The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) has announced the third installment in its "Future of the Network" documentary film series, entitled Break the Restraints: Uncovering Software-Defined Networking. With more network operators making the transition to software-defined networking (SDN), the 30-minute film explores what the information and communications (ICT) industry will look like once networks are fully SDN-enabled, as well as key barriers to SDN adoption.
The documentary kicks off in-depth exploration of the issue that will continue when technology leaders from around the globe meet at TIA 2013, this October in Washington, DC. Featuring interviews with leaders on the front lines of software-defined networking -- including Ericsson Chief Technology Officer Vish Nandlall; Nuage Networks CEO Sunil Khandekar; Intel Communications Infrastructure Division General Manager Rose Schooler, and many others -- TIA says the film "offers fresh perspectives on the significant SDN opportunities, and why SDN adoption is still a work in progress."
While experts are united in the belief that SDN will create a flexible, scalable and programmable network, they point to significant barriers to adoption – which include security issues and rigid legacy network infrastructure. “Software-defined networking is a transformative force with the potential to reshape the networking and telecommunications landscape,” comments TIA President Grant Seiffert. “Both through this documentary, and by making the issue a key focus during our TIA 2013 conference, TIA is taking a leading role in exploring the future of SDN."
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The full documentary will serve as a primer for TIA 2013, the organization’s flagship conference, which will take place Oct. 7-10 in Washington, D.C. According to TIA, each episode in the documentary series takes an in-depth look at the state of the ICT industry as it relates to an issue of critical importance. The first episode in the series addressed M2M and the Internet of Things, while the second focused on broadband capacity challenges.The fourth and final episode – “The Cloud: Building in Mid-Air” – will be released on October 1. Each episode is being archived online at TIA2013.org.
A pre-conference Workshop being held October 7-8 will provide an overview of the SDN topic and explore various aspects of SDN such as cloud, mobile networks, virtualization and the carrier competitive advantage. Seiffert concludes, “TIA 2013 will pick up where this episode leaves off and provide actionable intelligence for network operators looking to invest in the future. With many ICT industry leaders in agreement that the tipping point in SDN adoption will occur less than two years from now, our exploration of this issue is very timely and vitally important for the industry.”
TIA's documentary, Break the Restraints: Uncovering Software-Defined Networking, is available for viewing here.
