SDN and NFV Industry Research: the market is projected to reach USD 127.10 billion by 2031

Software-Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) are moving from tactical cost optimization to strategic, cloud-native platforms for growth. According to the latest outlook from QYResearch, the global SDN and NFV market stood at USD 44.53 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 127.10 billion by 2031, representing a 16.4% CAGR (2025–2031). Growth is fueled by 5G and edge rollouts, AI-scale data centers, and automation-first operations.



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Leading Companies

Cisco
Ericsson
Huawei
Nokia
Intel
HP
IBM
Juniper Networks
Broadcom
Dell
Oracle
NEC (Netcracker)
Ciena (Blue Planet)
Arista Networks
Amdocs
Comarch
ZTE
H3C

 

Applications

Telecom and IT
BFSI
Government and Public Utilities
Manufacturing
Others

 

Classification

SDN
NFV

 

Latest Data

· 2024 Market Size: USD 44.53 billion

· 2031 Forecast: USD 127.10 billion

· CAGR (2025–2031): 16.4%

· Regional Landscape: North America, Europe, and APAC lead adoption; South America and MEA accelerating with standalone 5G and cloud expansion

· Industry Structure: High concentration; leading vendors hold over 20% collective share; barriers to entry remain high due to intellectual property and capital intensity

· Use Case Momentum: Telecom/IT and BFSI dominate, with increasing adoption in government, manufacturing, healthcare, and energy

 

2024–2025 Industry News and Milestones

· In July 2025, Hewlett Packard Enterprise completed its USD 14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks, creating a comprehensive cloud-native and AI-driven networking portfolio covering data centers, WAN, campus, and service-provider networks.

· Ericsson expanded its global 5G core leadership, reporting over 120 commercial cloud-native core contracts and more than 55 live dual-mode 5G core deployments by late 2024.

· Broadcom (VMware NSX) strengthened SDN overlays with multiple releases through 2024 and 2025, addressing key security vulnerabilities and introducing enhanced automation features for multi-cloud networking.

· Ciena (Blue Planet) launched its Agentic AI Framework in 2025, advancing intent-based automation and closed-loop orchestration for multi-vendor, multi-cloud environments.

· Industry–academia cooperation continued through IEEE NFV-SDN events in 2024 and 2025, focusing on cloud-native network functions, observability, and automation standards.

 

Five Representative Products

Cisco — Catalyst 8000V Edge Software

· Virtualized router for SD-WAN and cloud networking

· Independent testing: ~14 Gbps IPsec throughput and ~11 Gbps NAT on AWS c5n.9xlarge instances

· Deployed across AWS, Azure, and GCP with IOS-XE features and SD-WAN integration

 

Juniper Networks — vSRX Virtual Firewall

· Scales to ~98 Gbps with 17 vCPUs; elastic scaling up to 32 vCPUs

· Functions include advanced NGFW, secure VPN, and segmentation

· Cloud marketplace availability for pay-as-you-grow deployment

 

Ericsson — Dual-Mode 5G Core

· Over 120 contracts and 55 live networks by 2024

· Containerized microservices architecture, supporting EPC and 5GC on a common platform

· Enables network slicing and cloud-native automation

 

Broadcom (VMware NSX) — NSX 4.2.x Series

· Release cadence across late 2024 and 2025

· Security updates addressed critical vulnerabilities and advanced automation APIs

· Provides distributed firewalling, micro-segmentation, and consistent policy across multi-cloud

 

Nokia — CloudBand Application Manager (CBAM)

· ETSI-compliant VNFM for full VNF lifecycle automation

· Supports onboarding with OpenStack Heat, VMware OVF, Ansible, and Mistral workflows

· Multi-vendor lifecycle orchestration for NFV clouds

 

Downstream Customers

AT&T
Verizon
Deutsche Telekom
Orange
BT Group
Vodafone
Telefónica
NTT DOCOMO
KDDI
SK Telecom
Bharti Airtel
Telstra
Etisalat by e&
Rakuten Mobile
Dish Wireless

 

Market Trend

Cloud-Native First

Operators are shifting from virtual network functions (VNFs) to containerized network functions (CNFs) to accelerate deployment, improve resilience, and streamline automation. By 2024, Ericsson had over 120 commercial contracts for cloud-native cores, a clear sign of industry-wide transition.

 

Consolidation and Competitive Realignment

The completion of HPE’s acquisition of Juniper Networks in 2025 reshaped competitive dynamics. The merged portfolio integrates AI-driven automation with broad enterprise and service-provider reach, creating a new challenger to established leaders.

 

Security-Driven SDN Evolution

With security concerns rising, SDN platforms are embedding zero-trust and micro-segmentation natively. VMware NSX 4.2.x emphasized distributed firewalling and policy automation, confirming the trend toward security-first overlays.

 

AI-Powered Orchestration

Ciena’s Blue Planet Agentic AI Framework represents a growing reliance on AI for closed-loop automation. Operators are using intent-based orchestration to reduce operational costs and improve time-to-service.

 

Performance Validation of Virtual Data Planes

Tests on Cisco’s Catalyst 8000V and Juniper’s vSRX showed that virtualized data planes now sustain high throughput, supporting enterprise cloud transit, secure interconnects, and AI traffic patterns without specialized hardware.

 

Open RAN and Core Modernization

Contracts across Europe and Asia in 2024 and 2025 demonstrated the rise of open RAN and disaggregated architectures. NFV and SDN orchestration now serve as the foundation for end-to-end slicing and flexible service delivery.

 

Enterprise Multi-Cloud Networking

Arista’s CloudVision expanded in 2025 with enhanced telemetry and compliance automation. Enterprises increasingly demand unified control planes across data centers and public clouds, accelerating SDN adoption outside traditional telecom domains.

 

Outlook

Between 2025 and 2031, SDN and NFV will serve as the automation backbone for 5G standalone networks, edge computing, and AI-driven infrastructures. With the market forecasted to USD 127.10 billion by 2031, vendors that combine open, standards-based platforms with proven scalability and security will secure the greatest advantage.

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