CenturyLink notches a large SD-WAN win with Braskem

CenturyLink landed an SD-WAN customer win that spans more than 50 locations across Latin America, North America, Europe and Asia. Those locations belong to Braskem, which is the largest thermoplastics resins producer in the Americas and a worldwide producer of biopolymers. The SD-WAN network will travel through more than 130 MPLS and dedicated internet links with a connection to the private cloud throughCenturyLink Cloud Connections. CenturyLink landed an SD-WAN customer win that spans more than 50 locations across Latin America, North America, Europe and Asia. Those locations belong to Braskem, which is the largest thermoplastics resins producer in the Americas and a worldwide producer of biopolymers. The SD-WAN network will travel through more than 130 MPLS and dedicated internet links with a connection to the private cloud throughCenturyLink Cloud Connections. Using Cisco's Viptela SD-WAN, CenturyLink will provide Braskem with an SD-WAN network that can be deployed to branch sites while delivering cost savings with private and public network connections. It will also provide optimized cloud connectivity and application-aware routing. In order to support the complex structure, Braskem will also use CenturyLink Network Management Service. This will includes network monitoring with proactive and preventive actions, as well as data extraction and consolidation for analysis, reporting and improvement recommendations. CenturyLink SD-WAN also provides Braskem with the ability to create private networks over a mix of public and private infrastructure, with site-to-site encryption regardless of access or transport technology used. The solution also includes centralized management and control to steer traffic on an application-by-application basis or by access type, enabling the connection of disparate sites across a variety of backbone connections. CenturyLink's SD-WAN service with Braskem went live on Sept. 15. "We needed a global vendor we could rely on to plan and manage our network infrastructure so we can focus on faster innovation, improve end user experience and deepen processes to accelerate growth in digital business," said André Oliveira, senior infrastructure operations manager for Braskem, in a statement. "With CenturyLink's SD-WAN solution, Braskem now has the flexibility to leverage diverse network resources and provide faster user access to business applications, whether in the public cloud or on-premise." Braskem has 41 industrial units across Brazil, Mexico, the U.S. and Germany. The company has net revenue of $16 billion and exports its products to around 100 countries. Annually, Braskem produces more than 20 million tons of plastic resins and chemical products. In June, CenturyLink announced it was offering SD-WAN in Latin America using Cisco's Viptela SD-WAN solutions. The Viptela hybrid connectivity options include multiprotocol label switching (MPLS), dedicated internet, broadband aggregation and 4G/LTE. Enterprise customers can also opt user their own network connectivity, which is subject to technical feasibility and availability. Service providers, such as CenturyLink, Verizon and AT&T, are using a range of SD-WAN vendors to meet varying business needs and customer preferences. In addition to Cisco Viptela, CenturyLink's SD-WAN portfolio also includes Versa Networks and Cisco Meraki. Cen