Enterprises are placing an increased focus on IT networks, especially given the growth of cloud computing and Big Data over recent years. As such, software-defined networking (SDN) is on the rise within organisations, and is expected to see significant growth.

SDN is a model that focuses on automated provisioning, improved programmability and increased virtualisation in data centres and across enterprise networks. The International Data Corporation have stated that it's currently a driver for network innovation.

With an increased focus on networks, it's going to be necessary to have IT staff undertake project management training. This can ensure any network changes are implemented correctly from the outset.

Growth of SDN

In a new report, the IDC has forecast the market for SDN market enterprise and cloud service providers to grow from US$960 million this year to over $8 billion by 2018. This represents a massive combined annual growth rate of 89.4 per cent.

Growth in this sector is predicted to centre on physical network infrastructure, network-virtualisation software and SDN network and security services.

"SDN is taking centre stage among innovative approaches to some of the networking challenges brought about by the rise of the third platform, particularly virtualisation and cloud computing," said Rohit Mehra, a vice president at the IDC.

Usefulness of SDN

Use cases for SDN extend across a number of areas, which are certainly likely to have an impact on organisations. Web scaling for hosting was predicted as a primary area of use, along with private and hybrid cloud deployments.

The other cases centred on network programmability and customisation, as well as the array of security applications.

It's important for organisations to consider the other benefits of adoption, and how best to handle an implementation. In nearly every case, project management training can be especially useful.