SYDNEY – Independent Data Solutions (IDS) today announced its new partnership with LightRiver to transform how organisations in Australia and New Zealand can manage and view their optical network hardware regardless of their current vendor(s). This move, the first of its kind, comes as a direct result of the company’s strategic focus on “making complex technology simple.”
“Throughout the history of our company, as long-distance networking experts, we’ve observed significant barriers in the market relating to overall network management. The challenge of integrating network elements from different vendors and a constant demand for ever more bandwidth has resulted in complexities that are overwhelming to manage at scale. This ultimately leads to vendor lock-in and feature/cost compromise that limits flexibility and marketplace competition enormously. That’s why we’ve partnered with LightRiver to offer organisations in Australia a platform that can unify their network management experience,” states Iain Ashley, CTO of IDS.
LightRiver’s netFLEX® (network FLEXibility) is a network automation platform designed to address the complexities of disparate optical transport networks, suppliers, and technologies. As the only platform that enables the agnostic management of optical transport networks, netFLEX allows businesses to interrogate their optical network — their way — without vendor lock-in and inclusive of a self-serve option.
“There is nothing like this in Australia. Where businesses benefit the most is significant cost avoidance, multi-vendor and multi-technology support, operational scalability, and new revenue enablement. For example, network fault identification, a task that normally would take 2 to 3 hours to complete, through our collaboration with netFLEX, will reduce it to as little as 3 minutes,” continues Ashley.
As an enabler of digital transformation, netFLEX’s comprehensive transport network automation can be leveraged within any network operator or extended to partners and customers such as Smartoptics’ Open Line Systems.
“As leaders who specialise in designing and delivering networking solutions, IDS’ influence in the market, working with government departments and national corporate clients, will accelerate the smart management of network infrastructure,” comments Mike Jonas, President of Global Customer Operations for LightRiver. “LightRiver looks forward to the next stage and believes that our synergies align well for a dynamic future indeed.”
About LightRiver
LightRiver is the premier provider of next-generation, multi-vendor, Factory Built Networks® and netFLEX® vendor-neutral, Optical Domain Control Software solutions. LightRiver is an expert in Packet Optical, DWDM/ROADM, MPLS and Carrier Ethernet systems and designs, engineers, commissions, automates and supports next-generation, software-controlled, transport networks for mission-critical clients that require the highest capacity, reliability, resiliency and manageability that today’s optical communications technology can deliver.
LightRiver is a portfolio company of Grain Management LLC, a leading Washington, D.C. based investment firm focused on the global communications sector, and delivers unique value with turnkey hardware and software solutions, carrier-grade quality and unparalleled customer care in multi-technology networking.