Epsilon is firing on all cylinders in regards to deploying and using intercarrier services and software-defined networking.
Epsilon Chief Executive Officer Jerzy Szlosarek provided some details on the wholesale carrier's product and networking plans in this Q&A with FierceTelecom, including the launch of a cross-carrier service with DCConnect.
Last month, Epsilon and China's DCConnect announced a two-way, intercarrier network service that will be provisioned across each other's networks using an API-to-API interface between their separate SDN architectures.
The integration with Epsilon will enable DCConnect customer to interconnect with Epsilon’s network of more than 600 service providers, cloud service providers and internet exchanges while also providing access to more than 100 points of presence across Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North America.
DCConnect will enable Epsilon’s global customers and partners interconnections in major cities in China such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Those customers will the use the Infiny by Epsilon platform, which launched last year, to connect to DCConnect’s SDN network that has access to more than 90 data centers and 11 cloud providers in China.
RELATED: Colt, Verizon will go live this year with cross-carrier Ethernet service
As FierceTelecom previously reported, Colt Technology Services and Verizon are also planning to offer Carrier Ethernet over their respective SDN networks using an API-to-API interface, but it remains to be since which of the two services will be the first to roll out.
In this Q&A, which was lightly edited for context and length, Szlosarek provides more details on the intercarrier service with DCConnect.
FierceTelecom: What services will you provide across each other's networks?
Jerzy Szlosarek: Both Infiny and SD-Cloud Express by DCConnect enable partners to rapidly procure on-demand Ethernet connectivity. DCConnect’s customers will see the reach of their services they can procure become global in the third quarter of this year. It will be the same portal but with a global reach across Epsilon’s global network fabric. At the same time, our partners will see our reach expand into key cities in China.
That includes visibility into network performance and analytics. They can monitor and manage services from a single portal with all the tools and connectivity at their fingertips. It’s a pretty big step forward for software-defined networking.
They can instantly connect across both platforms seamlessly with a single user experience. Users around the world can react to growing network demands and optimize their applications and services with on-demand connectivity.
FierceTelecom: Are there any other intercarrier proof-of-concept trials or deployments in the works?
Szlosarek: Over the next year we’ll be announcing more partnerships with service providers around the world. Our API strategy is central to our future growth. We have dedicated a lot of resources towards it and we’re seeing a tremendous response.
We are creating an entire approach to support the future of software-defined networking that is hyperconnected, hyperscalable and driven by APIs. Over the last year, we’ve launched initiatives around intercarrier automation, federated APIs and delivering 100 Gig on-demand. We’re really preparing our partners to deliver the future of networking.
FierceTelecom: What do your customers like about the Infiny platform?
Szlosarek: People love how fluid and elastic networking is becoming. It really is behaving like a utility and we see a lot of new kinds of companies benefitting from it beyond our traditional customer base. Application service providers, cloud service providers (CSP) and developers see a lot of potential in Infiny and they like how quickly we can connect their apps and services globally. That’s really exciting.
At the beginning of May, we announced that we’d begun our phased deployment of 100G packet optical switched Ethernet technology across our global backbone network. Our partners will be able to benefit from hyperscalable connectivity that’s designed to support the demand generated by the services of the future on a global scale.
FierceTelecom: How has your SDN network evolved? What are enterprise, medium and smaller business customers asking for?
Szlosarek: SDN is really a journey we’ve been on for 10 years. Our business has always been focused on finding simple solutions for complex networking challenges. That has evolved into our Infiny platform after a lot growth in our global fabric of service providers, such as CSPs and internet exchanges, as well as our commitment to automation and DevOps.
Through our partners, we see demand for networking that removes barriers to innovation and can scale to meet the needs of new applications like IoT, big data, cloud and digital content. The legacy way of thinking no longer matches the needs and expectations of today’s enterprises and innovative businesses.
More than anything, customers want to work with service providers that have the same mindset and approach of an agile startup. They like to see that we behave and approach their problems as a software-driven, customer-centric business. We share a lot of the same values and that helps us to win business.