Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”), India’s premier communications solutions provider, today announced an agreement to acquire appx. 25% equity stake in Bengaluru based technology startup, Lavelle Networks. The agreement is subject to applicable statutory approvals. The home grown Lavelle Networks specialises in Software-defined Wide Area Network solutions and it serves a range of industry segments. Its platform has connected several thousands of Indian enterprises from the nation’s largest financial institutions to e-commerce networks.

“SD-WAN is the necessary arsenal for enterprises to transform and future-proof their network infrastructure in this digital age. Its market in India is expected to grow exponentially at a CAGR of 55% in 2022-2026. As per F&S End-User Survey 2021, about 62% of enterprises plan to deploy SD-WAN across their organization in the next 1-2 years. Some of the major drivers which would contribute to this phenomenal run include the need for seamless management of Hybrid Networks, faster deployment of new sites, and network cost-efficiency.” Apalak Ghosh, Associate Director and Head of ICT, Frost & Sullivan South Asia

Airtel Business’ Network as a service (NaaS) is a digital platform, which is built to address the emerging connectivity requirements of enterprises as they go through the cloud & digital adoption and acceleration journey. As part of its NaaS portfolio, Airtel will offer software defined connectivity solution from Lavelle Networks and co-create a host of innovations as part of its NaaSplatform. This also aims to bring“Made in India”products& solutions for enterprisesby offering cutting edge technology and cost efficiencies.

Ajay Chitkara, Director and CEO – Airtel Business said: “We are pleased to support Lavelle’s growth journey and excited to collaborate with them to take their world-class solutions to enterprise customers in the fast growing IndianNaaSmarket. With our end-to-end solutions play and brand trust, we are uniquely positioned to serve the needs of India’s fast growing digital economy.”