The way organizations consume IT is evolving rapidly. The customers are demanding higher quality devices, faster test times, more reliable network, and instantaneous computing to keep their company moving forward. Thus, many of the recent technologies like Software-defined Networking (SDN), Internet of Things (IoT), and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are now in the mainstream.
An independent survey found that organizations are focused on adding bandwidth, investigate ways to modernize their networks with software, and expand their wireless networking capabilities. After all, a secure and reliable network is essential for a digital business.
Here are few of the upcoming technologies revolutionizing the enterprise networking setting:
Software-defined Networking
The shift towards software-defined-everything will continue and some of the biggest disruptors in the networking market will be Software-defined Networking (SDN). SDN has gained significant influence in the service provider sector and has gathered more interest than adoption from the enterprises. It is at a tipping point where enterprise experimentation will turn into live production. It is expected to see a complete revolution in SDN infrastructure solutions that are commercially available. It has the added benefit of being non-proprietary, allowing users to integrate into any environment, thus offering more flexibility and affordability to vendor-specific hardware.
Network Convergence
Transition into virtual compute and storage environment while simultaneously moving the network into a virtual setting can prove to be cost-effective. Hyper-converged Infrastructure Services (HCIS) conceptualizes infrastructure as a pool of resources for SDN controllers to allocate. It saves enterprises the trouble of navigating through the evolving situations of SDN by giving them a convenient option. The only drawback of choosing HCIS is that once the hardware is utilized, it cannot be decoupled from the attached software and reused.
Security
A major promoter for investment in networking technology is to improve security. With the increased sophistication of cyber-criminals and as cloud and virtualization transform IT infrastructure, organizations are stepping up their network security strategies and are moving beyond firewalls and access controls.
Some organizations are attempting to establish security via corporate policy. The most successful IT teams will collaborate on simultaneously modernizing and securing their infrastructure with SDN, advanced encryption and identity management, integration of cloud services and computerization of local apps. Executives seem to have a clear picture of how SDN brings measurable value. Enterprises, especially those in heavily regulated industries will leverage SDN to respond to security threats in real time.
Boosting Bandwidth
Including increased bandwidth to the network has become a necessity for future technologies. According to the Cisco Visual Networking Index, the IP Network will reach 2.6 Exabyte per day by 2021. Networks are under pressure as they carry more and more traffic. Simultaneously, increased adoption of advanced video in the enterprise will cause traffic to grow further.
Increased Burdening of WAN
Software-defined WAN technology has become a popular approach in dealing with WAN challenges. WAN bandwidth is poised for stronger growth and is expected to increase significantly. According to an independent report, a number of factors are putting strain on WAN links, including bandwidth intensive applications such as big data, cloud, IoT and video.
Increasing WAN Bandwidth has become a critical issue. Many organizations are moving applications to the cloud and will be making significant changes to their WAN architecture. The traditional demilitarized zones at their own data centers will be augmented or in some cases replaced, by points-of presence.
Adaptable Financing
Currently, businesses are less inclined to make large, upfront investments as seen in the past; this has been reflected in the increasing popularity of cloud-based services and pay-as-you-grow subscription models. This applies to networking also, particularly with the increase of software-defined data centers. Customers are starting to opt for open stack, non-proprietary, cloud-managed, software-based solutions that involve a shift from traditional perpetual licensing.
WLAN Modernization
WLAN is becoming more and more vital to organizations. The worldwide enterprise WLAN market grew by 9.7% in the second quarter of the current year. It is a critical enabler of end-to-end digital transformation strategies as wireless applications and devices continue to unlock new digital and business outcomes. The wireless network has thus established itself as an essential element of the infrastructure fabric, and companies are committed to expanding their WLANs.
The network has emerged as such that stakeholders and users probably take optimal performance for granted. The challenge now shifts to the successful integration of these systems. And that is why it is essential to stay on top of emerging technologies to enable employees in providing network support while saving dramatically on operation and hardware costs.
Imminent Technologies Reforming Enterprise Networking Environment
