Enterprise data centers are moving into the next level of cloud computing, where network is automated and software is centric. And preparing for a world where everything lives on the edge means opting for a cloud networking infrastructure that can handle both speed and security. But choosing solutions that are flexible, scalable and secure isn’t easy.

“[The customer] wakes up every day thinking about: ‘Do we have a security risk, and how easy for me is to deploy new services or bring up new data?’” said Krishna Doddapaneni (pictured), vice president of software engineering at Pensando Systems Inc. “Rather than talking about encaps or the raw throughput … we want to simplify this for the customer. There’s a very simple way to deploy policies. There is a simple way to deploy your networking infrastructure.”

Doddapaneni spoke with spoke with Stu Miniman, host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio, during Pensando’s Future Proof Your Enterprise event. They discussed the detailed technical specifications behind Pensando’s solution and how these are hidden under the hood to make Pensando simple for non-network experts in the decision loop. (* Disclosure below.)

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That simple way is the Pensando Distributed Services Platform. A newcomer in a market dominated by Amazon Web Services Inc., Pensando has the weight of some serious innovators behind it. Founded by ex-members of Cisco’s MPLS gang and their USC cohorts, the company has “the right mix of execution combined with technology,” said Doddapaneni. And that “is when you succeed.”

Pensando’s platform is agnostic to the physical server being used. It is located close to the server, which gives an advantage in that policies can be applied before the packet leaves the cell. This means a fully secure environment without individual management, Doddapaneni explained. A protocol Policy and Services Manager provides central management, “and it’s easy to operationalize the fabric,” he stated. “Whether you talk about upgrades or you talk about deploying new services, it’s all driven with REST APIs.”

“Those APIs are used by cloud customers and enterprise customers, and the software is built in a way where any layer can be removed or any layer can be added,” Doddapaneni stated.

Rather than cause scale problems by building different software versions for different customers, Pensando created a pluggable, programmable architecture that can be customized by each user.

“[If the] customer says, ‘I don’t want this piece,’ he can put a third-party piece on it and still integrate at a common layer using REST APIs,” Doddapaneni said. “The key if you want to succeed in this day and age is developing the features at the velocity that you will want to develop and still support all the customers at the same time,” he concluded.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of Pensando’s Future Proof Your Enterprise event. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the Future Proof Your Enterprise event. Neither Pensando Systems Inc., the sponsor for theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE