SLT-Mobitel partners Cisco to launch SD-WAN services to enterprise customers

SLT Chief Network Officer Mangala Samarajeewa, SLT Chief Enterprise and Wholesale Officer Janaka Abeysinghe, SLT Chief Operating Officer Priyantha Fernandez, SLT Chief Executive Officer Kiththi Perera, MillenniumIT ESP Director/Chief Executive Officer Shevan Goonetilleke, MillenniumIT ESP Director and Ambeon Holdings Group VP Dr. Sajeeva Narangoda, and Cisco Sri Lanka Gerald Vethanayagam 

SLT-Mobitel in collaboration with Cisco and Millennium I.T. E.S.P. Ltd. (MillenniumIT ESP), has announced the launch of its new managed SD-WAN services to accelerate digitisation of enterprise and government customers in Sri Lanka. 

Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) will offer the Cisco SD-WAN’s full functionality including intelligent dynamic routing, optimised cloud connectivity, and visibility into applications and performance to its enterprise customers in Sri Lanka. SLT is pioneer in the Sri Lankan telecom industry and a leader in MPLS services for enterprise and government customers.

This collaboration brings together Cisco’s internet-based networking solutions, SLT’s connectivity solutions and MillenniumIT ESP’s systems integration capabilities to quickly develop and deploy multiple managed services efficiently and cost-effectively across Sri Lanka. SLT will handle the deployment and operation of enterprise WAN Service combined with its underlay connectivity options with MPLS and Internet connectivity, enabling them to offer its enterprise customers a host of differentiated services in a seamless, reliable and secure manner. 

As Sri Lankan businesses embrace digital transformation, many are looking at managed service providers to simplify running their IT operations, specifically around provisioning, managing and troubleshooting services. Recognising the need and the general transition of applications to the cloud, SLT collaborated with Cisco and MillenniumIT ESP to offer SD-WAN. With this innovative leap forward, company’s business customers can have their managed services turned up quickly, managed securely from both captive and the cloud, and modified easily using software-defined networking technology. 

Focusing on the concept of ‘grow more, pay less’, SD-WAN offers the simplicity of management, better visibility, enhanced application experience, optimised cloud connectivity, and a more secure WAN for accessing multiple cloud applications. SD-WAN natively integrates Cisco’s security stack to provide threat protection that is consistently maintained across branch offices and multiple clouds without compromising performance. In addition, it also provides many last mile options and island wide Outside Plant Maitenence Centers (OPMC) and Service Level Agreement (SLA) to ensure maximum customer priorities.

SLT Chief Executive Officer Kiththi Perera said: “We chose Cisco due to their excellence and leadership in the routing arena for more than 30 years. SD-WAN capable routers include Cisco IOS SD XE that run on the ISR series routers. Cisco’s networking solutions, along with SLT’s connectivity options, makes SD-WAN the most comprehensive solution. With the true separation of the SD-WAN Layers of Control, Management, Orchestration, and Transport, Cisco and SLT will deliver the best user experience, securely across any cloud, as a fully managed service. SLT also plans to expand the SD WAN to global customers in near future.” 

“MillenniumIT ESP, the only Gold Partner for Cisco in Sri Lanka, is proud to partner with SLT to provide their customers with simple and cost effective Cisco SD-WAN capabilities that would enable enterprises to realise their digital vision faster. This is a significant milestone for SLT which will enable the company to provide competitive and bleeding-edge communication solutions to its customers,” commented MillenniumIT ESP Director/Chief Executive Officer Shevan Goonetilleke.

“As Sri Lankan businesses move their workloads to multiple clouds, they require fast, highly secure access to applications hosted anywhere. Together, we can help Sri Lanka Telecom offer new managed SD-WAN services to Sri Lankan businesses. It can continue to expand high-quality network services for the Sri Lankan market,” said Cisco India and SAARC Managing Director, Commercial Sales Sudhir Nayar.