Meru Teams Up with NEC Corporation to Create Enterprise Networking Solutions

Meru Networks and NEC Corporation of America have decided to work to together to create “software-defined network (SDN)-enabled unified wired and wireless enterprise access networking solutions.” Meru of course is a wireless network solutions provider with its MobileFLEX architecture for seamless roaming, whereas NEC is a “leading provider and integrator of advanced IT, networking and communications solutions,” according to a press release. The goal is to enable “seamless operation” between Meru’s 802.11ac wireless networking solutions and NEC’s ProgrammableFlow® Networking Suite, based off of the open innovation standard called OpenFlow™.

Both companies are already members of the Open Networking Foundation (ONF), and are 2 of only 3 companies designated as having “ONF Conformance.” The ONF is “user-driven organization dedicated to the promotion and adoption of Software-Defined Networking (SDN) through open standards development.” Both Meru and NEC also collaborate heavily with other companies around the world as the push for Software Defined Network solutions, of which the OpenFlow standard is the only globally-recognized specification.

So how does this help you, the enterprise buyer? Well, most enterprise wireless network solutions today rely on “antiquated proprietary Command Line Interfaces (CLI).” However, BYOD and the rising internet of things are forcing IT departments and the technology they employ to become far more agile and adaptable. However, an open-standards-based SDN, such as OpenFlow, can help you achieve that agility by simplifying network management and provisioning, greater automation, and the accelerated deployment of new applications and services across the network. Additionally, open-standards-based SDN “enables application-specific service level agreements (SLAs) and development of third-party applications for network traffic monitoring, location-based services and enhanced security,” according to the press release.

Additionally, open architecture allows customers greater flexibility in vendor selection when building out and/or upgrading their network, according to NEC America VP of Strategic Business and Planning Mitsuhiro Murooka, although if Meru is the only wireless access point provider NEC and the ONF are hooked up with, I’m not sure who the other wireless network solutions vendors that customers could choose from would be. Nevertheless, or perhaps because of this potential problem for customers, Meru CEO Dr. Bami Bastani is totally on board with both the partnership with NEC and the whole “open”-standards approach:

“Meru and NEC share a vision for creating truly open networks through OpenFlow and SDN that allow customers to choose best-of-breed networking solutions,” said Dr. Bami Bastani, president and CEO of Meru. “Working together, we can set a new standard for vendor interoperability, increasing agility and lowering costs for our customers as they move into the open networking era.”

What this sounds like to me is Dr. Bastani making sure that all the other vendor-sourced components of a network, such the wired portion or other backbone-related technology are fully compatible with Meru’s access points on the OpenFlow standard, no matter the vendor, while few other WNS provider can claim the same. That would definitely be a differentiating factor for Meru.

For the press release at MarketWired, click here.