“I've had customers put things on hold right now, and not just the Juniper side but both sides,” Forrester's Andre Kindness said.

“It's moving from I don't want to tell the network exactly what to do, I want to tell it what I want to achieve," Ericsson's Gabriel Foglander said.

ReThink Technology Research predicts 74% of data will be processed outside of traditional data centers by early in the next decade.

Is networking set to rebound?

IoT Analytics did add that all three can claim a market victory.

The company has signed up more than 400 network-as-a-service customers over the past year, which CEO Kate Johnson noted was “a good start for sure.”

"We'll probably see the opening potentially for the fixed-wireless access and for satellite to play in these broadband spaces,” Cisco's Robin Olds said.

AvidThink's Roy Chua explained that while “certification can be helpful,” the current process should not be viewed as an absolute.

"We don't have a gun to our head,” Boost Mobile CTO Eben Albertyn said of the carrier's ability to swap software vendors.

“My personal, anecdotal experiences this last year has been a lot of the emotional, visceral reactions to what's happened," Red Hat's Andrew Sullivan said.

A recent enterprise survey and report from William Blair found “Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware continued to be disruptive for partners and customers alike."

“The general rule that we have from software development teams are, if it can be done twice manually, it's going to get automated," Comcast's Elad Nafshi said.

Broadcom also launched a pair of high-end VeloCloud SD-WAN edge devices that are targeted at high-scale and artificial intelligence needs.

“As you go into enterprise [artificial intelligence], we expect to place a more prominent role,” CEO Pat Gelsinger said.

But logistical challenges remain.

That attentiveness could be critical to Broadcom maintaining positive sentiment from its customers, many of whom are suffering through sticker shock.

Analysts predict the private 5G market could finally be gaining its legs.

Timing of that API-fueled edge revolution remains in question.

Cisco’s work with McLaren allows it to test equipment and services in stressful situations, which can then help prove performance for other environments.

Analysys Mason's Gorkem Yigit noted that while the multicloud networking market “is expanding, it has lost some of the initial momentum.”

Verizon and T-Mobile US also initiated new connection goals that show continued consumer and enterprise growth expectations.

Ericsson is riding some telecom momentum, while Nokia continues to struggle in that space and is looking at alternative verticals to drive future growth.

Gartner noted that the top seven SD-WAN vendors accounted for two-thirds of the market.

Nuclear power is seen as a way to hit both power need and sustainability goals.