The way service providers build and secure their infrastructure is changing-fast. As Kubernetes becomes the operational backbone for enterprise cloud delivery, the tools that power those environments matter more than ever. For acens, a cloud and data center provider that's part of Telefónica's ecosystem, choosing the right foundation wasn't just a technical decision. It was a strategic one. 

acens recently became the first entity within Telefónica to deploy the Isovalent Enterprise solution from Cisco-marking a meaningful milestone in Telefónica's cloud-native journey and setting a strong reference point for service providers looking to modernize at scale. 

Building a reliable, observable, and secure Kubernetes platform 

acens is a trusted provider of cloud and data center services, delivering hosting, managed services, and cloud solutions to enterprise customers who demand performance, availability, and security. That's a position that carries real weight, because when acens' Kubernetes platform runs well, its customers' businesses run well. 

That's exactly what made acens' architectural re-evaluation so consequential. As the acens team assessed how to evolve their Kubernetes services, several non-negotiable requirements came into focus: 

• High-performance, reliable infrastructure: With customer workloads running on its platform, acens needed a Kubernetes foundation capable of delivering consistent, low-latency performance at scale-with enterprise-grade support to back it up. 
• Operational simplicity: Managing complex Kubernetes environments across teams and customer use cases demands tools that reduce overhead, not add to it. acens wanted a platform that empowered its developer operations (DevOps) teams rather than burdened them. 
• Multicloud flexibility without lock-in: Vendor independence was a core strategic requirement. acens needed a solution that could support its multicloud strategy and remain portable across environments, regardless of which cloud a workload runs on. 
• Robust security across tenants: In a shared, multi-tenant service environment, securing workloads across network boundaries and customer contexts is non-negotiable. acens needed granular, consistent policy enforcement at every layer. 
• Advanced multi-tenancy and role-based access control (RBAC): Serving multiple enterprise customers from a single platform requires fine-grained access controls and strong isolation. acens needed the right capabilities to support diverse customers and use cases without compromising security or performance. 

The evaluation: Open source versus enterprise 

During its assessment, acens explored the differences between open-source Cilium and the enterprise offering from Isovalent (now part of Cisco). The evaluation focused on advanced features for complex multi-tenant environments, commercial support and SLA commitments, and smooth integration with its existing multicloud workflows. 

Isovalent is built on eBPF-a technology that operates at the Linux kernel level to provide deep visibility and control over networking, security, and observability without the overhead of traditional approaches. For a provider like acens, whose platform is the product, that kind of low-level efficiency translates directly into service quality for its customers. 

The solution: Isovalent Enterprise 

After a thorough evaluation, acens selected Isovalent Enterprise to power its Kubernetes platform. The decision reflected both technical and strategic considerations. 

On the performance side, advanced datapath optimizations and observability features provide the reliable, high-throughput networking that acens' customer workloads demand. On the operations side, centralized management and automation capabilities reduce complexity for platform teams, freeing them to focus on delivering value rather than managing infrastructure friction. 

For security, Isovalent Enterprise provides granular network policies, transparent encryption, and advanced threat detection-all enforced consistently across tenant boundaries. And for multi-tenancy, fine-grained RBAC capabilities make it straightforward to manage and isolate customer workloads on a single shared platform. 

Critically, Isovalent's native support for hybrid and multicloud environments gave acens the cloud independence its strategy required. Workloads can run across providers without lock-in-preserving flexibility as its platform and its customers' needs evolve. 

"At acens, security and technological sovereignty are part of our responsibility as a cloud services and solutions provider. The adoption of Isovalent Enterprise strengthens our capacity to apply advanced controls, protect traffic across the multiple environments we manage, and maintain an independence that allows us to guarantee our clients the utmost confidence, without compromising our current data control and governance strategy," said Imanol Rodriguez Gómez, Director of Service Operations at acens. 

The outcome: A platform built for what comes next 

By adopting Isovalent Enterprise, acens achieved the high-availability, high-performance foundation its customers rely on-with simplified operations, stronger security, and the confidence that comes from working with a trusted technology partner that's part of the Cisco team. 

Perhaps most importantly, acens now has a platform that scales with them. Whether expanding to new cloud environments, onboarding new enterprise customers, or responding to evolving security requirements, they have the technology to support it. 

"The implementation of Isovalent Enterprise has strengthened our platform with advanced monitoring, automation, and datapath efficiency capabilities," said Rodriguez Gómez. "This technological leap enables us to operate Kubernetes with superior resilience, scale to meet demand, and proactively respond to increasingly challenging and complex security requirements. It is a solid foundation that prepares us for the next steps demanded by the different cloud environments and the natural evolution of technology." 

Why acens' story matters for service providers 

This deployment isn't just a win for acens alone. It represents the first Isovalent deployment within Telefónica, providing the Telefónica ecosystem-one of the world's largest telecommunications groups-with a helpful reference architecture for cloud-native infrastructure. 

As service providers inside or outside Telefónica accelerate their own cloud-native transformations, acens' experience offers a practical, proven path forward: one that combines performance, security, multicloud flexibility, and operational efficiency without unnecessary complexity. 

Telefónica's proactive approach with acens reflects a broader truth: service providers that invest in next-generation infrastructure today will be better positioned to lead as enterprise cloud demands continue to grow. 

Explore how enterprise-grade Kubernetes networking and security from Isovalent can make a difference for your team