Information Services Group (ISG) is conducting an SDN study targeted at helping business leaders determine the right network strategy, and expects the results will indicate a “paradigm shift toward making the network more consumable.”

ISG Lead Analyst Avimanyu Basu expects most major technology trends to continue in 2023 “despite a few radical technological advances that moved from concept to commercialization stage in the past 12 months.”

“A change is evident in how enterprises purchase networks,” Basu told SDxCentral in an email. “ISG is witnessing a tendency to shift toward the concept of network-as-a-service (or network as a subscription) among enterprises, which can sidestep heavy [capital expense].”

Software-defined architectures are expected to gradually evolve into intent-based networks, he added. ISG anticipates these new-age networks will have self-healing features, with continuous integration of elements of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation happening in the near future.

Basu added that the adoption of technologies that provide optimal visibility across a network and forecasts network visibility will increase. “This covers not only a single view of the enterprise network assets but also provides insights on customer experience or user experience within the network, such as accessibility from various locations,” he said.

Lead Analyst Kenn Walters said the SDN study will focus on specific markets, including Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and offer transparency into the strengths and weaknesses of relevant providers.

“Our study serves as an important decision-making basis for positioning, building key relationships, and go-to-market considerations,” he said.

The report, to be released in June, will cover five quadrants representing the “typical SDN-related services enterprises are buying,” according to ISG, including managed SD-WAN, SDN transformation services (consulting and implementation), enterprise networks technology and service suppliers, edge technologies and services, and secure access service edge (SASE) solutions and services.

Walters added the study will offer insight into providers’ positioning by segments based on their “competitive strengths and portfolio attractiveness.”

SDN is at the core of SD-WAN technology, which is the “biggest trend in the networking space today,” ISG Director Roopa Honnachari noted, adding “no network architecture discussion is complete without considering SD-WAN.”

Honnachari explained the five quadrants are intended to cover the “entire gamut of SD-WAN” technology components as it impacts the enterprise space, including hardware, software, transport, and all the management pieces – vendors, service providers, and consulting and implementation partners.

And while SASE is new to the mix, SD-WAN is an integral component of the SASE framework.

“Most organizations are evaluating SD-WAN solutions that will help them gradually grow into an SASE architecture,” she added. “Since the entire premise of SASE is based on a cloud-delivered, software-defined architecture, it is prudent to evaluate SASE vendors and solution providers in the SDN analysis.”