Wednesday, March 30, 2016

MEF Publishes Lifecycle Service Orchestration Reference Architecture

Following approval by its members, the MEF published its Lifecycle Service Orchestration (LSO) Reference Architecture & Framework (MEF 55) for Service Providers.

LSO, which aims to automate the entire network service lifecycle in a sustainable fashion, encompasses all network domains that require end-to-end management and control to deliver on-demand connectivity services (Carrier Ethernet 2.0, IP VPNs, MPLS, SDN/NFV, etc.) and to assure their overall quality and security.

The LSO Reference Architecture describes the functional management entities needed to support LSO and the Management Interface Reference Points between them. LSO provides open and interoperable automation of management operations that include design, fulfillment, control, testing, problem management, quality management, billing & usage, security, analytics, and policy capabilities. It enables automated management and control of end-to-end connectivity services that span multiple service provider domains. For example, a provider of dynamic network services could extend its reach by using LSO to interact with other service providers to manage and control access portions of end-to-end services.

“Service providers worldwide are looking for complete automation of the service lifecycle as a means to overcome OSS/BSS challenges that prevent them from taking full advantage of existing and newer SDN- and NFV-enabled networks,” said Nan Chen, President of the MEF. “Many of the world’s largest service providers have supported MEF efforts to define LSO capabilities and supporting APIs to address this challenge. We are thrilled to have completed the first phase in the LSO journey and already have launched new initiatives to accelerate LSO development – including in collaboration with other industry organizations within an open networking ecosystem.”

Michael Strople, Chairman of the MEF, commented: “Lifecycle Service Orchestration is essential to the evolution and implementation of SDN and NFV. The LSO Reference Architecture clearly defines LSO functionality and capabilities and will enable service providers to make big steps forward in the development of virtualized networks and overcoming the operational challenges that have been holding our industry back.”

http://www.mef.net
https://www.mef.net/Assets/Technical_Specifications/PDF/MEF-55.pdf

Level 3 Adds Microsoft Office 365 to its Cloud Connect

Level 3 Communications and Microsoft are enabling direct connectivity to Office 365 via the ExpressRoute service on the Level 3 network.  Enterprises can access everything in their Office 365 service, including Exchange Online, Office web applications, Skype for Business Online, OneDrive for Business and SharePoint Online across Level 3's global network.

Level 3 offers both point-to-point Ethernet and any-to-any IP-VPN connectivity to Azure and Office 365. At every Level 3-ExpressRoute IP-VPN network-to-network interface, Level 3 has a colocated network-based security gateway.


Level 3 offers global connectivity to Microsoft Azure and Office 365 through the following Microsoft data centers: Amsterdam, Chicago, Dallas, London, Seattle, Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C.

"Businesses, and even government organizations, are no longer asking if or when they should look to the cloud to realize the inherent cost and operational benefits, but how. Software as a service models like Office 365 are clearly an entry point to the cloud. With Level 3 Cloud Connect partner ecosystem, enterprises and government agencies can leverage a private, secure and reliable network connection to Office 365 and other Azure cloud services for improved performance, security and productivity," stated Brian Hoekelman, VP Business & Cloud Ecosystem Development for Level 3.

http://investors.level3.com/

Vertical Systems: 2015 Global Provider Ethernet LEADERBOARD

Orange Business Services (France) topped Vertical Systems Group’s year-end 2015 Global Provider Ethernet LEADERBOARD.  Other top entries in rank order included Colt (U.K.), BT Global Services (U.K.), AT&T (U.S.), Verizon (U.S.), Level 3 (U.S.) and NTT (Japan). The Global Provider LEADERBOARD, the industry’s benchmark for multinational Ethernet network market presence, ranks companies that hold a 4% or higher share of billable retail ports at sites outside of their respective home countries.

The Challenge Tier of Global Providers includes companies with share between 2% and 4% of this defined market. Seven companies qualify for the Challenge Tier (in alphabetical order): Cogent (U.S.), Global Cloud Xchange (India), SingTel (Singapore), T-Systems (Germany), Tata Communications (India), Telefonica Worldwide (Spain) and Vodafone (U.K.).

“Deployments by Ethernet providers outside their home countries rose thirteen percent in 2015, indicating steady footprint expansion and network globalization,” said Rick Malone, principal at Vertical Systems Group. “In addition to more extensive coverage for their global customers, carriers focused on speed and functionality enhancements, as well as the introduction of new SDN-enabled service capabilities.”

A list of Global Providers with port share below 2% is online.

http://www.verticalsystems.com/vsglb/2015-global-provider-ethernet-leaderboard/

CenturyLink Acquires netAura for IT Security Services

CenturyLink has acquired netAura, a security service
s firm that specializes in engineering, developing and consulting on managed security technologies. Financial terms were not disclosed.

netAura has deep expertise, having worked extensively with U.S. government agencies and corporations on cybersecurity, security information and event management (SIEM), analytics and vulnerability management since it was founded in 2011. The company is based in Herndon, Virginia.

CenturyLink said the deal strengthens and enhances its managed security services available to business and government customers.
 
“The combination of CenturyLink’s powerful IT solutions and netAura’s strengths in implementation services will enable our customers to continue to meet their security challenges head-on,” said Girish Varma, president, Global IT Services & New Market Development, CenturyLink. “This acquisition helps us continue to deliver comprehensive security architectures to existing and future customers.”

http://www.centurylink.com
http://www.netaura.com/

Telefónica Germany Delivers Enterprise Services with Netcracker BSS

Telefónica Germany has upgraded and extended its use of Netcracker’s Revenue Management solution to simplify and accelerate its rating and billing processes for its B2B operations. The upgraded solution, which contains additional functionality and enhances performance, runs efficiently across all of Telefónica Germany’s hardware and databases.

Telefónica Germany serves more than 48 million customer accesses.

“We are excited to leverage our instance of Netcracker’s Revenue Management solution to manage our billing operations, which are constantly changing and accelerating as new processes and technologies are introduced,” said Kai-Uwe Laag, Director B2B at Telefónica Germany. “Our partnership with Netcracker will support us to even better provide the services which are highly demanded by our business customers.”

http://www.netcracker.com/

Beamr Acquires Vanguard Video and Raises Funding for Encoding

Beamr, a start-up specializing in video optimization technology, announced its acquisition of Vanguard Video, a leading provider of HEVC and H.264 codec technologies.  The company said the deal positions it as a global leader in H.264 and HEVC video encoding and optimization solutions, with over 80 employees and offices in Palo Alto, Tel Aviv and St. Petersburg, Russia.

“Today’s announcement is exciting on many levels,” said Sharon Carmel, Founder and CEO of Beamr. “From an industry perspective, the combination of Beamr and Vanguard Video brings unmatched solutions for the broadcast and OTT content delivery market. For Beamr, the acquisition is an important milestone, and we gladly welcome our new, talented colleagues from Vanguard Video, to the family. On a personal note, it’s no secret that I’m fanatic about quality, and we have found that Vanguard Video’s encoders produce the best visual quality, at the lowest bit rates, with the highest performance levels. Together we will lead the video encoding market by far with unprecedented quality and performance.”

Beamr also announced g a $15M funding round led by Disruptive Growth, with the participation of Marker and Innovation Endeavors.

Red Hat $2.05 billion in Annual Revenue

Red Hat reported Q4 revenue of $544 million, up 17% in U.S. dollars year-over-year, or 21% measured in constant currency.  GAAP net income for the quarter was $53 million, or $0.29 per diluted share, compared with $48 million, or $0.26 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter.

Full fiscal year 2016 total revenue was $2.05 billion, up 15% in U.S. dollars year-over-year, or 21% measured in constant currency. Subscription revenue for the full fiscal year was $1.80 billion, up 16% in U.S. dollars year-over-year, or 22% measured in constant currency. Subscription revenue in the full fiscal year was 88% of total revenue.

“The fourth quarter was a strong close to the year as our results exceeded our guidance. We maintained a high level of execution throughout the fiscal year which contributed to greater than 20% constant currency revenue growth in each quarter. This performance also drove a record backlog of $2.13 billion in U.S. dollars, up 15% year-over-year, and provides us meaningful visibility into future revenue,” stated Frank Calderoni, Executive Vice President, Operations and Chief Financial Officer of Red Hat.

http://www.redhat.com

Telecom Italia Appoints New CEO

Telecom Italia announced the appointment of Flavio Cattaneo as CEO, following the departure of Marco Patuano as CEO and Director. Cattaneo currently heads the rail network NTV SpA-Nuovo Trasporto Viaggiatori.

News reports cited a management conflict between Patuano and the Telecom Italia Board. As severance, Patuano was paid an additional amount of 1,235,000 euros gross with respect to termination of the directorship and 4,765,000 euros gross with respect to termination of the employment contract for a amount of 6,000,000 euros gross.

http://www.telecomitalia.com/