AT&T Simplifies Networking, Helps Save Costs for Businesses in 76 Countries and Territories

AT&T today announced a new network provisioning and deployment service called Network Functions on Demand that the telecom claims enables businesses to deploy a single universal piece of equipment, choose virtualized functions and deploy them in different countries simultaneously -- a process that typically takes months now take minutes

 AT&T is launching a transformative solution that lets businesses easily and flexibly manage their network services. With AT&T Network Functions on Demand, businesses can deploy a single universal piece of equipment, choose virtualized functions and set them up in different countries. It helps save costs, it's quick to set up and easy to manage. Businesses will benefit from the consistent, integrated management experience – in locations around the globe. 

AT&T Network Functions on Demand simplifies the process of buying and adding network functions. It reduces hardware requirements so businesses can create a simple, more agile network experience. And it's now available in 76 countries and territories, including:

• AMERICAS – Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Curacao, Dominican Republic,Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, United States, Uruguay, U.S. Virgin Islands and Venezuela
• ASIA PAC – Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines,Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand
• EMEA – Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland,France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania,Luxembourg, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia,Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom
• Before, adding a router or firewall could take weeks – even months. Businesses had to buy multiple appliances to run these specific networking functions. It's expensive, cumbersome and takes too long.

"Building networks by deploying network functions in software is a major shift in network design," saidRalph de la Vega, Vice Chairman of AT&T Inc. and CEO of AT&T Business Solutions and International. "We've broken through traditional, cost-prohibitive barriers. Our software platform delivers a simple, flexible and efficient experience for any business, virtually anywhere and anytime they need it."

Our software-defined network technology is behind the AT&T Network on Demand platform. The platform offers a highly secure and scalable network built to meet customers' individual needs. It speeds ordering, simplifies network operations and helps improve total cost of ownership. This provides customers with a foundation to create flexible services that can grow as their needs change. 

Leading global companies are interested in the service. One is global appliance manufacturing company, Fisher & Paykel.

"We quickly realized AT&T Network Functions on Demand would help us transform our business. We can launch, change and manage network functions in our offices around the world quickly and easily," saidJon White, General Manager, Information Technology, Fisher & Paykel Appliances Ltd. "We often talk about simplifying our on-site network infrastructure upgrades and deployments – this solution checks that box. It will not only provide us with visibility and control to drive down IT and operations costs, but also help us quickly respond to evolving business needs."

The first AT&T Network Functions on Demand capabilities that customers can choose from include:

• Juniper Networks virtual routing
• Cisco virtual router
• Fortinet virtual security
• Riverbed virtual WAN optimization

Since its launch in 2015, more than 1,200 businesses across multiple industries have signed up for AT&T Network on Demand solutions. We'll continue to add additional products and features on the platform in the future. 

Source: AT&T release