The global networking industry is in the midst of an extreme transformation that’s reshaping how service providers operate and deliver connectivity solutions. There’s a growing need to replace old models and innovate to accelerate delivery of connectivity solutions.
This is the era of Telco 3.0, the smart Cloud Centric Network that is created to support the emerging networking needs of orchestration, APIs, cloud-centric models, Real Time communication, Big Data, and Machine Learning. These are the five things that are defining the future of networking today.
This week, we interviewed Jerzy Szlosarek, CEO of Epsilon. Epsilon has been on the journey towards Telco 3.0 from day one. It was launched to make connectivity easier. Today, it offers a full suite of connectivity solutions that address some of the biggest networking challenges facing businesses today. Epsilon makes it easy to deploy hyper-scale global infrastructure while providing direct connections to the cloud which includes Microsoft Azure, AWS, Alibaba Cloud, IBM Cloud and more.
Read on as Jerzy discusses evolution and future of SDN, Epsilon’s Software-Defined Networking (SDN) platform Infiny, and things that make Epsilon different from its competitors.
1. For around a couple of decades, Epsilon has been transforming the way global business communication can be served. Please share a quick overview of the company and its mission at the outset.
For over 16 years in the business, our vision has been to make connectivity simple. We continue to execute this vision by innovating agile and flexible connectivity to connect applications, businesses, and ecosystems globally.
Our connectivity and communications solutions are underpinned by our global network fabric deployed across over 100 datacenters that connects over 600 network operators, world-leading Cloud Service Providers, and major Internet Exchanges.
2. Please tell us about the Infiny by Epsilon on-demand connectivity platform. How exactly does it help enterprises and service providers?
With Infiny, we have combined our core solutions into a software-defined networking (SDN) platform, making it easier for enterprises and service providers to consume global connectivity and communications’ services.
This allows users to register for an account on Infiny and instantly access a full suite of connectivity services which include interconnecting data centers, direct connectivity to Cloud and Internet Exchanges as well as Voice services such as Global SIP Trunking, Global Inbound Services, and Number Porting.
It is a self-service model that enables agile, flexible and scalable networking solutions to help them achieve their business objectives.
Enterprises that need to scale their business in new markets can use Infiny to establish connectivity on-demand without the need for lengthy contracts and service provisioning time. Service providers that want to expand their connectivity portfolio can white label Infiny and immediately serve their customers’ business needs.
Infiny is API-enabled which means service providers can use the Infiny Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to integrate and consume Epsilon’s services on their existing platform, enabling them to better serve their customers with a full suite of connectivity and communications services.
3. Apart from Infiny platform, what are the core solutions provided by Epsilon?
We offer an end-to-end global SD-WAN solution with integrated security features, bundled connectivity options and access to Cloud Service Providers globally. We also operate Tier-3 data center facilities located in Singapore, London, New York, and Hong Kong that are interconnected with our global network fabric.
4. You laid out the technical vision of the company as a CTO for around 10 years. Can you please tell us about the evolution of SDN and where is it going?
Epsilon has gone through a massive transformation over the years. Before the launch of Infiny in 2017, we knew that a new networking model is necessary to serve the new breeds of digital businesses today. Enterprise and service providers have big digital transformation roadmaps and they need robust yet scalable networking to support their growth plans locally, regionally and globally.
SDN has become an enabler of technology today and we will continue to see greater automation of the network. Emerging technologies such as AI and Blockchain will make SDN more intelligent and efficient. We see the possibility of the SDN platform becoming a marketplace where users are interconnected through network APIs and connectivity offerings. Users will be able to access a digitalized marketplace of network providers, data centers, Cloud Service Providers, Internet Exchanges and Managed Service Providers.
5. What makes Epsilon different from its competitors? How is the company challenging new frontiers in the networking world?
Service excellence and innovation are very important aspects of our business. We are always enhancing our offering and experimenting with new ideas to add value to our customers and partners. Every year we are evolving our service offering, adding new Points of Presence, forming new partnerships and constantly enhancing the functions on Infiny.
We also take an active role in participating in industry-wide initiatives, for instance, working with Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) to develop standardized APIs.
6. Please throw some light on Epsilon’s recent partnership with Dialogic to launch a fully managed UCaaS platform.
Our partnership with Dialogic is a testament to our commitment to supporting our partners’ success. We are hosting the Dialogic BUZZ UCaaS platform in our global Tier-3 colocation facilities while extending connectivity to the enterprises with our global connectivity and intelligent communications services. With this partnership, we are also giving Dialogic’s customers on-demand access to our global network fabric through Infiny.
7. Last year, Epsilon became a part of Alibaba Cloud Partner Network. How is the collaboration helping the company?
We can now provide our customers and partners with a direct connection to Alibaba Cloud from anywhere on our global network fabric. It is a strong addition to our ever-growing ecosystem of Cloud Service Providers on Infiny. We are dedicated to offering diverse cloud connectivity options and making it easier for enterprises and service providers to connect to the cloud globally.
8. What according to you will be the SD-WAN trends that will define the future market?
SD-WAN will become easier to implement and that will drive the adoption. There will be more and more players in the market offering SD-WAN as-a-service. Enterprises will have to decide which SD-WAN as-a-service provider can best support their business needs. The key differentiator will be the ability to provide a full end-to-end connectivity solution on the top of the SD-WAN orchestrator.
For enterprises, the cloud will continue to play a larger role in their IT ecosystem as multi-cloud becomes an essential business strategy. SD-WAN as-a-service can support the overall multi-cloud strategy by simplifying the overall cloud architecture and connecting the clouds across business units.
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9. How does SD-WAN help organizations to meet business goals and keep IT under budget?
A truly global, end-to-end SD-WAN service will definitely help businesses reduce cost in the deployment and simplifying implementation at scale. By freeing up time for in-house IT employees, businesses can focus their efforts towards innovating new products and services to drive new revenue streams.
10. Any plans to update the Infiny platform this year or next.
Besides expanding our ecosystem of network operators, Cloud Service Providers, and Internet Exchanges, we are also adding new capabilities to Infiny by offering more granular visibility over the services as well as bundling more on-demand services on the platform.
