Thursday, September 11, 2014

Honda Rides NTT Com's SDN-Powered Enterprise Cloud Service

NTT Communications is providing a global enterprise cloud service that Honda Motor Co. is leveraging for its global supplier network.


Specifically, NTT Com has been providing the automaker with its Enterprise Cloud service from delivery centers in Japan and Singapore since 2013. To date, Honda has increased its file-sharing speed by a factor of 14, while reducing operating costs by 30% on an annual basis. Honda is currently planning to expand its use of Enterprise Cloud infrastructure in other key areas of its global business.

NTT Com’s Enterprise Cloud, the first private cloud to deploy Software Defined Networking (SDN), is built on global cloud infrastructure provided from 11 delivery centers in 9 countries. The service leverages SDN to provide flexible support for critical enterprise applications.

Honda’s global network encompasses more than 10,000 suppliers and 54 countries. In 2011, it began reorganizing its internal system for development, procurement and production in specific markets, aiming to strengthen cross-group collaboration to quickly launch price-competitive products that meet local demands. Such collaboration requires the sharing of CAD and other huge data files with suppliers globally, but Honda experienced difficulties with differing systems and security levels among its many markets, resulting in slow data transfers along with added time and cost to introduce new systems.

http://www.ntt.com/enterprise_cloud_e


In May 2014, NTT Communications introduced a suite of NFV-enabled services that can be instantly activated online and are powered by Virtela's global SDN platform.  Virtela Technology Services was acquired by NTT Com in January 2014.

The new services are offered via a pay-per-use model under NTT Com’s Arcstar Universal One portfolio, which are delivered to enterprise customers in more than 190 countries/regions worldwide. The new services will become officially available for sales starting from July 2014.

NTT Com said the new cloud-based network services make branch office networking more asset-light, agile, scalable and economical.  The launch includes the following four new cloud-based network services:
  • Cloud-Based Application Acceleration: Optimizes application performance over the IP-VPN network, enabling global IT consolidation and faster access to cloud-hosted applications
  • Cloud-Based Firewall: This service offers Firewall, IPS, and URL Filtering options, and enables secure Internet access at branch offices using the nearest of 50 Local Cloud Networking Centers distributed globally
  • Cloud-Based IPSEC VPN Gateway: Establishes quick enterprise network connections from public cloud or any site with Internet access
  • Cloud-Based SSL VPN: Enables remote workers or partners using any device to access the enterprise network.
"While many industry experts and service providers have long been speaking about the potential of NFV, we are excited to become the first service providers to commercialize NFV-enabled services on a global scale," says Takashi Ooi, NTT Com’s Vice President of Enterprise Network Service.