Last week, Versa Networks hosted Versatility 2025, our annual user conference – and this year’s event in Silicon Valley was our most ambitious and impactful yet. Held over two days of immersive learning, real-world stories, and future-forward strategy, the conference brought together hundreds of customers, partners, and industry leaders to explore the next chapter of enterprise transformation.
Three themes stood out across the sessions, keynotes, and hallway conversations:
The era of AI-native infrastructure has arrived – and that was the clear headline from the opening keynote by Versa CEO Kelly Ahuja, who laid out a vision for how organizations can create self-protecting networks ready for AI-driven scale, insight, and automation. From securing LLM usage to enabling edge-based inference, the message was clear: AI needs a new kind of enterprise network.
That vision was echoed by Jun Shi, CEO of Accton-Edgecore, who spoke on “Open Infrastructure to Realize AI for Everyone.” Jun emphasized the importance of open, high-capacity networking to democratize access to AI compute – laying the groundwork for GPU-centric workloads in every enterprise.
A standout moment came during the panel, “Infrastructure 2025 – What’s Changed? What’s Coming?” featuring leaders from Accton, Intel, and Dell, who tackled everything from supply chain geopolitics to AI-edge deployments. Their message? Infrastructure must be open, scalable, and built for the unpredictable data and AI demands of tomorrow.
Rounding it out, Jason Ness, CEO of CommandLink, shared a dynamic talk on “Connectivity for AI Scale,” highlighting the shift away from legacy architectures (like Velo/VMware) and the growing need for path diversity and LEO satellite redundancy to support AI’s insatiable bandwidth appetite.
Versatility 2025 reinforced that modernizing connectivity is no longer just about SD-WAN. In session after session, attendees heard how Versa is enabling full software-defined networking across both the WAN and LAN.
Peter Moorey of SLB (formerly Schlumberger) shared an incredible story in “From PoC to Global SD-WAN,” detailing how SLB deployed Versa across their global operations to unlock consistent policy enforcement and massive operational efficiency from lab to production.
The journey to cloud-first networking was also explored by Gail Smith of the Cavell Group, who walked through what it means to build an “Internet First” architecture leveraging Microsoft’s Azure backbone.
And for those innovating in the most extreme environments, Mohammad Alala of Wireless Maritime Services (WMS) shared a compelling case study on how Versa Secure SD-WAN is enabling redundant, secure connectivity across 200+ cruise ships using LEO and GEO satellite links – bringing real-time, encrypted connectivity to ships at sea.
Throughout the event, customers and partners emphasized that security and networking can no longer be treated separately and described how Versa’s Unified SASE approach is meeting that need head-on.
In a fireside chat, Syed Abidi of SB Energy went into the details of how their solar operations, field teams, and cloud infrastructure are now all protected and connected through a single, integrated SASE fabric.
Ray Wilcoski of Booz Allen Hamilton took the conversation further, explaining how Versa’s multi-function platform enables advanced Zero Trust and edge compute architectures – even in highly sensitive government environments.
And in “Delivering Unified SASE at ABUS,” Boris Wetzel shared how the global security hardware manufacturer is now using Versa to deliver consistent security posture across remote users, offices, and manufacturing facilities.
Versa’s own product and engineering teams hosted deep-dive technical sessions that previewed major innovations coming to the VersaONE Universal SASE platform, including:
Sessions like “Real-World Testing of SASE Infrastructure” with Vik Phatak of CyberRatings.org also gave attendees an objective view of SASE performance – and Versa’s 3x performance advantage over Zscaler in SSE testing turned plenty of heads.
Beyond the sessions, Versatility 2025 was a celebration of the incredible customers, partners, and teams building the next generation of secure, connected enterprises. The Versa Vision Awards recognized standout organizations pushing boundaries in innovation, execution, and impact over the past year. This year’s winners were as follows:
| International Customer Advocate | Maersk |
| North American Customer Advocate | SLB |
| SD-WAN Transformation | Enbridge |
| Networking Vision & Reliabiity | US Bank |
| Enterprise SASE Transformation | SB Energy |
| Systems Integration Partner | Booz Allen Hamilton |
| International Partner | Choin |
| Managed Services Provider | CommandLink |
| Technology Partner | Accton-Edgecore |
| Platform Partner | Dell |
| SASE Partner | Crown Castle |
| Global Partner | Tata Communications |
As one speaker said, “Platformization is not the same as being a platform.” Versa’s commitment to building a true unified platform – from the operating system up – was on full display throughout the event.
Versatility 2025 made it clear: the future belongs to organizations that can connect, protect, and scale their infrastructure in real time – while enabling the full potential of AI. Versa is proud to be building that future alongside our customers, partners, and industry allies.
Until next year – thank you for being part of the journey.
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