Who is Hedgehog?
Hedgehog is a networking software company that provides tools for building and operating open, programmable data center networks based on open-source and cloud-native technologies.
- Open, programmable data center networking platform for enterprises and service providers (network automation / cloud networking)
- Integration of Software Defined Networking (SDN) concepts with container-native and Kubernetes-centric operations (cloud-native networking)
- Use of open-source components and standardized interfaces to avoid hardware lock-in and enable white-box network deployments (network disaggregation)
- Workflow, lifecycle, and policy management for network services aligned with DevOps and GitOps practices (NetDevOps / infrastructure as code)
- Support for multi-vendor environments and interoperability across heterogeneous switching infrastructure (multi-vendor network operations)
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More About Hedgehog
Hedgehog focuses on enabling enterprises, cloud providers, and telecom or edge operators to build data center and edge networks using disaggregated, white-box switches and open-source software stacks rather than vertically integrated hardware. Its offerings target teams that want to manage network infrastructure with the same version-controlled, automated workflows used for cloud-native applications, aligning network configuration and lifecycle management with DevOps and GitOps models (NetDevOps / infrastructure as code).
The company’s platform architecture is based on open networking concepts, where the network Operating System (OS), control plane, and orchestration are decoupled from the underlying hardware. Hedgehog combines standardized protocols commonly used in data center environments, such as Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) for routing and EVPN/VXLAN for overlay networks, with Kubernetes-centric workflows for provisioning and operating network services (cloud-native networking). This aligns data center fabrics and edge environments with the needs of containerized applications and microservices, which often require dynamic connectivity and policy updates.
Hedgehog’s tools are designed to integrate with source control, Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment (CI/CD) pipelines, and common observability stacks so that network state can be defined declaratively, tested, and deployed through automated processes. This supports Infrastructure-as-Code (IaC) practices, where changes to network topology, policy, and configuration are expressed in code and applied consistently across environments. The platform targets use cases such as multi-tenant data centers, private clouds, and edge sites that require reproducible network deployments and lifecycle management across multiple locations (network automation).
In marketplace and directory terms, Hedgehog fits into categories including data center networking, network automation and orchestration, cloud-native networking for Kubernetes, and open networking and disaggregation. It is positioned for organizations that want to standardize on open, programmable network architectures and operate multi-vendor switching environments without relying only on single-vendor hardware and software stacks. By aligning network operations with cloud-native tooling and practices, Hedgehog addresses teams that treat the network as part of a unified, programmable infrastructure layer alongside compute and storage.
Our description of Hedgehog. Updated December 2025.
