Polatis

Polatis designs and manufactures all-optical circuit switches, providing advanced solutions for automated fiber-layer management. Their core technology enables ultra-low loss, highly reliable optical switching for dynamic network configurations. These SDN-enabled platforms facilitate remote fiber provisioning, protection, and monitoring, directly addressing the complexities of managing high-bandwidth optical infrastructures with efficiency and precision.

The company was founded in 2000, stemming from an understanding of the critical need for scalable and flexible optical layer automation within telecommunications networks. This foundational insight drove the development of their unique optical switching technology, which has since set industry standards for performance and reliability in diverse operational environments. Polatis was later acquired by HUBER+SUHNER, integrating its specialized optical expertise into a broader connectivity portfolio.

Polatis products serve a global clientele that includes major telecommunications providers, secure government networks, and large-scale data centers. The company’s vision centers on advancing the capabilities of optical networks by delivering solutions that enhance operational agility, reduce latency, and ensure robust data transmission. They continue to innovate, aiming to support the evolving demands of future high-capacity network architectures.

Polatis is an all‑optical switching technology company (now operating under HUBER+SUHNER’s POLATIS business unit) that builds low‑loss, software‑controllable optical circuit switches used primarily in data centers, test labs, telecom and broadcast environments to enable dynamic, transparent fiber connectivity and low‑latency, energy‑efficient routing of high‑bandwidth traffic[6][3].

High‑Level Overview

Polatis builds all‑optical circuit/matrix switches based on its patented DirectLight beam‑steering technology that provide transparent, low‑loss optical cross‑connects and SDN‑enabled automation for colocation, hyperscale, telecom and broadcast use cases[4][3]. The product serves data center operators, network operators, test and measurement labs, broadcasters and enterprises that require dynamic fiber cross‑connects, dark‑fiber provisioning, in‑line monitoring and low‑latency/high‑bandwidth paths for AI and HPC workloads[5][3]. By eliminating repeated optical‑electrical‑optical (O‑E‑O) conversions and enabling pre‑provisioning of dark or lit fiber, Polatis’ switches reduce power consumption, lower operating cost and enable faster provisioning and automated moves/adds/changes in fiber infrastructures[2][5].

Origin Story

Polatis’ optical switching technology was created more than two decades ago and in 2025 the POLATIS business celebrated 25 years of optical circuit switching innovation; the product line now operates as POLATIS within the HUBER+SUHNER Group following acquisition/integration into the Swiss company’s connectivity portfolio[9][6]. (HUBER+SUHNER describes POLATIS as its optical circuit switch offering and highlights recent investments in production capacity to support AI data centers.)[2][6]

Core Differentiators

• DirectLight beam‑steering technology: industry‑leading low optical loss and high optical performance enabling transparent switching even on dark fiber[3][4].
  - All‑optical (no O‑E‑O): eliminates repeated conversions to reduce latency and power consumption for large flows and AI workloads[2][5].
  - SDN‑enabled automation and carrier‑class software: integrates with network control systems for automated MACs and photonic fabric orchestration[3][5].
  - Wide product scale and reliability: matrix switches available in many port counts (small to very large MxN fabrics) with long field actuator life and high reliability for mission‑critical uses[8][4].
  - Broad market fit: used across data center colocation, hyperscale, telecom, broadcast production, test labs and optical production QA workflows[5][3].

Role in the Broader Tech Landscape

Polatis is riding multiple converging trends: explosive bandwidth growth from cloud, AI and HPC workloads; disaggregation of compute and storage that increases demand for flexible optical interconnects; and sustainability/efficiency pressures that favor avoiding power‑hungry O‑E‑O conversions[5][3]. Timing matters because hyperscale AI deployments are accelerating the need for low‑latency, energy‑efficient photonic fabrics and software‑controlled optical layers that can be orchestrated by SDN and data‑center controllers[2][7]. By enabling dynamic, low‑loss optical cross‑connects, Polatis helps operators implement photonic architectures and monitoring/automation that reduce operational cost and support new data center designs for AI and edge services[3][2].

Quick Take & Future Outlook

Polatis is well positioned to expand as data centers and telcos adopt photonic switching to solve scaling, latency and power challenges; recent investments in production sites and HUBER+SUHNER’s global footprint should accelerate deployment for AI‑centric hyperscale and colocation customers[2][6]. Key trends to watch that will shape Polatis’ trajectory are continued AI traffic growth (driving demand for photonic fabrics), greater SDN orchestration across optical and packet layers, and interest in dark‑fiber switching and in‑line monitoring for security and observability[3][5]. If adoption of photonic cross‑connect architectures grows as hyperscalers and carriers seek lower‑latency, lower‑power alternatives, Polatis’ low‑loss, SDN‑enabled switches are likely to play a central role in next‑generation data center and telecom network designs[5][2].

Sources: POLATIS product and corporate materials and HUBER+SUHNER product pages and press releases describing POLATIS technology, markets, and recent production investments[6][3][2][5].