Just a few months after Adtran leaped into the competitive SD-WAN market, the networking vendor is back with an SD-WAN appliance aimed squarely at the small to midsize business segment.

The Adtran 934 SD-WAN edge appliance is the company's first based on Intel's x86 architecture, but unlike many CPE-based appliances, Adtran says most of its software is running in the cloud and backed by a dedicated network backbone build upon redundant circuits in multiple points of presence (PoP) in data centers around the United States.

According to Adtran, these PoPs are located in dedicated data centers that are co-located within major peering exchanges that allow speedy access to a wide array of cloud applications.

By leveraging Intel's x86 architecture, Adtran also claims that it is now possible to quickly roll out new features, including those from third-party vendors, to existing equipment.

Further setting itself apart from other edge and firewall-based SD-WAN offerings, Adtran says its SD-WAN platform is capable of providing active WAN links, inbound quality of service, single IP failover, and a cloud-gateway component that can be used to control cloud-based content.

Adtran's SD-WAN, which was first announced in October 2019, is built on a combination of in-house, open source, and third-party software, and is delivered to customers through the company’s existing service provider network.

When Adtran announced its entry into the crowded SD-WAN market, it wasn't going after industry giants like Cisco or VMware. Instead, it set its sights on the SMB market where the company has traditionally played.

"Most first-generation SD-WAN solutions seem to be targeted more toward the medium to large enterprise space," a company spokesperson wrote in an email to SDxCentral. "Service providers need a solution that can be quickly and easily installed in order to serve the large number of small businesses."

Adtran, however, isn't the only vendor targeting this market segment. The company joins a growing number of vendors, both big and small, trying to sell smaller businesses on the benefits of SD-WAN.

Last week Fortinet announced a new SD-WAN appliance, the FortiGate 40F, which is aimed right at this market segment.

This focus on the SMB market by SD-WAN vendors comes as no surprise to IDC analyst Brandon Butler, who says that as markets become increasingly crowded — as the SD-WAN market certainly has — it's not uncommon for vendors to begin looking down market for new opportunities.

"We have seen an increased focus by some of the major SD-WAN vendors lower down into the market, both into the mid-market and into the small- to medium-size business sides of the market,"  he said.

However, Butler notes that just because established SD-WAN vendors are beginning to go after the SMB market, it doesn't mean smaller vendors will necessarily get pushed out. He explained the SD-WAN market is growing at an approximately 33% compound annual growth rate.

"Because this market is growing so fast ... the pie is getting bigger," Butler explained. "So, these smaller vendors will have an opportunity to make some hay in the SD-WAN market even if they're not taking share from some of these larger vendors."