Lync Migration Featured Article

Mitel MiCloud Edge Uses VeloCloud for SDN Support

By Casey Houser Contributing Writer

Enterprise communications company Mitel (News - Alert) has announced the release of its newest software, MiCloud Edge, which takes advantage of the VeloCloud software-defined networking (SDN) architecture to give companies an easy way to handle their company networks.

VeloCloud hosts its own cloud-based infrastructure that can handle public and private clouds and quick, reliable data transfer for voice and video. Its expertise in the SDN market makes it a strong pick for Mitel, which suggested in its announcement that MiCloud could best the cost of a traditional wide area network (WAN) by a factor of three. MiCloud Edge acts as the customer-facing part of a combined service that offers simple setup of new network nodes and easy maintenance of existing workloads.

Jon Brinton, the executive vice president of the Mitel cloud division, commented on the importance of reliability for companies that make use of a WAN.

“Even with the highest performing communications and collaboration tools, businesses require a reliable and consistent network powering them,” Brinton said. “MiCloud Edge simply and cost-effectively transforms network reliability, delivering professional-grade cloud communications and ensuring business-critical applications are always prioritized.”

The promise of so-called “next generation networking,” made possible through software’s control of networking paths, has taken its hits early in the game. Like all new ideas in information technology, SDN has seen its share of trepidation from businesses, even to the point of carrying the moniker “Still Done Nothing.” The slow start for SDN, however, has helped some early adopters see improved flexibility and consistency in their networks.

That success, despite contrary appearances, is exactly the path VeloCloud has tried to pave in its own implementation of software. Now MiCloud Edge is bringing the new form of networking even further into the public eye by placing a prominent application in front of a prominent networking vendor. It is clear that Mitel believes that MiCloud Edge can automatically route voice and video in the best possible way for clients. Mitel has also said it expects the use of SDN here to lower costs for clients by minimizing the need for expensive hardware and populous IT staffs.

MiCloud Edge is now available in North America. Assuming it catches fire – just as the SDN market as a whole appears poised to do – sales could spread even further to the rest of the global Mitel base of more than 100 countries.

Edited by Alicia Young