SES will create an open, standards-based network automation and service orchestration platform, built on Open Network Automation Platform (ONAP) and powered by Amdocs’ network functions virtualization (NFV) technology.

With this announcement, SES is the first satellite network solutions provider to adopt ONAP, an open software platform designed for orchestrating the creation and delivery of new services in an automated operational environment.

SES is implementing ONAP with Amdocs on Microsoft Azure, a scalable and flexible cloud services platform supported by Microsoft’s global network. With ONAP operating on Azure, SES can extend network services and activate virtualized network functions quickly and at scale, accelerating time-to-market and improving service agility for customers anywhere on the globe.

Additionally, SES is partnering with Amdocs, a firm that develops and integrates ONAP solutions on Microsoft Azure. This combination represents ecosystem partners that are able to deploy open, cloud-based network automation and orchestration.

As the first satellite network solutions provider to adopt ONAP, SES is driving open networking initiatives into the satellite industry, advancing the company's vision to make satellite networks a seamless extension of the global communications ecosystem. SES is a founding member of Linux Foundation Networking (LFN), which hosts the ONAP project, an initiative with widespread adoption as the preferred platform for open network automation and orchestration. By standardizing on the same orchestration platform as leading telcos and mobile network operators, SES will make it easier and faster for its customers to deliver services over its high-performance satellite-based network.

JP Hemingway, CEO of SES Networks, said the company's vision is to make satellite-based networks a seamless and wholly integrated part of a global, cloud-scale network ecosystem. Central to this vision is an open, automated operational environment that allows the firm's customers to easily create and deliver new, innovative services anywhere. To make this vision a reality, SES is pleased to be the first satellite operator to develop ONAP with Amdocs on Microsoft Azure. SES envisions delivering cloud-scale connectivity services and virtualized network functions, such as SD-WAN, virtualized Evolved Packet Core (vEPC), security and more, creating massive value for our customers well into the future.