations. Those configurations include MPLS, IP VPN, cloud connectivity or other services. Moreover, they include security capabilities that are integral or supplied by technology partners.

SD-WAN customers with MPLS connections are migrating to more cloud-suitable broadband services that provide bandwidth flexibility and lower pricing.

Twelve companies qualify for the challenge tier. Those include Aryaka, Colt, Deutsche Telekom, Global Cloud Xchange, GTT, Hughes Lumen Technologies, PCCW Global, Singtel, Tata, Telia and Telstra.  The challenge tier includes companies with site share between 1% and 5% of this defined SD-WAN segment.

AT&T, Verizon, Colt, PCCW Global and Telia have attained MEF 3.0 SD-WAN Services Certification.

The primary technology suppliers to the 19 leaderboard and challenge companies are Cisco, Fortinet, HPE Aruba, Nuage Networks from Nokia, Versa and VMware.