Business must move fast today to keep up with competitive forces. That means IT must provide an agile — anytime, anywhere, any workload — infrastructure that ensures growth, boosts productivity, enhances innovation, improves the customer experience, and reduces risk.A composable infrastructure helps organizations achieve these important objectives that are difficult — if not impossible — to achieve via traditional means, such as the ability to do the following:
Deploy quickly with simple flexing, scaling, and updating
Run workloads anywhere — on physical servers, on virtual servers, or in containers
Operate any workload upon which the business depends, without worrying about infrastructure resources or compatibility
Ensure the infrastructure is able to provide the right service levels so the business can stay in business
In other words, IT must inherently become part of the fabric of products and services that are rapidly innovated at every company, with an anytime, anywhere, any workload infrastructure.To read this article in full, please click here
As hybrid cloud deployments enfold, organizations can expect to encounter some long-term challenges. In a recent podcast, Dana Gardner, Principal Analyst at Interarbor Solutions and John Abbott, Vice President of Infrastructure and Co-Founder of The 451 Group, discussed the growth of hybrid cloud and the challenges enterprises are facing.Solving the complexity problem
As organizations seek a mix of hybrid and multi-cloud infrastructure, they are implementing cloud in a way that wasn’t anticipated years ago. “CAPEX to OPEX, operational agility, complexity, and costs have all been big factors,” explained Abbott. “Also, on-premises deployments continue to remain a critical function. You can’t just get rid of your existing infrastructure investments that you have made over many, many years.”To read this article in full, please click here
Today’s travelers expect all the technology amenities of home while on the road. That includes, by a wide margin, better Wi-Fi than hotels typically offer, according to a recent YouGov/ALICE survey. The survey found that 59% of guests want better Wi-Fi and that 34% of them would trade a business center for better in-room tech.That’s not surprising in the digital age. But how can hotels—particularly those built when push-button phones were state of the art in telecommunications—keep up with rising consumer expectations around technology?The answer lies in flexible, easy-to-install-and-manage software-defined networking (SD-WAN), in this case from Cisco Meraki.To read this article in full, please click here
Healthcare adds up to nearly 18% of the U.S. gross domestic product, employing 11% of the national workforce, according to McKinsey & Company. Even so, the industry has been slow to adopt digital technologies. Now, organizations are racing to catch up with a range of digital solutions for care providers, patients, and those who support them.Helping them rise to the challenge is a new breed of cloud-based networking technologies that let providers easily and securely share data while protecting client privacy under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requirements.To read this article in full, please click here
This is the first in a two-part blog series that will explore how enterprises can realize the full transformation promise of the cloud by shifting to a business first networking model powered by a business-driven SD-WAN. The focus for this installment will be on automating secure IPsec connectivity and intelligently steering traffic to cloud providers. Over the past several years we’ve seen a major shift in data center strategies where enterprise IT organizations are shifting applications and workloads to cloud, whether private or public. More and more, enterprises are leveraging software as-a-service (SaaS) applications and infrastructure as-a-service (IaaS) cloud services from leading providers like Amazon AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. This represents a dramatic shift in enterprise data traffic patterns as fewer and fewer applications are hosted within the walls of the traditional corporate data center. To read this article in full, please click here
This is the second blog of a two-part blog series that explores SD-WAN and the future of networking in the 5G era. Part 1 “SD-WAN with 4G LTE is a Reality” can be found here.5G, a game-changer for an ultra-high-speed, hyperconnected world
Telecommunications providers are racing to roll out the fifth generation of mobile wireless technology to meet today’s explosive bandwidth and network connectivity demands. 5G is poised to revolutionize several industries by bringing significantly faster connections, shorter delays and increased connectivity for users. It will aid the expansion of “internet of things” (IoT), creating a virtual network of ultra-high-speed connections across multiple devices. To read this article in full, please click here
It started as a Ph.D. thesis project at one of the world’s premier institutions of technology research and higher education. Now it’s back to benefit a new generation of students and researchers.An advanced yet easy-to-use wireless network from Cisco Meraki – with origins in research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) – has solved one of the university’s most intractable problems: providing robust Wi-Fi access in a challenging radio frequency environment.From research to productThe Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at MIT is home to cutting-edge research in the areas of robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), machine vision, networking, and more. In 2006, researchers developed a novel plug-and-play Wi-Fi networking system that they spun out into a company called Meraki.To read this article in full, please click here
In the era of e-commerce, top consumer brands depend on superior customer service to win sales in the store and showroom. In few industries is this more important than automotive, where technology is changing the relationship between consumers and the cars they drive or ride in, offering an expanding array of options for mobility beyond simple ownership.One carmaker has risen to the challenge with a mix of smart tech and stellar customer service that created one of the most satisfied groups of automotive customers.To read this article in full, please click here
SoulCycle is a company on the move. Growing from a single sublet studio on New York’s Upper West Side in 2006, the company now has 90 locations and counting across North America. Devotees range from NBA basketball players to Hollywood celebrities, and everyone in between.To read this article in full, please click here
Manufacturers know better than most businesses the expense of replacing legacy equipment. With high costs for the industrial machines, programmable logic controllers, IT gear, and other systems needed to build everything from consumer packaged goods to cars and electronics, many manufacturers choose to milk their capital expenditures as long as possible. That can mean waiting years before replacing old equipment.One manufacturer, however, has found a way to replace legacy IT equipment while saving time and money, thanks to cloud-managed network appliances from Cisco Meraki.A legacy of innovationJapanese scale maker Teraoka Seiko has been in business for more than 85 years. While the company still makes scales, it has since expanded its business to include self-checkout cashiers, point-of-sale (POS) systems, and many other related devices and appliances. Although the technology has changed over the decades, the company’s commitment to innovation and its international focus has remained constant.To read this article in full, please click here
One of the great challenges with automation in the telecom industry is that the networking and IT domains remain heavily siloed in many service providers today, with hundreds or even thousands of manual processes required to map data from Operation Support Systems (planning, fulfillment, assurance, etc.) to network management and orchestration systems. Not only does this lead to a lot of “swivel-chair” operations to bridge the gap, but fragmented data systems reduce the visibility into real-time service and network state. The quick fix is to over-provision network resources to cope with this lack of visibility, but that leads to unnecessarily high Capex in addition to the Opex overhead associated with highly manual operations.To read this article in full, please click here
Remote support has long been offered to customers on desktops and laptops, but with the rise of mobile devices, times are changing. If you haven’t already considered a mobile-first support strategy, now’s the time to create one.Most people spend an average of 5 hours a day on their mobile devices, a statistic that you won’t find too surprising if you’re reading this on a mobile device. Increasingly, we rely on our mobile devices in our personal and work lives, and in many cases, customers are ditching their laptops and moving entirely to mobile.It stands to reason that if mobile is where customers are, support teams should be there too. The problem is, remote support was originally created for desktops and is often offered through channels that aren’t always readily available to mobile users, like live chat. That’s why it makes sense for support teams to look at remote support from the other side: mobile-first. This allows you to create a remote support experience that’s consistent across web and mobile, including how tickets feed into the same queue for fast resolution, and how diagnostic data is presented for the device, operating system, network, and more. Doing so enables your Continue reading
Rick Hamilton, Senior Vice President, Blue Planet Software
Rick Hamilton, senior vice president of Blue Planet, a division of Ciena, explains how partnering with Brillio brings the next generation of network capabilities to enterprises—just when they need it most.In February 2019, we announced that Blue Planet was evolving into a more independent division, helping us increase our focus on innovative intelligent automation solutions that help our enterprise and service provider customers accelerate and achieve their business transformation goals. To read this article in full, please click here
Without a doubt, 5G — the fifth generation of mobile wireless technology — is the hottest topic in wireless circles today. You can’t throw a stone without hitting 5G news. While telecommunications providers are in a heated competition to roll out 5G, it’s important to reflect on current 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) business solutions as a preview of what we have learned and what’s possible.This is part one of a two-part blog series that will explore the SD-WAN journey through the evolution of these wireless technologies.Mobile SD-WAN is a reality
4G LTE commercialization continues to expand. According to the GSM (Groupe Spéciale Mobile) Association, 710 operators have rolled out 4G LTE in 217 countries, reaching 83 percent of the world’s population. The evolution of 4G is transforming the mobile industry and is setting the stage for the advent of 5G.To read this article in full, please click here
Christine Keck, Analyst Relations Leader, Ciena
Andy Youé, Vice President for Sales & Delivery, Ciena Blue Planet
Ciena Blue Planet now operates as its own division within Ciena. This news was announced on December 13, 2018, as part of Ciena’s Fiscal 2018 earnings call, and the decision took effect in November at the start of Ciena’s new fiscal year. This move was made to allow Ciena to continue honing our focus and resources on addressing the high-growth market opportunity for intelligent software automation.To read this article in full, please click here
No big surprise here: the number of support tickets increased again last year, following the same trend it has for nearly a decade. More than 57% of organizations reported an increase in ticket volume in 2018, according to the latest HDI Technical Support Practices & Salary Report.The question is, why? It seems clear that end users are now fully acclimatized to using technology in the workplace, so what’s triggering this very consistent increase in support incidents and issues?It comes down to three factors:Greater complexity in the technology environment. Nearly 50% of organizations are supporting Internet of Things (IoT) devices, with more businesses following suit to stay competitive. These IoT devices scan, measure, and report on the network, adding a whole new world of support issues to manage.To read this article in full, please click here
Frank O. Miller, Chief Technology Officer, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Ciena
Big bang OSS transformation projects are slow, expensive, and disruptive. Why not consider taking a ‘brick-by-brick’ approach that delivers value faster and sets you up for future success? asks Frank Miller, CTO, Ciena EMEA.When I’m talking with service providers, network automation is always high on their agenda. As well as dramatically reducing operational costs by automating manual processes, it can help you access bandwidth on demand, and provision new customer services in a fraction of the time it previously took. There are also major benefits in terms of discovering your network resources dynamically. An accurate view of available infrastructure enables you to more holistically plan and implement strategic initiatives that keep you ahead of the traffic demand curve.To read this article in full, please click here
The Internet of Things (IoT) is everywhere and its use is growing fast. IoT is used by local governments to build smart cities. It’s used to build smart businesses. And, consumers are benefitting as it’s built into smart homes and smart cars. Industry analyst first estimates that over 20 billion IoT devices will be connected by 2020. That’s a 2.5x increase from the more than 8 billion connected devices in 2017*. Manufacturing companies have the highest IoT spend to date of industries while the health care market is experiencing the highest IoT growth. By 2020, 50 percent of IoT spending will be driven by manufacturing, transportation and logistics, and utilities.To read this article in full, please click here
It’s here, and it’s sweeping campuses nationwide: Digital Transformation (Dx) in higher education. While other industries have already made giant leaps in Dx (just look at the retail industry with tech titan Amazon and the transportation industry with innovator Uber), Digital Transformation in higher ed is now starting to take shape.The topic of Dx in higher ed is being addressed at widely attended events like the Educause Annual Conference, where higher education institutions of all sizes come together to discuss the topic of technology. Still in the relatively early stages of Dx, higher ed IT professionals are wondering if their IT departments are set up to support the evolving digital ecosystems at their institutions – and working to ensure that they are.To read this article in full, please click here
Over the last couple of years, there’s been a lot of attention on how customer support is changing and how brands are using customer support as a business differentiator. But where’s all the attention on how businesses are using internal-facing support as a key competitive advantage?(Crickets chirping. Still chirping.)The truth is, customers are a prime focus for businesses but internal employees a distant second, at best. It seems to make sense to prioritize external-facing customer support over internal-facing IT support. But here’s the deal: your employees are consumers, too – they’re out there in the world interacting with A+ service and support teams, and it’s changing their expectations back at the office. They expect internal IT support to deliver the same level of service that they experience as customers.To read this article in full, please click here
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