Enterprises in Germany are increasingly replacing legacy network architectures with software-defined models, according to a new report from Information Services Group (ISG).
The research firm found that businesses in Europe’s largest economy are making the switch to connect disparate workforces and data sources, while also gearing up to support AI-enabled operations.
ISG suggests German enterprises are using software-defined networking (SDN) to unify public, private, and hybrid cloud environments while maintaining a centralized policy-based management that lets them route traffic via consistent controls. Europe is one of the most heavily regulated when it comes to data rules, and the report suggests that centralized policy-based control allows firms to preserve control wherever their data is processed.
The shift to SDN has also provided German enterprises with the means to better secure their stack. The report suggests that shifts to SD-WANs with security service edge (SSE) or even full-scale secure access service edge (SASE) frameworks provide that level of consistent protection across users and applications.
“German companies are treating the network as a strategic layer for cloud, security and AI adoption,” said Matthias Paletta, director at ISG. “They need architectures that can adapt quickly while giving them greater control over performance, data and compliance.”
The report found that brands like Deutsche Telekom (DT), HCLTech, and Orange Business were among the ‘Leaders’ benefiting from customers wanting to make the switch.
The former came out with the highest customer satisfaction scores per ISG's Voice of the Customer survey.
DT has leaned on increased demand for so-called sovereignty, supplying continental customers with a slew of data security and public cloud offerings to satisfy said desires, including a cloud migration tool, a dedicated sovereignty officer, and an almost ‘bridging’-style relationship with hyperscalers to offer localized versions of their cloud services.
“The next phase of network modernization in Germany is about unifying connectivity, security and operational control,” said Dr. Kenn Walters, lead author of the report. “Providers that can simplify complex environments while supporting sovereignty and resilience will be most relevant to enterprise buyers.”