The world is marching toward software-defined infrastructure and the industry ideal of disaggregation: white-box hardware with a mix-and-match approach to loading network software functions.

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The reality today is that those functions are still dependent on specific hardware. For NEPs being pushed to become purely software vendors, taking a hybrid strategy can provide benefits to them and their customers.

Benefits include facilitating faster time to market, reduced risk during deployment, faster troubleshooting, and optimized performance. Adopting this strategy can also prepare the NEP for the ultimate goal of a fully disaggregated platform.

 

In the meantime, the hybrid approach and the right hardware partner ensures that NEPs can provide end users with time savings, convenience, and the peace of mind that comes with a pre-integrated, pre-certified software and hardware stack.