Your business has its roadmap, its goals, and a pretty clear picture of its future success. You might be evaluating:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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- How to improve your customer\u2019s digital experience<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- How to enhance network security for your distributed workforce<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- How to increase your IT staff productivity<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- How to make sense of your disconnected network data points<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Networks are more than just connectivity now\u2026. they\u2019re smart. Network technologies like SD-WAN, SASE, AIOps, and others work on top of your network to ensure the best customer experience. However, each technology has a sweet spot of support, and you\u2019ll likely see elements of several technologies that, when combined, will provide the ideal combination that\u2019s right for your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let\u2019s dive in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nAIOps (Artificial Intelligence for IT Operations)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Network monitoring happens everywhere but usually provides only \u201ccircuit\u2019s up\u201d or \u201ccircuit\u2019s down\u201d information. AIOps<\/a> is a technology that allows us to go way beyond \u201cred light \/ green light\u201d monitoring by using artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyze and automate IT operations. Companies in various industries can use AIOps to detect and resolve IT issues quickly and proactively. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
Imagine if your network can provide you the information you need to fix it.<\/strong> AIOps lends the needed intelligence to correlate multiple data points from lots of different systems that may not have excellent linear relationships, and provides you with a plan to fix whatever may be broken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s a simple example<\/strong> that illustrates the differences between monitoring, monitoring with a single pane of glass, and observability <\/em>with AIOps (if cars were so equipped):<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nMonitoring<\/span><\/strong> provides a data point for a single item without additional content.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHere\u2019s your tire pressure.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nA Single Pane of Glass<\/span><\/strong> provides multiple data points in content, but without insight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHere\u2019s your tire pressure compared with the pressure of all other tires.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nObservability with AIOps<\/strong><\/span> looks across silos and domains for the actionable insights needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYour gas mileage is suffering because your rear driver side tire pressure is low.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s a network example:<\/strong> Within a network with AIOps, if a vendor has opened a change ticket to perform maintenance on the network, the system learns that corresponding outages can be temporarily ignored, since it understands that the change the vendor is making to the network is actually causing the outages \u2013 breaking something to fix something. In this case, the change ticket is a \u201cknown cause\u201d of the outage. If there\u2019s no change ticket open, then AIOps understands that the outages are now abnormal, have no known cause, and need to be acted upon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Who might use AIOps?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
A bank can adopt AIOps to monitor its customers\u2019 transactions, and correlate data to detect fraud and prevent financial losses. Similarly, a healthcare provider can use AIOps to monitor patients\u2019 vital signs and detect abnormalities based on known causes (such as the correlation that a particular abnormality is caused by the chemotherapy the patient is currently receiving, and is therefore currently normal), enabling the healthcare provider to intervene promptly, and appropriately. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When companies adopt AIOps, the data created requires a similarly intelligent approach in those companies\u2019 networks. If you\u2019re running a lot of cloud services, AIOps in your network becomes very powerful. AIOps takes many data points and starts to make sense of the \u201cnoise\u201d created, diagnosing issues so that you can take action with confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Who might not use AIOps?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
AIOps may not be a solution every business needs in their networking environment. For instance, small businesses may not have complex IT operations that require AIOps. Additionally, point-of-sale only locations that need robust performance (a network that stays up), but do not need a lot of data analysis, may not find AIOps necessary in their networks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finally, if your network portal or network management system provides the diagnostic information you need without lengthy analysis \u2013 the detail provided by AIOps may not be needed to ensure continued sound network operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nSD-WAN (Software-Defined Wide Area Network)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Chances are, you\u2019ve started evaluating how SD-WAN fits within your networking ecosystem. To review, SD-WAN is a technology that uses software to manage and optimize wide area networks (WANs)<\/a> rather than relying on traditional hardware-based WANs. It provides a software management layer for your network equipment (such as routers and switches), and for all of the disparate vendors you purchase from.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
Who might use SD-WAN?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
SD-WAN<\/a> certainly has a place in your infrastructure if your company has many brick & mortar locations, with remote sites connected only with a broadband link (think: multi-site enterprises, retail, banking, healthcare). If your company fits this profile, there\u2019s a good chance that the addition of an SD-WAN overlay to your network will improve its security, performance, and operational costs. SD-WAN shines in optimizing the throughput of lower speed data connections. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Retail might use SD-WAN<\/a> to, for example, optimize the buying experience by ensuring that store locations\u2019 broadband connections are reliable and secure, providing the same \u201cflagship experience\u201d to customers visiting even the most remote stores. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Banks can use SD-WAN<\/a> to improve branch connectivity by providing employees with secure and reliable access to the bank\u2019s applications and data. You can <\/em>accomplish the same ends (increasing security and throughput) using a private, dedicated last-mile access without the SD-WAN overlay capabilities \u2013 but it wouldn\u2019t perform as well and it would cost much more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Who might not use SD-WAN?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
SD-WAN may not be ideal for all companies. Small businesses and single-site businesses have little need for a complex WAN, and therefore little need for the capabilities of SD-WAN. If your applications run on-site, and network connectivity is not key to operating your business, performance of those applications may not be enhanced by the addition of the software layer provided by SD-WAN. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If your networking is centralized in a data center and connected with big bandwidth pipes, you wouldn\u2019t need SD-WAN because SD-WAN\u2019s value is bringing performance and security to the lower throughput circuits connecting multiple offices. Traditional software defined networking (SDN)<\/a> works best when orchestrating intra-data center networks. However \u2013 SD-WAN makes good sense when connecting multiple <\/em>data centers across cities or countries together with your branch locations to optimize how data flows. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
We also recognize that while government, banking, and healthcare organizations have the organizational structure to benefit from SD-WAN, regulatory compliance and rigid definitions of network technologies during procurement often force the choice of non-software-defined solutions, and cement traditional WANs for these industries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
SD-WAN breaks a traditional network mold<\/strong>; it\u2019s not a circuit, but rather software on top of a WAN. The molded procurement choices in industries such as government, finance, and healthcare need to break too \u2013 but we trust that this change will eventually occur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nSDN (Software-Defined Networking)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
SDN and SD-WAN are both networking technologies that leverage software to manage and optimize network traffic flows. The two services offer distinct functionality. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
From a technical standpoint, SDN is a networking architecture<\/a> that separates the control plane (which manages the network) from the data plane (which forwards network traffic). This separation allows companies to centralize network management, program network policies, and increase network flexibility and scalability. SDN is ideally applied to LANs (Local Area Networks).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SD-WAN, on the other hand, is a type of SDN whose goal is to optimize application performance for branch office and remote users across a WAN, even when underlying connectivity is not reliable. It makes an especially dramatic difference when the WAN connections are less expensive broadband \u2013 allowing customers to save money while ensuring great performance for even their most remote offices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SDN provides network administrators with more fine-grained control over network policies and resources, while SD-WAN provides end-users with faster and more reliable access to their applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Who might use SDN?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
SDN is an ideal technology for intra-data center networking. Data center operators use SDN for their day-to-day operations, such as door-access control or data configuration. If a manufacturer or a logistics company wanted to improve supply chain management by automating its inventory tracking and dispatching from a single location, SDN would work well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Who might not use SDN?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Large businesses with a complex and geographically dispersed WAN might instead turn directly to SD-WAN to improve the WAN\u2019s performance and resiliency. Additionally, companies that do not require network automation may not find SDN necessary in their networks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\nSASE (Secure Access Service Edge)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
SASE<\/a> is a technology that combines network security and cloud-based connectivity into a single service \u2013 though each element can also be purchased individually, allowing companies the flexibility to build upon their security capabilities piece by piece.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n