Brand Post
Author Archives: Brand Post
- Home → Author's archive:
Brand Post
0
BrandPost: The SD-WAN Journey Doesn’t Have to be Painful…if You Pick the Right Solution
In the last decade, cloud came about to address the need for agility, speed and cost savings. Along the way, several technologies came to enable the transition. This has triggered significant innovation in the network with SDxx to support the changing demands in app consumptions model, traffic patterns and automated and dynamic environments.Today, the hottest innovation in the network aimed at increasing agility to support the move to the cloud is SD-WAN for the branch office. A little more than two years ago, SD-WAN came about to address fundamental challenges in the WAN architecture. These challenges can be categorized as follows:To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
0
BrandPost: Assess Your Organization’s DevOps Maturity
Portions of this post were originally posted on the Puppet blog, and republished here with Puppet's permission.DevOps practices and cultural norms positively impact IT and organizational performance. Our annual State of DevOps Report demonstrates how DevOp improves operational efficiency, creates space for innovation and increases employee engagement.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
0
BrandPost: In the Age of Digital Transformation, Why SD-WAN Plays a Key Role in the Transition
Organizations are rapidly jumping on the digital transformation bandwagon. Those that don’t or delay too long will most likely suffer in the long run. The means to leverage technology and processes to transform the business and user experience are critical for the survival of organizations. In the last few years, we’ve seen several businesses cease or struggle to exist due to fierce competition, changing business model, user behavior and lack of digital transformation. The journey to digital transformation may not look exactly the same for each business, but the collaboration between Lines of Business (LoBs) and IT must be tighter than ever before. This is simply because LoBs needs to move at a much faster pace in delivering business value and outcomes, and IT plays a key role in enabling them.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
0
BrandPost: A Deep and Diverse Menu: VPNs for any needs
There are a variety of virtual private network (VPN) solutions available today.Let’s start off with a quick glance at the menu of options: Software-defined Wide Area Networking (SD-WAN) Multiprotocol Label Switching (MLPS) Broadband Multiservice VPN Ethernet Internet Protocol Security (IPSec) Remote access services Cloud-connected The good news is there are site by site options to best meet the needs of your organization. So here’s a quick guide. SD-WAN: A fast-emerging VPN segment, according to Network World “SD-WANs allow customers to integrate multiple network connection types and let software intelligently route traffic based on application profiles and available network types.” MPLS: Long recognized as a preferred option for dedicated, high performance WAN connectivity, the MPLS VPN is enabled over a high-speed, single-carrier-operated network. It can handle different types of data streams and offers higher security and traffic policy enforcement. It’s idea for connecting data centers and major hubs. Broadband VPNs: Utilizing the public Internet via cable and DSL connections, broadband VPNs can connect two or more locations and provide high-speed connections to workers and small satellite locations, for applications that aren’t latency-sensitive. Multiservice VPNs: A hybrid VPN solution that combines highly secure connectivity for your business voice, video, data, Continue reading
0
BrandPost: Reducing Wan Complexity With SD-WAN Segmentation
There are a lot of reasons why IT is so excited about SD-WAN solutions these days. Of course, the potential cost savings of being able to leverage broadband Internet connections securely and with high reliability are particularly compelling. But the true value of an SD-WAN encompasses many more benefits including agility, security and application Quality of Service (QoS). As Zeus Kerravala accurately frames in his recent SD-WAN Makes An Excellent Segmentation Tool WANSpeak blog published on Sept. 27, “most SD-WAN solutions operate as an overlay to the underlying physical topology, which makes it ideal to extend the concept of segmentation out of the data center and across the WAN and into branch offices.”To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
0
BrandPost: As Workplace Collaboration Evolves, Wireless Audio Conferencing Plays a Key Role
The nature of the workplace is changing dramatically. Project teams are typically more geographically dispersed and more mobile. And yet, in some ways they remain more connected than ever. More than 8 in 10 managers in a 2016 Millward Brown survey, conducted on behalf of Sennheiser, said meetings aimed at flexibly bringing together experts from different sites helped their business, in terms of saving time and other factors. While the cloud and mobile technologies have made it easier for team members to collaborate virtually using group chat and similar tools, audio conferencing remains one of the most effective ways for teams to communicate. The challenge is that legacy conferencing technology has not kept pace with the changing needs of organizations. Who doesn’t have a horror story of a conference call featuring team members huddled around a speaker phone, straining to hear remote team members speaking over a poor-quality connection? Other times, it can be difficult to simply find a room with the proper conferencing setup.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
0
BrandPost: The WAN Is Dead, Long Live The WAN
The SD-WAN your company is building today will likely be the last you ever use. The race to move applications and services to the cloud, and the availability of high performance broadband is fueling the greatest networking revolution in a generation.Enterprises have long struggled with connecting users to applications, and until recently there were limited options to address these needs. Most businesses turned to carriers and purchased Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) private links for WAN connectivity. While MPLS has been a reliable means to connect, it suffers from high costs, slow speeds and an antiquated design not built for today’s traffic. In layman’s terms it’s rapidly becoming obsolete.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
0
BrandPost: Find a guide to easier VPN decision-making
Deciding on a new or updated virtual private network (VPN) solution can be intimidating, but it shouldn’t be.Network demands are increasing day-by-day, and technology is evolving rapidly with the advent of software-defined networking (SDN). Businesses need fast decisions on network infrastructure, but making a bet in the midst of rapid technology advances can have a paralyzing impact.Fear of making the wrong decisionAn IDG Research Services survey conducted early in 2016 shows that enterprises are eager to modernize their networks but are constrained by financial considerations and the fear of making a wrong decision.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
0
BrandPost: The Future of Networking
Editor’s note: Nick Applegarth, VP of sales, EMEA for Silver Peak, recently answered a series of questions about digital transformation, networking and SD-WAN. Read his comments here on the future of networking. Q. What are the emerging hot (technology) topics for CIOs and why? A. The digital transformation is fully upon us and CIOs are increasingly embracing virtualisation and cloud services to enhance business responsiveness and agility. Connecting users to applications across geographically distributed organisations is introducing new challenges that traditional wide area networks (WANs) were never engineered to address. Unpredictable application performance impacts user productivity and, ultimately, holds companies back from fully embracing and maximising their return on digital technology investments. Indeed, while the rest of the infrastructure has become more fine-tuned for a cloud and virtual world, the WAN continues to be subject to the limitations associated with traditional private MPLS networks and branch office infrastructure.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
0
BrandPost: What CIOs need to know about SD-WAN
There has been much talk about Software Defined Networking (SDN) and how SDx benefits virtual environments and data centres. However an area that is often overlooked is how abstraction can apply to application performance and value across the wide area network (WAN). The WAN has always been about connecting users to applications and moving data more effectively over long distances. This includes connectivity for collaboration among enterprise users, clients, suppliers, and partners, as well as the movement of data over distance for disaster recovery and business continuity. While these requirements still exist, the adoption of virtualisation and the cloud across traditional WAN architectures, such as MPLS, has introduced performance bottlenecks, thereby impairing user productivity when connecting to data centre and cloud applications from branch and remote office locations. As cloud initiatives gain momentum and traction, CIOs are increasingly reevaluating their corporate WAN requirements.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
0
BrandPost: How business goals can be foundation for branch office networking with SD-WAN
Connecting branch offices to a business wide area network (WAN) is time-consuming and often disrupts IT operations. Branch office connectivity has long posed a challenge for geographically distributed organisations, a problem that multiplies as they enter new markets or expand within existing ones. But now, emerging software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) technology is resolving remote office connection issues and delivering substantial cost savings. Until SD-WAN emerged, configuring or even changing WAN infrastructure at branch offices could prove a nightmare, given its distributed nature and the remote touch points involved. Attempts at delivering the ‘lean’ branch office have sometimes resorted to public cloud services that might fail to meet IT requirements for performance, security and more.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
0
BrandPost: Leveraging MPLS with Cloud Services
Many enterprises rely on multi-protocol label switching VPNs for high-performance, critical communications. Now those services can be enhanced with new virtualized, cloud services for on demand access.Because it is by definition multiprotocol, MPLS can handle multiple types of data streams, including IP, ATM and frame relay, making it the predominant option for large enterprises.MPLS utilizes a communication service provider’s (CSP) infrastructure to deliver a segregated wide area network (WAN), avoiding the cost and complexity of an enterprise having to maintain private lines for its WAN. As it is under the control of a single operator and supports traffic policy enforcement, MPLS offers greater reliability and performance for enterprise WANs and VPNs.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
0
BrandPost: Can your WAN do more?
Wide area network (WAN) decision-making today generally centers on Internet Protocol (IP)-based services. But many organizations are still running older networking services in various parts of the enterprise, limiting their ability to take advantage of new intelligent features and applications.IP services provide a rich and automated feature set that has been widely deployed and which enable automation and business agility. Among the key enterprise benefits: Flexibility to forward traffic directly among any of your MPLS VPN-connected sites Revolutionary programmability with software-defined networking (SDN) over IP With IP-over-Ethernet in the last mile you can easily increase or decrease access speeds IP-based cellular links can provide a primary or a backup last-mile link Unseen bottlenecksTo read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
0
BrandPost: Converging all communications over IP
With the changing rules of business and the competitive environment, businesses need a high performance network today – and for tomorrow. Many, though, are still operating separate voice and data networks that limit flexibility and inhibit agility.Carriers such as AT&T have long digitized voice traffic over their long-haul networks. On the AT&T network, the volume of data traffic exceeded voice traffic in 2000 as the Internet transformation took hold and businesses increasingly looked to data networks to handle voice, video, telepresence and other sophisticated applications such as virtual white boards.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
0
BrandPost: The Ethernet path to Network on Demand
Ethernet is the network computing gift that keeps on giving. From its inception in 1973 as a 3 megabits/sec copper wired local area network technology, it has evolved to accommodate 40 gigabit/sec and 100 gigabit/sec speeds, fiber optic cabling, and wide area networking. The race is on to reach 400 gigabit/sec speeds and enable more on demand Ethernet-based services.Ethernet has achieved its success based on the foundation of openness and standardization and that is an ongoing process enabling continual innovation. Achieving end-to-end on demand Ethernet services that span multiple service providers is a key element in realizing the promise of software-defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualization (NFV) for geographically dispersed organizations.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
0
BrandPost: Metro Ethernet for business on the move
Can’t you ever get enough bandwidth? It may seem that way when you run up against current constraints, but despair of being able to afford additional capacity. Really, though, what you should be asking is can you get the bandwidth you need, when you need it.In the past, you really didn’t have much choice. You made calculations based on ongoing needs and figured out whether you could afford something extra for peak capacity.Software-drivenThe future, built on software-driven networks and virtualization, is one of bandwidth on demand, when you need it. AT&T Network on Demand revolutionizes enterprise network services by emulating with software the functions of complex hardware components and servers. Instead of waiting for truck rolls, ultimately you’ll be able to order new services in near real time through an online, self-service portal.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
0
BrandPost: Evolving communications in a dynamic Software Defined world
In today’s business world, nothing is static. Business is constantly in motion, reconfiguring operations to take advantage of new opportunities and responding to customer needs. For an enterprise with multiple sites, that means that what works today from a networking perspective may not be adequate tomorrow.Meeting the needs of branch offices and remote sites depends on high-speed, powerful wide area network (WAN) capabilities. But for many organizations, the ability to meet peak demands means they would have to invest in capabilities that will at other times be underutilized.Enterprise IT managers are dealing with virtually insatiable demands for broadband. IDC data shows that more than 53% of enterprises expect to support a 20% yearly increase in WAN bandwidth, but within the constraints of flat budgets for connectivity and managed services.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
0
BrandPost: Visualizing a business-agile WAN
Businesses striving to achieve new levels of agility and the flexibility to pursue new opportunities are often running up against the restraints of legacy network infrastructure. It can be difficult to envision the pathway to the future.IDG Research Services surveyed more than 100 business and IT decision makers to explore the drivers and obstacles impacting network connectivity strategies. Most are eager to modernize their networks but feel constrained by financial considerations and the fear of getting locked into proprietary solutions.Overcoming network burdensThe typical enterprise today must absorb or outsource a huge burden of installing, configuring, and running wide area network (WAN) hardware that includes switches, routers, load balancers, VPNs, accelerators and firewalls.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
0
BrandPost: Network Performance On Demand
Organizations today need speed and reliability, but also want flexibility and freedom to adjust their services levels and costs to meet changing needs. As health care providers shift to electronic records and files, they’re finding the need to scale up network performance but in a cost-conscious environment are wary about locking themselves into expensive options they need only for high-peak periods.For the Austin Cancer Center, huge imaging files can be a vital component of diagnosis and treatment. But moving large data sets such as digital PET scan images of a gigabyte or more between the 12 campuses in the system would create a huge bottleneck over most enterprise Ethernet LANs, or a huge expense to create peak capacity that is often underutilized.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
0
BrandPost: New Dynamic for CPE
Running an enterprise wide area network (WAN) can entail installation, configuration and maintenance of a bewildering array of hardware that includes switches, routers, load balancers, VPNs, accelerators and firewalls.But would you still use separate devices for each core network function, if you could instead opt for standardized, off the shelf hardware that can be configured and updated as often as you need it? Looking at the manner in which virtualization has impacted other areas of enterprise infrastructure, the likely answer is a resounding ‘No’!That’s the rationale behind AT&T’s recent launch of a Network Functions Virtualization (NFV)-enabled Universal Customer Premises Equipment (uCPE) product. With the benefit that one standards-based, off-the-shelf server can perform any AT&T certified network function.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here