SNS Research: NFV, SDN investment to climb to $21B by 2020

Growing interest from large service providers like AT&T (NYSE: T) in network functions virtualization (NFV) and software-defined networking (SDN) are setting the stage for a market that's forecast to reach nearly $21 billion by 2020, according to a new report from SNS Research. One of the benefits that service providers are looking to get from NFV and SDN is related to the cost savings associated with migrating more of their network functions off of hardware platforms and onto software. The research firm said that both technologies claim that NFV and SDN can reduce capital expenditures for both wireline and wireless carriers, and both technologies can help them slash operational expenses due to the reduction in physical space, labor and power consumption. Read more