Report: COVID-19 takes a bite out of carrier managed SD-WAN revenue

After posting a triple-digit revenue increase last year, the growth outlook for carrier managed SD-WAN has been lowered by 17%, according to a report. According to research by Vertical Systems Group, the corornavirus pandemic was the primary factor for lowering the growth outlook for this year.

Despite the decrease, Vertical Systems Group forecast there would be "measurable" economic recovery in the fourth quarter of this year, with revenue rebounding next year through 2024.

RELATED: AT&T, Hughes and Verizon top Vertical Systems Group's SD-WAN Leaderboard

In April, Vertical Systems Group announced that for the second straight year, AT&T, Hughes and Verizon, respectively, held down the top three spots on its Leaderboard. Following those three, in order were, CenturyLink, Windstream, Aryaka and Comcast. Those top-seven service providers each accounted for 2% or more of the installed and billable carrier managed SD-WAN customer sites across the U.S. at the end of last year.

Vertical Systems Group defines a carrier managed SD-WAN service as a carrier-grade offering for business customers that is managed by a network operator, utilizes an SDN architecture, enables dynamic customer edge site connectivity, and provides centralized network control and end-to-end visibility.