That interest included focus on new platform launches and advances that refined underlying SD-WAN architectures in support of growing cybersecurity services.

Verizon's vendor bankruptcy and EchoStar ditching VMware also drew a lot of views.

The operator pulled VMware’s platform that had been core to its unique open network architecture since its inception for Wind River’s Studio Operator platform.

The additions could be important for some of its vendors but are not unique.

Lots of businesses know – or suspect – they don't have the right people in house to do high-end work, so they need to find someone who does.

Purpose-built multicloud networking offers better performance and reliability, distributing traffic across multiple clouds and diverse network paths.

“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.

The Department of Justice's scrutiny of Hewlett Packard Enterprise's proposed $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks likely stems from two critical issues.

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

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.

Network transformation needs more than internal strategy, it also needs an ecosystem of external collaborators that align with your vision.

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

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

An increasing number of enterprises are realizing that their legacy networking systems are too old and need replacement.

Self-healing artificial intelligence empowers networks to adapt, optimize, and defend themselves autonomously.

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

Gartner noted that VMware concerns will result in half of enterprises over the next couple of years initiating plans for an alternative vendor.

But analysts predict more than 100,000 VMware customers could exit Broadcom.

The odds are long, but that's just how EchoStar Chairman Charlie Ergen likes them.

Gartner’s latest SD-WAN ranking also included Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Versa Networks, and Palo Alto Networks in the “leaders” quadrant.