There’s no denying it: there is a technology innovation cycle underway that is having a major impact on networking.
It is embodied in the way the Internet of Things (IoT) is becoming more mainstream; in the advent of elastic computing where IT assets are moved freely across private and public clouds; in the way applications are being developed to deliver new services in the networks of tomorrow.
Carriers and communications service providers (CSPs) tasked with meeting service level agreements are widely embracing virtualization and SDN to streamline and simplify their networks, gain greater agility in meeting customer demands, and lower costs, creating longer chains of trust. Cybercriminals are taking advantage of the resulting security gaps, developing ever more sophisticated attacks to infiltrate the network.
As a result, the ability to securely deliver these services is paramount, as are throughput and lowering the cost of service delivery. Service disruption caused by an infected endpoint, mobile device or application is unacceptable; the service delivery network must remain up and secure or risk harm to brand reputation and profitability. The intensely competitive service provider environment means end users have any number of options, making it incredibly difficult for a carrier or CSP to recover from a serious breach.
How is this impacting the buying behavior of carriers and CSPs? At a minimum, they need a resilient, high-speed network with the capacity to handle vast amounts of traffic, as well as robust security capabilities that span SDN and network functions virtualization (NFV) environments to protect against the most advanced threats. If any of these capabilities are missing, chances are the IoT, mobile service, or SDN/NFV network is not operating efficiently. Worse yet, it means it is not safe from cybercriminals.
So how are technology providers measuring up? Are they delivering what carriers and CSPs need?
If they want to attract and retain satisfied customers, carrier-class network firewall providers must offer more software-based and virtualized offerings that deliver the depth of defense needed in hybrid environments that combine traditional infrastructures with SDN and NFV. While it’s indisputable that carriers are adopting more virtualization in their networks, traditional infrastructures that provide high speed, low cost, and essential levels of security are still the foundation of a robust carrier offering, and will remain so for the foreseeable future. Innovation cannot come at the expense of core requirements that the network will continue to need.
Few security technology providers are equipped to strike this delicate balance between innovation and legacy. It takes a special company with innovation in its DNA to challenge the status quo while remaining steadfast in delivering effective security solutions that customers need today as they undergo such a critical transformation. Juniper is that type of company.
Juniper understands that the sooner companies view cybersecurity through the lens of resilience as well as prevention, the better they’ll be able to deliver the business continuity that customers require. This is evident in the security accomplishments that Juniper recorded in 2015 alone.
For instance, in 2015, Juniper extended the performance of its data center SRX Series firewall family, and more than doubled its session capacity to further advance our position as the leading provider of security solutions for the largest mobile service provider and enterprise networks in the world.
Also in the data center space, Juniper is leading the migration to public, private and hybrid clouds by emphasizing performance, automation, consistent policies, and early threat identification and mitigation.
For carriers and CSPs, we’ve maintained our market leadership for carrier-grade firewalls and SDN-ready security solutions. Our vSRX virtual firewall, unmatched in performance and total cost of ownership, has established itself as a cutting-edge solution for securing virtualized data centers and hybrid clouds. For carriers transitioning to SDN and VNF, the vSRX with Juniper’s Contrail SDN Controller delivers the service speed, automation and agility that customers need.
For these highly demanding customers, what sets Juniper apart is our approach to delivering consistent visibility and security management for physical and virtual environments, all from a single pane of glass. Additionally, our breadth of form factors, designed to meet a variety of use cases, as well as our feature richness and high-throughput firewalls—both physical and virtual—truly distinguish Juniper from the competition.
But we’re not the only ones singing the praises of the SRX Series firewalls. Read what Gartner has to say about Juniper in their latest report: “Competitive Landscape: Carrier-Class Network Firewalls.”
Juniper’s done it again.