Service providers are moving towards mesh-based transport networks, and the latest technological advance is the standards-based Shared Mesh Protection, which leverages an intelligent GMPLS control plane so a meshed transport network can recover from multiple local and network-wide failures while lowering costs by avoiding the need to dedicate backup bandwidth for every active circuit. This article will examine hardware-accelerated Shared Mesh Protection as a means of increasing the network resiliency without incurring additional fiber-related expenses.