VMware's VeloCloud SD-WAN has found a home in Equinix's data centers, which means VMware can now offer it as a virtual network function (VNF.)
The VMware/VeloCloud SD-WAN VNF is now available on Equinix's Network Edge platform. Network Edge enables organizations to deploy virtual network services by using network function virtualization (NFV) to give customers a choice of VNFs from multiple vendors.
"With VMware SD-WAN Edge now available as a virtual network service on Equinix's Network Edge, enterprises, partners and service providers alike will be able to have unique, globally available network solutions optimized for intrinsically secure access to any public, private or SaaS cloud for remote and branch users," said VMware's Sanjay Uppal, senior vice president and general manager, VeloCloud business unit, in a statement.
VMware is also beefing up its presence in Equinix International Business Exchange (IBX) data centers across the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East to better provision its services globally. Equinix operates 46 IBX data centers in Asia-Pacific across 13 metros in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Osaka, Seoul, Singapore and Tokyo.
Globally, Equinix has more than 210 data centers across 56 metros and 26 countries, providing data center and interconnection services for over 9,500 global businesses, including more than 50% of Fortune 500 companies.
By deepening its partnership with Equinix, VMware's VeloCloud SD-WAN customers will be able to better manage their relationships with cloud service providers of their choice through the Equinix Cloud Exchange Fabric (ECX Fabric) or Equinix Marketplace. ECX Fabric, which is an on-demand, software-defined enabled interconnection service, allows any business to connect between its own distributed infrastructure and any other company's distributed infrastructure.
VMware and Equinix, which have been collaborating since 2013, touted the new capabilities as especially important for "work from anywhere" employees that have dispersed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"By expanding our collaboration with VMware to deliver an innovative new solution that empowers remote workforces, reduces disruption and enables business continuity, we can help companies deploy a digital ready infrastructure at the edge within minutes in order to accelerate their digital transformation efforts anywhere in the world," said Equinix's Bill Long, senior vice president of product management, in a statement.
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Monday's announcement also included a secure access service edge(SASE) element. Equinix and VMware will enable the provisioning and accessibility of VMware's SASE components via Network Edge, ECX Fabric and other connectivity options available through a single pane of glass on the VMware Orchestrator portal.