Enterprises transposing towards the digital transformation had to face many challenges of new innovations, networking demands and security policies. Many of the challenges that enterprises faced were either due to the concentration of innovation in operational steps or in cases wherein the innovation failed to actually cope with business requirements. Networking was one such area where the enterprises wanted to have a performance-based and low maintenance network for deployment and development of different applications.
Cloud computing became a necessary part of the digital transformation for the enterprise. With performance and technology ability that doesn’t cost the complete infrastructure, enterprises were happy to accept cloud as a solution for data center, infrastructure, and platform. Many of the enterprises eased in the role of cloud, complete infrastructure in a remote location serving you as your requirements. However, the major challenge for the enterprises was to have a technology that could connect the remote data center to the enterprise system. Many of the enterprises turned towards networking technologies such as software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) to cater to the rising demand for cost-effective bandwidth management. This also meant that the Network admin will be able to work on the network in the same way as WAN management combined with the better applications performance. The enterprises using the SD-WAN can replace the more commercially available internet access that will enable the enterprises to partially and completely replace the private WAN connection. Gartner had predicted in 2015 that by 2019 almost 30 percent of the enterprises will deploy SD-WAN technology. With better network security and agility to deal with user requirements, SD-WAN emerged as an option for enterprises that wanted a network to support their operations.
Connectivity is the key for enterprises, as the global network will depend a lot on the legacy and advanced technologies to improve the performance. The demand for connectivity will drive the enterprises towards SD-WAN technology. As the enterprises adopt the new technology we will see a certain growing trend in the digital transformation, here are some of them.
1. Navigating Through Solution Providers
The acquisition of the SD-WAN has accelerated over the period of last one year. It was also marked by the purchase of Viptela by Cisco and Velocloud by the VMware. In 2019, we also saw Cisco a networking giant going after Talari to improve the market growth for the SD-WAN technology. If the enterprises are adopting the new networking technology SD-WAN, providers will be more thorough with the requirements than the new players that are currently making way through the networking world. The solution providers have to deliver legitimate business solutions for the industries and also support all the operational requirements. SD-WAN providers are also planning to merge different cloud features and telecommunication requirements easing the process for acquisition of infrastructure. The inclusion of cloud management and bandwidth scaling has particularly been the area where many of the vendors are looking to invest. The edge-based solution will still be in demand depending on the enterprises that will be adopting the IoT devices in their operation. For enterprises, though it’s important that they differentiate between the SD-WAN solutions before adopting any one of them.
2. Deadlock or No Deadlock
Enterprises must ease the digital deadlock before it can cause operational failure. IDC has predicted that by 2022, 80 percent of the revenue growth will be depending on the digital operations, this means that the legacy network could soon become a part of museums and new connectivity methods need to be adopted for better growth. The leap from the legacy to modern isn’t going to be easy and the network solution providers will have to deal with major challenges. Each application and business operation will demand some sort of network management and performance, so it will be interesting to see how the enterprises will cope with business critical operations during network transformation. However many of the enterprises have decided to ignore the digital transformation and capitalized on the current legacy network but it will be revolutionary if they can survive.
3. Moving Out Of MLPs
Many of the network experts around the world have predicted that within the next two years we will be seeing a shift from Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) to the network as a service (NaaS). The telecommunication industry combined with networking providers is planning that it will be better if the enterprises shift towards SD-WAN network infrastructure to promote the operational demands. MPLS makers that will see the infrastructure transformation as an opportunity for growth will shift towards the SD-WAN technology. Many of the MLPS providers have either merged or collaborated with the SD-WAN providers to make the transition more immediate.
Improving the current legacy network will take the duration of time and the transformation will be a challenge that’s worth taking. IDC recently found that currently, only 35 percent of the European enterprises have adopted the SD-WAN technology while 20 percent more will be coming in the next two years. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data will also come in play in SD-WAN adoption as the requirement for more agile technology increases. Big data will be useless if not passed down with a range of technologies that can leverage the data; the network will be a major requirement under such conditions. Enterprises around the world are looking towards major networking disruption to improve the information exchange and connectivity as remote location teams can contact each other. Networking for future applications needs to be scalable as the technology development takes shape over the course of time.
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