Cisco and Verizon both made announcements this week that were chock full of new acronyms. Cutting through the noise, the gist is that Verizon is using Cisco's IWAN for its software-defined wide area networking (SD-WAN). And Cisco is touting its Virtual Managed Services (VMS) for virtual functions that it provides now, and in the future, to its service provider customers.

Cisco’s SD-WAN portfolio includes its existing IWAN product, its Meraki product, and the soon-to-be-included Viptela assets. Cisco announced in May it was buying the SD-WAN vendor Viptela for $610 million.

Verizon already uses Viptela for SD-WAN. So basically, Cisco picks up Verizon’s SD-WAN business when it closes on Viptela.

But today, Cisco wants to highlight the fact its IWAN is also being used by Verizon. And IWAN comes through the VMS platform. Verizon will be using the VMS 3.0 release.

“IWAN is the technology that runs on the network that allows for scalable, secure SD-WAN,” said David Roberts, Cisco’s director of product management for VMS. "It provides the capability that ties the whole thing together at a business level.”

Roberts said IWAN delivered through VMS not only configures the SD-WAN service but handles functions like service assurance and billing. “Verizon was attracted to VMS because VMS does more than SD-WAN.”

In that regard, Cisco also today said Verizon will provide its customers with access to a library of Cisco-based VNFs using VMS. In addition to SD-WAN, the VMS includes security and automation services.

For its part, Verizon Enterprise Solutions this week announced its Hosted Network Services. These services can be deployed across different access options – from private MPLS VPNs to dedicated internet, broadband, and wireless access – in more than 30 global locations.

In addition to SD-WAN, the Hosted Network Services gives business customers access to an application library “coupled with our enterprise orchestration and other virtual network services.”

In its announcement, Verizon said it “has been focused on software-defined networking/network function virtualization (SDN/NFV) since 2015 when it launched the first globally managed SD-WAN service.”

Verizon recently launched an open source white box that runs services from multiple vendors.