The continued growth of the IoT is putting a strain on traditional networks. IoT data is asynchronous and event-dependent, so network infrastructure must be flexible enough to adapt to sudden and/or dramatic changes in data traffic brought on by a variety of unpredictable factors. It must also be able to scale to meet future capacity and processing demands without requiring massive, repeated investments. In addition, some data types may be mission critical, with little tolerance for latency or unreliable connections. Traditional network hardware struggles to meet these demands. 

These proprietary devices are designed for a fixed set of functions with relatively predictable traffic patterns, limiting the ability of operators to efficiently allocate and reallocate network resources as data demands ebb and flow.

Network functions virtualization (NFV) offers a superior alternative. This open, software-based approach to building and deploying elastic networks can address IoT communications infrastructure needs, now and in the future.