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Talari Networks is adding greater security and application availability in its software-defined WAN portfolio through collaborations with Palo Alto Networks and Data2Go Wireless.
The product integration effort with Palo Alto and Data2Go comes through Talari’s Unite Technology Alliance program, an initiative launched by the vendor in May that is designed to encourage other tech companies to build products for Talari’s software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) lineup and to help drive customer adoption.
Program participants receive a broad array of resources, including free virtual appliance and software licenses, online lab and solution lab technologies and discounts on physical appliances.
In the case of Palo Alto and Data2Go, both companies are integrating their technologies with Talari’s SD-WAN portfolio to bring greater security and reliability to branch-office network environments. Officials said at the time of its launch the Talari Unite program would focus on such areas as security, business applications, cloud, virtualization, WAN optimization, wireless networking and storage.
“The rise in cloud and internet-based applications and services being accessed from the branch is placing pressure on IT teams to extend their security and improve the resiliency of their branch infrastructure,” Michele Hayes, vice president of marketing at Talari, said in a statement. “The Talari Unite program in conjunction with these new collaborations offers customers an easy-to-deploy, validated solution that addresses these challenges as they transition to their next-generation SD-WAN.”
SD-WAN is getting more attention from enterprises looking for ways to better address the rapidly changing demands of the WAN due to such trends as the cloud, the proliferation of mobile devices, greater workforce mobility, data analytics and the internet of things (IoT). The WAN traditionally has pushed data between campus and other remote sites and the data center, using transport modes such as Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS), a relatively expensive but reliable way to move traffic.
However, MPLS and other traditional transport methods were not made for a cloud-centric world, and businesses are looking for faster and more affordable ways to connect their campus sites not only with the data center, but also to the cloud and internet. SD-WAN technologies are designed to enable the best transport method for particular workloads, whether that’s MPLS or other options such as broadband, DSL, 3G and 4G.
IDC analysts are expecting the market to grow to $6 billion by 2020, up from less than $225 million last year. Gartner analysts are forecasting that the percentage of enterprises using SD-WAN technology will grow to 30 percent by the end of 2019 from about 1 percent currently. Established network vendors including Cisco Systems, Juniper Networks, Riverbed Technology and Silver Peak Systems are building out their SD-WAN portfolios, while more pure-play companies including VeloCloud, CloudGenix, Aryaka, Viptela and Talari are pushing their way into the market. Service providers including AT&T and Verizon are partnering with such vendors to offer SD-WAN capabilities to their customers as part of the carriers’ greater ambitions to bring network virtualization technologies into their infrastructures.
Through its work with Palo Alto Networks, Talari is bringing greater security to its offerings. Talari is integrating its SD-WAN solution with Palo Alto’s Next Generation Security Platform for greater security and threat defense abilities.
Customers looking to deploy branch offices that ensure superior application performance over various links with the highest levels of security protection can now leverage Talari’s virtual SD-WAN solution integrated with Palo Alto Networks Next Generation Security Platform. Together, the companies enable customers to simplify their branch office network and reduce their hardware footprint by consolidating physical hardware appliances into a virtual solution, while obtaining next-generation security and threat defense.
Palo Alto’s platform includes next-generation firewall technology as well as advanced endpoint protection and threat intelligence sharing via the cloud.
Talari also is integrating Data2Go Wireless’ cellular back technology, centralized orchestration and reporting tools, all aimed to improve the availability of applications and services over the SD-WAN.
“Increasingly, IT organizations are pursuing connectivity options that improve application resiliency across the WAN, with cellular technology emerging as a key option to support this requirement,” Don May, executive vice president of sales and CMO at Data2Go, said in a statement. “A solution that leverages the Data2Go LTE products, cost-effective service plans and simplified billing with a failsafe Talari SD-WAN is a natural fit.”