Software Defined Networking Market Report 2025

This report covers market characteristics, size and growth, segmentation, regional and country breakdowns, competitive landscape, market shares, trends and strategies for this market. It traces the market’s historic and forecast market growth by geography.

The software defined networking market size has grown exponentially in recent years. It will grow from $32.51 billion in 2024 to $39.39 billion in 2025 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.2%. The growth in the historic period can be attributed to need for centralized network management, growing need to simplify network management, growth in network virtualization technologies, rising adoption of virtualization technologies, rise in security risks and attack threats.

The software defined networking market size is expected to see exponential growth in the next few years. It will grow to $84.86 billion in 2029 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.2%. The growth in the forecast period can be attributed to increased demand for network automation, demand for efficient network security solutions, demand for network programming, growth of cloud computing, and increased focus on network analytics. Major trends in the forecast period include adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) in networking, expansion of network automation capabilities, strategic partnership, technological advancement, and expansion of software-defined networking in the telecommunications sector.

The anticipated growth of the software-defined networking market is closely tied to the increasing demand for cloud services. Cloud services encompass a broad spectrum of computing resources and applications readily available over the Internet on demand. The surge in demand for cloud services is propelled by the necessity for scalable, cost-effective, and accessible computing resources, allowing organizations to efficiently manage data, applications, and IT infrastructure. In the realm of software-defined networking, cloud services enhance network flexibility and scalability, facilitating dynamic resource allocation, centralized management, and efficient service delivery. As an illustration, Eurostat, a Luxembourg-based government organization, reported in December 2023 that 45.2% of enterprises within the European Union adopted cloud computing services, reflecting a 4.2% increase from 2021. Notably, large enterprises exhibited particularly high adoption rates, with 77.6% reporting purchases, indicating a 6% rise compared to 2021. Consequently, the upswing in demand for cloud services is a key driver for the growth of the software-defined networking market.

Prominent companies within the software-defined networking market are strategically focusing on developing innovative technologies, such as cloud-native SDN (Software-Defined Networking) controllers, to secure a competitive advantage. A cloud-native SDN controller refers to a networking control plane specifically designed and optimized for operation within cloud-native environments. For example, in February 2023, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute, a France-based standardization institute, unveiled the second release of TeraFlowSDN. This innovative software-defined cloud-native SDN orchestrator and controller is tailor-made for transport networks, featuring an open-source, micro-service-based design with carrier-grade capabilities. TeraFlowSDN seamlessly integrates with various network components, providing advanced features for network management and orchestration, thereby making a significant contribution to the field of SDN.

In August 2022, Arista Networks Inc., a US-based network equipment company, completed the acquisition of Pluribus Networks for an undisclosed amount. This strategic move is anticipated to bolster Arista Networks' presence in the cloud networking space and advance its unified cloud fabric solution. Pluribus Networks, a US-based networking company specializing in software-defined networking, brings valuable expertise to Arista Networks as it continues to navigate the evolving landscape of cloud-centric networking solutions.

Major companies operating in the software defined networking market are Dell Technologies Inc., Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., Cisco Systems Inc., Broadcom Inc., Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), Nokia Corporation, VMware Inc., Palo Alto Networks Inc., Juniper Networks Inc., Arista Networks Inc., Fortinet Inc., Ciena Corporation, Citrix Systems Inc., Avaya Inc., F5 Networks Inc., Check Point Software Technologies Ltd., Nutanix Inc., Riverbed Holdings Inc., Extreme Networks Inc., Zscaler Inc., Silver Peak Systems Inc., Versa Networks Inc., Aryaka Networks Inc., Gigamon Inc., Masergy Communications Inc.

North America was the largest region in the software defined networking market in 2024. Asia-Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing region in the forecast period. The regions covered in the software defined networking market report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, Africa. The countries covered in the software defined networking market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, UK, USA, Canada, Italy, Spain.

The software defined networking market includes revenues earned by entities by providing services such as network virtualization, security services, traffic engineering, programming, and automation. The market value includes the value of related goods sold by the service provider or included within the service offering. Only goods and services traded between entities or sold to end consumers are included.

The market value is defined as the revenues that enterprises gain from the sale of goods and/or services within the specified market and geography through sales, grants, or donations in terms of the currency (in USD, unless otherwise specified).

Software Defined Networking (SDN) is a network design approach that employs software-based controllers or application programming interfaces (APIs) to manage network traffic and interact with the underlying hardware. The primary objective of SDN is to enhance network agility, programmability, and centralized management of network resources.

The key categories of software-defined networking include Open Software Defined Networking, Software Defined Networking via Application Programming Interfaces (API), and Software Defined Networking via Overlay. Open Software Defined Networking (Open SDN) involves constructing networking solutions using open standards and protocols, enabling greater interoperability, flexibility, and customization. The components utilized include solutions and services, catering to organizations of various sizes, including small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and large enterprises. These applications span across sectors such as banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), information technology enabled services (ITES), education, retail, manufacturing, government and defense, healthcare, among others.

The software defined networking market research report is one of a series of new reports that provides software defined networking market statistics, including software defined networking industry global market size, regional shares, competitors with a software defined networking market share, detailed software defined networking market segments, market trends and opportunities, and any further data you may need to thrive in the software defined networking industry. This software defined networking market research report delivers a complete perspective of everything you need, with an in-depth analysis of the current and future scenario of the industry.

The revenues for a specified geography are consumption values that are revenues generated by organizations in the specified geography within the market, irrespective of where they are produced. It does not include revenues from resales along the supply chain, either further along the supply chain or as part of other products.

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