Software Defined Networking Market Dynamics and Trends by 2031

The Software Defined Networking (SDN) Market was valued at US$ 29.2 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach US$ 100.5 billion by 2031; it is expected to register a CAGR of 19.3% during 2025–2031. The growing need to simplify network management rising implementation of SDN for 5G are likely to remain key software-defined networking market trends.

Software Defined Networking Market Analysis

The software-defined networking market is growing at a rapid pace and fueling the growth of the market as IT organizations are shifting rapidly toward cloud technology. The IT businesses and entities have the benefits associated with application-level roles and events for functional efficiency and resiliency. This consists of network services automation, cloud integration, and hybrid automation services. Currently, several enterprises are generative network service applications for software for SDN in order to add a value of virtualization to a new standard by enabling those services to impact the infrastructure vigorously on behalf of the applications and their usability.

Software Defined Networking Market Overview

Using software-based controllers or application programming interfaces (APIs) to connect with underlying hardware infrastructure and manage traffic on a network, software-defined networking, or SDN, is a networking technique. This approach is distinct from traditional networks, which manage network traffic with specialized hardware components like switches and routers. SDN can use software to build and manage a virtual network or manage conventional hardware.

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Software Defined Networking Market: Strategic Insights

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Software Defined Networking Market Drivers and Opportunities

Growing Need to Simplify Network Management to Favor Market

One of the main factors propelling the software-defined networking (SDN) industry is the increasing need from enterprises to streamline network administration. Conventional networks frequently have intricate setups and manual administration procedures, which raises expenses and results in inefficiencies. SDN offers a consistent interface for controlling a variety of network devices, centralizes network control, and allows automation in order to overcome these difficulties. This centralized method facilitates a vendor-neutral approach, expedites network provisioning, simplifies policy management, and improves network performance visibility. SDN is a strong option for updating network infrastructures and adjusting to shifting business demands since it makes operations simpler, which saves businesses money, time, and resources.

Rising integration of SDN in 5G.

SDN is an intelligent network architecture that complies with 5G ecosystem standards. 5G can operate over a control plane with the help of SDN, which can offer an entire framework. Better data flows when data travels across the 5G network are only one of the many advantages this technology provides. SDN architecture reduces latency and maximizes network bandwidth. By identifying the best data flows in real-time, SDN technology can automate and manage network redundancy from a centralized control plane, avoiding significant outages.

Software Defined Networking Market Report Segmentation Analysis

Key segments that contributed to the derivation of the software defined networking market analysis are solutions, end-user, deployment, and industry vertical.

• Based on solutions, the software-defined networking market is divided into physical network infrastructure, virtualization/control software, SDN applications, and professional services.
• By end-user, the market is segmented into enterprises, telecommunication services providers, and cloud service providers.
• Based on industry vertical, the software defined networking market is divided into banking & financial services and insurance, telecommunication & IT, consumer goods and retail, government & defense, manufacturing, research & academia, and others.

Software Defined Networking Market Share Analysis by Geography

The geographic scope of the software defined networking market report is mainly divided into five regions: North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East & Africa, and South America/South & Central America. North America has dominated the software defined networking market. High technology adoption trends in various industries in the North American region have fuelled the growth of the software defined networking market. Factors including increased adoption of digital tools and high technological spending by government agencies are expected to drive the North American software defined networking market growth. Moreover, a strong emphasis on research and development in the developed economies of the US and Canada is forcing the North American players to bring technologically advanced solutions into the market. In addition, the US has a large number of software defined networking market players who have been increasingly focusing on developing innovative solutions. Some of the key players in the software defined networking market are IBM, Cisco, and Microsoft, among others. All these factors contribute to the region's growth of the software defined networking market.

Software Defined Networking Market Regional Insights

The regional trends and factors influencing the Software Defined Networking Market throughout the forecast period have been thoroughly explained by the analysts at Insight Partners. This section also discusses Software Defined Networking Market segments and geography across North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, and South and Central America.

Software Defined Networking Market Report Scope

Software Defined Networking Market Players Density: Understanding Its Impact on Business Dynamics

The Software Defined Networking Market market is growing rapidly, driven by increasing end-user demand due to factors such as evolving consumer preferences, technological advancements, and greater awareness of the product's benefits. As demand rises, businesses are expanding their offerings, innovating to meet consumer needs, and capitalizing on emerging trends, which further fuels market growth.

Market players density refers to the distribution of firms or companies operating within a particular market or industry. It indicates how many competitors (market players) are present in a given market space relative to its size or total market value.

Major Companies operating in the Software Defined Networking Market are:

1. Cisco Systems, Inc.
2. IBM
3. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP
4. Broadcom
5. Juniper Networks, Inc.
6. Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

Disclaimer: The companies listed above are not ranked in any particular order.

Software Defined Networking Market News and Recent Developments

The software defined networking market is evaluated by gathering qualitative and quantitative data post primary and secondary research, which includes important corporate publications, association data, and databases. The following is a list of developments in the market:

• In November 2023, - VMware, Inc. announced new solutions and expanded partnerships to help customers accelerate their digital transformation at the edge. Building upon the recently introduced VMware Software-Defined Edge, these innovations and new integrations will help customers simplify, better secure, and modernize their edge environments.

(Source: VMware, Inc., Press Release, 2023)

• In February 2023, ETSI Open Source Group TeraFlowSDN announced the 2nd release of the TeraFlowSDN controller, an innovative and robust SDN orchestrator and controller. TeraFlowSDN Released 2 provides extended and validated support for end-to-end transport network slicing over multiple network domains. This release completes SDN orchestration for L2/L3VPN provisioning, microwave networks, Point-to-Multipoint integration of XR optical transceivers, and interaction with optical SDN controllers through the Open Networking Foundation (ONF) Transport API (TAPI).

(Source: ETSI, Press Release, 2022)

Software Defined Networking Market Report Coverage and Deliverables

The "Software Defined Networking Market Size and Forecast (2021–2031)" report provides a detailed analysis of the market covering below areas:

• Market size and forecast at global, regional, and country levels for all the key market segments covered under the scope
• Market dynamics such as drivers, restraints, and key opportunities
• Key future trends
• Detailed PEST/Porter's Five Forces and SWOT analysis
• Global and regional market analysis covering key market trends, major players, regulations, and recent market developments
• Industry landscape and competition analysis covering market concentration, heat map analysis, prominent players, and recent developments
• Detailed company profiles