
Posted on Reading Time: 3 minutes
onEnterprise and service provider environments face a convergence of challenges: rising cybersecurity risks, increasing infrastructure complexity, and the need to operationalize AI at scale. Organizations are being asked to do more with fewer resources and to do it faster. MEF’s legacy in defining Carrier Ethernet and Lifecycle Service Orchestration (LSO) standards helped address many of these pressures by bringing consistency and automation to traditionally fragmented environments.
As MEF’s community grew beyond traditional telecom, the organization’s identity needed to evolve as well. Enterprises, hyperscalers, technology providers, and systems integrators were playing an increasingly central role in building the AI-powered digital economy and it became clear that the name no longer reflected the breadth of its impact.
What began as the Metro Ethernet Forum, focused on standardizing connectivity services, has grown into a global ecosystem addressing the complexities of secure, automated, AI-ready network services.
In June 2025, MEF Forum became Mplify Alliance. Our new identity reflects the reach, momentum, and purpose of our global alliance. Mplify continues MEF’s legacy while amplifying its impact.
What Mplify Stands For
The shift to Mplify marks a strategic realignment to better represent this broader, multi-stakeholder ecosystem. The name reflects the organization’s role in amplifying member capabilities and multiplying the value of standardized, secure, interoperable services.
The Mplify mission is focused on enabling trusted, AI-powered digital services through collaboration, standardization, and certification. This happens across four core pillars:
- Standardized Services Frameworks for NaaS including on-demand connectivity, cybersecurity, application assurance, and multi-cloud networking.
- LSO Automation with open APIs that drive plug-and-play interoperability across multi-provider, multi-cloud environments.
- Certification to ensure services and APIs meet rigorous standards for conformance, interoperability, and performance.
- Ecosystem Collaboration that brings together stakeholders from across the digital value chain to accelerate adoption and reduce complexity.
Together, these efforts create the foundation for modern, programmable networks capable of supporting secure, AI-powered services and scalable, multi-cloud connectivity.
Amplifying the AI-Powered Digital Economy
As enterprises move from AI exploration to execution, the need for intelligent, scalable, and secure infrastructure becomes more important. Mplify plays a key role in making that infrastructure real.
A few recent initiatives include GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS) to help enterprises deploy high-performance compute at the edge; AI Model-as-a-Service to streamline inference across hybrid environments; and SASE certification to bring clarity and consistency to a fragmented cybersecurity market.
Behind it all is a philosophy grounded in standards. Without common frameworks and validated performance, digital services can’t scale or be trusted. Mplify’s work ensures that as networks evolve, they do so on a foundation that is open, secure, and extensible.
A New Voice for a New Ecosystem
The Mplify name also reflects a more inclusive, forward-looking voice. One that resonates not only with service and cloud providers, but with enterprises, hyperscalers, technology providers, and systems integrators. This shift is critical in a world where services are no longer built in isolation but assembled across ecosystems.
Mplify is creating more space for diverse voices to help shape the future of secure, AI-ready networking. For example, our Enterprise Leadership Council (ELC), a strategic advisory group of visionary enterprise leaders, are shaping how Mplify addresses critical network needs and digital transformation priorities. Together we’re shaping the frameworks, APIs, certifications, and connections that move the industry forward.
What’s Ahead for Mplify
As we look to the year ahead, Mplify is focused on scaling adoption of two key industry tools: SASE Certification and LSO API Certification. Both offer vendor-neutral validation that’s critical in today’s multi-vendor, multi-cloud world. These aren’t just frameworks; they’re enablers of trusted service delivery at scale. We’re also gearing up for GNE 2025, our annual Global NaaS Event happening this November in Dallas. It’s where the community comes together to share certified solutions, production-ready use cases, and the practical outcomes of collaboration.
Partnerships remain central to our strategy. We’re working closely with organizations like TM Forum, GSMA, and ITW GLF to align technical frameworks and accelerate cross-industry adoption of programmable, AI-ready infrastructure.
As Mplify, we’re building on a 20+ year legacy with a clear focus on what’s next: an ecosystem that’s automated, intelligent, and resilient. One where innovation doesn’t just happen, it happens with trust. We’re proud to support this community who are shaping this future. And we’re even more excited to build it together.
Learn More
- Learn more about Mplify’s vision for NaaS and get the NaaS Industry Blueprint.
- Download the Mplify NaaS Customer Experience White Paper.
- Read about Mplify’s SASE certification program.
- Join us at Mplify’s next Global NaaS Event