Press release details

Simple, secure and agile solution gives customers the flexible network connectivity required to
keep pace with cloud-based digital transformation

TORONTO, ONTARIO, January 31, 2018 – Cogeco Peer 1, a global provider of essential business-to-business products and services, today announced a new software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) service, partnering with Nuage Networks from Nokia, to help businesses ensure that their connectivity is a true enabler in their digital transformation. 

“As one of the first international managed services providers to offer an innovative SD-WAN solution to businesses in the US, UK and Canada, we’re excited to provide customers with the agility and next-level connectivity they need to realize their true cloud potential,” said Bertrand Labelle, Vice President Marketing and Innovation. “Thanks to our partnership with Nuage Networks from Nokia, our customers now have a simple, secure and intelligent way to optimize their networks, ensuring they can take full advantage of our cloud, colocation and hosting services.”

“We’re proud to partner with Cogeco Peer 1 on its industry-leading SD-WAN service,” said Sunil Khandekar, founder and Chief Executive Officer, Nuage Networks from Nokia. “By unlocking the potential of a connected ecosystem of cloud, colocation and hosting services, SD-WAN technology will enable Cogeco Peer 1’s customers to fulfil their digital transformation without ever again worrying about connectivity as a weak link.” 

Given that SD-WAN technology is uniquely optimized to meet the growing requirements of cloud computing, IDC believes that adoption of the technology across enterprise and service providers will help drive the market to reach $8 billion in infrastructure and services by 2021.

"SD-WAN addresses the transformation of branch WANs and cloud connectivity, promising a cost-effective and agile alternative to conventional data network services," said Lawrence Surtees, vice-president of communications research at IDC Canada Ltd.

"Network performance and agility are critical to the success of digital transformation initiatives and the effectiveness of the hybrid IT environments that underpin them. As data volumes grow and applications become distributed across data center and cloud environments, enterprises are recognizing their network technologies need to be equally agile and secure to keep pace," Mr. Surtees said.

Partnering with a vendor such as Cogeco Peer 1 with a broad service portfolio and global reach can ensure a business’ enterprise ICT is aligned to an optimal secure WAN service for its unique needs, he added.

Providing the agility and flexibility that today’s businesses require, Cogeco Peer 1’s SD-WAN service is ideal for companies with distributed branch office locations using cloud-based applications. SD-WAN technology eliminates the need for companies to route traffic through their head office, so branch office locations benefit from direct, secure access to their SaaS or cloud-based applications, while at the same time reducing delays and easing network congestion.

Simple to set up without any need for on-site IT support, Cogeco Peer 1’s SD-WAN solution also offers a

Self-Service Portal that allows customers to view all connected sites and apply policies in a single view, enabling them to optimize network design, prioritize traffic and reduce latency for critical workloads.

Selected to trial Cogeco Peer 1’s SD-WAN solution, LOVESPACE, the UK’s first and largest storage by the box service, can already see the many potential benefits the technology offers. 

“As a rapidly growing business, we believe Cogeco Peer 1’s SD-WAN solution has the potential to help us easily architect and manage secure network connections to our branch locations as we grow,” said Dave Walker, Director of Technology at LOVESPACE. “The Self-Service Portal has a simple interface that should help us reduce WAN complexity and streamline the management of our entire network.”

SD-WAN has been added to the Cogeco Peer 1 Referral Partner Program and Referral Plus Partner Program, providing Cogeco Peer 1 partners the ability to refer optimized SD-WAN to their end-clients. Partners can access the latest SD-WAN tools and resources within the Cogeco Peer 1 Partner Portal.

To learn how your business can benefit from Cogeco Peer 1’s Software-Defined WAN service, visit www.cogecopeer1.com/sdwan.

About Cogeco Peer 1

Cogeco Peer 1 is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cogeco Communications Inc. (TSX:CCA) and is a global provider of essential business-to-business products and services, such as colocation, network connectivity, managed hosting, cloud services and managed services, that allow customers across Canada, Mexico, the United States and Western Europe to focus on their core business. With 16 data centres, extensive FastFiber Network® and more than 50 points-of-presence in North America and Europe combined, Cogeco Peer 1 is a trusted partner to businesses small, medium and large, providing the ability to access, move, manage and store mission-critical data worldwide, backed by superior customer support. More information visit: http://www.cogecopeer1.com/

 For the latest Cogeco Peer 1 news:

• Check out our blog: https://www.cogecopeer1.com/blog/
• Follow us on Twitter:  @CogecoPeer1

About Nuage Networks from Nokia 

Nu-âhj: From French, meaning 'cloud'. Nuage Networks from Nokia brings a combination of technologies and networking expertise to the enterprise and telecommunications industries. The Silicon Valley-based business has applied new thinking to the problem of delivering massively scalable and highly programmable SDN solutions within and across the datacenter and out to the wide area network with the security and availability required by business-critical environments. Nuage Networks, backed by the rapidly growing IP/Optical Networks business of Nokia has the pedigree to serve the needs of the world's biggest clouds. The cloud has made promises - the mission of Nuage Networks is to help you realize them. For more information, visit Nuage Networks on: http://www.nuagenetworks.net/, read the latest posts on the Nuage Networks blog ttp://www.nuagenetworks.net/blog/ and follow the company on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nuagenetworks.

About Nokia

We create the technology to connect the world. Powered by the research and innovation of Nokia Bell Labs, we serve communications service providers, governments, large enterprises and consumers, with the industry's most complete, end-to-end portfolio of products, services and licensing.

From the enabling infrastructure for 5G and the Internet of Things, to emerging applications in virtual reality and digital health, we are shaping the future of technology to transform the human experience. www.nokia.com

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Information and interview requests:

Lori Boss

Communications Manager

210-441-4461

Lori.Boss@cogecopeer1.com