%0 Generic %A Manzalini, A %A Saracco, R %A Buyukkoc, C %A Chemouil, P %A Kukliński, S %A Gladisch, A %A Fukui, M %A Shen, W %A Dekel, E %A Soldani, D %A Ulema, M %A Cerroni, W %A Callegati, F %A Schembra, G %A Riccobene, V %A Mas Machuca, C %A Galis, A %A Mueller, J %C New York, NY, USA %D 2014 %F discovery:10043677 %I IEEE %K Software-Defined Networks, Network Softwarization %P 1-17 %T Software-Defined Networks for Future Networks and Services: Main Technical Challenges and Business Implications %U https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10043677/ %X In 2013, the IEEE Future Directions Committee (FDC) formed an SDN work group to explore the amount of interest in forming an IEEE Software-Defined Network (SDN) Community. To this end, a Workshop on "SDN for Future Networks and Services" (SDN4FNS'13) was organized in Trento, Italy (Nov. 11th-13th 2013). Following the results of the workshop, in this paper, we have further analyzed scenarios, prior-art, state of standardization, and further discussed the main technical challenges and socio-economic aspects of SDN and virtualization in future networks and services. A number of research and development directions have been identified in this white paper, along with a comprehensive analysis of the technical feasibility and business availability of those fundamental technologies. A radical industry transition towards the "economy of information through softwarization" is expected in the near future. %Z This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.