November 10, 2010 – Avaya debuted its vision of how to build next generation networks that better accommodate virtualized resources and real-time applications with its Virtual Enterprise Network Architecture. VENA is intended to reduce costs and simplify network design and operation across data center and campus networks by streamlining provisioning and reducing the need to redesign networks to support new application traffic.
Analytical SummaryPerspective
• Positive on Avaya’s Virtual Enterprise Network Architecture (VENA) launch, because it demonstrates—first and foremost—the strength of Avaya’s commitment to its data networking business, and also establishes a credible approach to enabling customers to build next-generation networks. VENA draws on former Nortel network engineering talent to solve issues of scale and efficiency in virtualized environments. And it draws on its strong network management tools to provision new network services to accommodate new virtualized applications rapidly and accurately.
Vendor Importance
• High to Avaya, because it intends to grow the data networking business it acquired with Nortel as a business in its own right, rather than just play a supporting role to its UC, contact center and business collaboration business. The VENA architecture is a central element to help it revive its former competitive position in data networking, starting with the data center and moving out into the campus. The architecture also can be positioned in enterprise networks fueled by other suppliers’ equipment, offering Avaya the opportunity to grow market share.
Market Impact
• Moderate on the enterprise networking market, because while it may give the former Nortel installed base a good reason to stick with Avaya and base their next generation network designs on Avaya’s vision, it’s not clear that VENA will help to steer Avaya’s existing UC, contact center or business collaboration customers towards Avaya’s data networking, or help Avaya displace established rivals.
Competitive StrengthsCompetitive Positives
• Avaya delivered the VSP 9000 next generation 10 GbE switch in a controlled release ahead of the architecture launch, which allowed the company to develop strong customer references who can speak to the benefits of Avaya’s approach in real world terms (see Nortel Keeps Innovating with VSP 9000 Core Switch, May 20, 2009). Unlike rivals such as Juniper, who described their strategies/visions without having the key supporting technologies in place, Avaya with its VENA launch can bolster its message with endorsements from customers that already have switches in production. That sets Avaya apart from the pack.
• Avaya is addressing a significant pain point in its efforts to speed the delivery of network services in support of new applications. That has been a big point of contention between network operations and application owners. By simplifying the provisioning of new network services and increasing the level of automation to both speed delivery and reduce human error in the process, it is creating a good differentiator.
• Avaya in its January roadmap announcement said that it has added an overlay dedicated networking sales force incented to sell data networking products, and it has obviously been producing results for Avaya. Avaya in August claimed that its data networking unit has produced four consecutive quarters of quarter over quarter growth, and its data networking business increased 30% in its second quarter. Now that sales force has greater ammunition for data center sales with the VENA vision and software upgrades for the Ethernet Routing Switch 8600, 8800 and VSP 9000.
• Key to the success of Avaya’s VENA strategy is its management tools, such as the Configuration and Orchestration Manager, which Avaya enhanced with a new Virtual Services Manager. The tools provide centralized provisioning of VENA’s Virtual Services Fabric and Virtual Service Networks, and they simplify Shortest Path Bridging configuration. The inclusion of wizards that lead network operators step by step through the provisioning process should help to reduce human error, which is the single biggest factor in network outages.
• Avaya’s use of fully programmable network processors in its switches such as the ERS 8600 and new ERS 8800 allows customers to adopt these next generation capabilities through a software upgrade, rather than a rip and replace hardware upgrade. (see Spring Interop 2010: Avaya Demonstrates Commitment to Former Nortel Data Networking, April 28, 2010). That type of investment protection is unique to Avaya and should appeal to prospects outside Avaya’s existing installed base of data networking customers.
• Avaya is unique in promoting the network-wide visibility it can provide through its network monitoring tools, along with simplified end to end provisioning. This is a refreshing change from the lip service most other networking vendors give to network monitoring and management of next-generation data center networks.
• Avaya is addressing a significant pain point in its efforts to speed the delivery of network services in support of new applications. That has been a big point of contention between network operations and application owners. By simplifying the provisioning of new network services and increasing the level of automation to both speed delivery and reduce human error in the process, it is creating a good differentiator.
• Avaya in its January roadmap announcement said that it has added an overlay dedicated networking sales force incented to sell data networking products, and it has obviously been producing results for Avaya. Avaya in August claimed that its data networking unit has produced four consecutive quarters of quarter over quarter growth, and its data networking business increased 30% in its second quarter. Now that sales force has greater ammunition for data center sales with the VENA vision and software upgrades for the Ethernet Routing Switch 8600, 8800 and VSP 9000.
• Key to the success of Avaya’s VENA strategy is its management tools, such as the Configuration and Orchestration Manager, which Avaya enhanced with a new Virtual Services Manager. The tools provide centralized provisioning of VENA’s Virtual Services Fabric and Virtual Service Networks, and they simplify Shortest Path Bridging configuration. The inclusion of wizards that lead network operators step by step through the provisioning process should help to reduce human error, which is the single biggest factor in network outages.
• Avaya’s use of fully programmable network processors in its switches such as the ERS 8600 and new ERS 8800 allows customers to adopt these next generation capabilities through a software upgrade, rather than a rip and replace hardware upgrade. (see Spring Interop 2010: Avaya Demonstrates Commitment to Former Nortel Data Networking, April 28, 2010). That type of investment protection is unique to Avaya and should appeal to prospects outside Avaya’s existing installed base of data networking customers.
• Avaya is unique in promoting the network-wide visibility it can provide through its network monitoring tools, along with simplified end to end provisioning. This is a refreshing change from the lip service most other networking vendors give to network monitoring and management of next-generation data center networks.
Competitive WeaknessesCompetitive Concerns
• We said it before and we’ll say it again: Avaya’s high level message about being unique in delivering “always on” (reliable), efficient and scalable networking technology is the same tune being sung by every other enterprise networking vendor. That marketing message won’t be an attention grabber for any prospect that’s examined the next-generation network architectures of other rival vendors.
• Rivals will undoubtedly describe Avaya’s vision as a sincere form of flattery, given that it’s messaging seems to mimic their themes. In fact nearly every enterprise networking vendor describes their technology as scalable, reliable (always on) and efficient. And like all other vendors, Avaya is promoting flat networks (eliminating the aggregation layer in a three-tier network design) as the best way to simplify data center networks. Being just about the last one to describe your vision for next generation networks gives rivals the opportunity to say, “been there, done that.”
• Avaya’s reliance on its management tools to help deliver its VENA vision is a mixed blessing. While such tools are necessary for successful deployment of virtual networking, but management is almost always an afterthought in any major networking upgrade or project. Getting new customers to pony up for these tools up front before deployment will be a tough job to accomplish, as will getting sales people to push them as an essential element of the switching sale.
• Avaya is basing the core of its virtual switching fabric on the emerging IEEE 802.1AQ (Shortest Path Bridging) standard to eliminate the spanning tree hurdles. Standards are great, but their purpose is to insure interoperability and none of the other vendors that have outlined their architectures have pledged support for that emerging standard. The competing IETF emerging standard, TRILL, has generated greater support. Although Avaya is confident that SPB is a superior approach to TRILL, superior technology does not always win out.
• The VENA launch was thin on partnerships, with only four partners supporting its vision: VMware (which partners with everybody), QLogic for converged networking processors, Coraid for converged storage, and SilverPeak for data center WAN optimization. It will be important for Avaya to fill that out with more partners who can help fulfill a vision of seamless, interoperable and simplified virtualization in the data center.
• Security, which has been a huge stumbling block for cloud computing, plays a very minor role in the VENA architecture. Avaya describes its virtualization as being inherently secure by virtue of the separation of application traffic into separate virtual networks. That sounds like the same lip service server virtualization vendors such as VMware gave five years ago before they got security religion.
• Rivals will undoubtedly describe Avaya’s vision as a sincere form of flattery, given that it’s messaging seems to mimic their themes. In fact nearly every enterprise networking vendor describes their technology as scalable, reliable (always on) and efficient. And like all other vendors, Avaya is promoting flat networks (eliminating the aggregation layer in a three-tier network design) as the best way to simplify data center networks. Being just about the last one to describe your vision for next generation networks gives rivals the opportunity to say, “been there, done that.”
• Avaya’s reliance on its management tools to help deliver its VENA vision is a mixed blessing. While such tools are necessary for successful deployment of virtual networking, but management is almost always an afterthought in any major networking upgrade or project. Getting new customers to pony up for these tools up front before deployment will be a tough job to accomplish, as will getting sales people to push them as an essential element of the switching sale.
• Avaya is basing the core of its virtual switching fabric on the emerging IEEE 802.1AQ (Shortest Path Bridging) standard to eliminate the spanning tree hurdles. Standards are great, but their purpose is to insure interoperability and none of the other vendors that have outlined their architectures have pledged support for that emerging standard. The competing IETF emerging standard, TRILL, has generated greater support. Although Avaya is confident that SPB is a superior approach to TRILL, superior technology does not always win out.
• The VENA launch was thin on partnerships, with only four partners supporting its vision: VMware (which partners with everybody), QLogic for converged networking processors, Coraid for converged storage, and SilverPeak for data center WAN optimization. It will be important for Avaya to fill that out with more partners who can help fulfill a vision of seamless, interoperable and simplified virtualization in the data center.
• Security, which has been a huge stumbling block for cloud computing, plays a very minor role in the VENA architecture. Avaya describes its virtualization as being inherently secure by virtue of the separation of application traffic into separate virtual networks. That sounds like the same lip service server virtualization vendors such as VMware gave five years ago before they got security religion.
Buyer Actions
• Avaya customers who have, as Avaya officials described it, “hit the pause button” on their Avaya network infrastructure, can now safely hit the play button. Any needed upgrades that were put on hold can be moved forward with assurance that Avaya is strongly committed to its portfolio. And with the VENA launch, Avaya has continued the former Nortel heritage of networking innovations with its software upgrades for the ERS 8600, 8800 and now generally available VSP 9000. Avaya customers looking to upgrade their data center networks to meet the challenges of virtualization and real time applications should evaluate Avaya’s approach.
• Enterprise network and IT managers should investigate Avaya’s claims of simplified virtualization as they examine their next move in the data center. Those with Cisco, HP, Extreme, Enterasys or other investments should not discount Avaya – if only to keep the others honest about their own capabilities and commitments.
• Enterprise network and IT managers should investigate Avaya’s claims of simplified virtualization as they examine their next move in the data center. Those with Cisco, HP, Extreme, Enterasys or other investments should not discount Avaya – if only to keep the others honest about their own capabilities and commitments.
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