Thought Leadership
In today’s hyper-connected age, organizations across industries and geographies need to seamlessly connect their employees, locations and technical applications to keep business processes running smoothly.
In addition, digital technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), are being used more and more frequently. They have a significant impact on our daily work by improving decision-making processes, automating everyday tasks and increasing overall efficiency.
As companies increasingly invest in these technologies, it is important that corporate networks meet the new requirements in terms of resilience, agility and scalability.
The next generation of connectivity is characterized by flexible options that meet a variety of business needs. With a future-ready network, companies can not only adopt new technologies quickly, but also manage their costs intelligently and work more efficiently. Such a network is reliable, secure and mitigates risks that may arise from the changes brought about by AI. To achieve all this, companies should consider the following steps when selecting a solution:
Step 1: Define the goals
The first step towards a successful network transformation is to have clearly defined goals that also take into account individual business objectives. For example, in a hybrid work environment, IT connectivity that allows users to securely access data and applications wherever they are located is important. If rapid prototyping is required, the network should be able to run virtual test environments particularly quickly.
A company in the manufacturing industry with several plants at different locations needs a fail-safe connection to remote branches. The ideal network for this should therefore have a global reach and simplify the handling of multiple providers.
On the other hand, for maximum agility, different types of clouds can be considered depending on the department. In this case, it is crucial to choose multi-cloud connectivity for optimal scalability of the network architecture.
At this point, companies should also carry out a comprehensive assessment of their existing network infrastructure. This will allow them to identify the issues that are preventing them from achieving their goals. IT decision-makers should ensure that their service provider can solve these problems and add value.
Ideally, the focus should be on the results and not on the functions. The measurable aspects that a new solution can really achieve are crucial. This prevents companies from getting lost in technical specifications and losing sight of their strategic business goals.
If a company is already using SD-WAN, it should be ensured that it is used efficiently as part of the process. This can be done by merging the third-party internet connection with the SD-WAN setting and connecting it to the SD-WAN layer as a secondary or tertiary connection. This provides a comprehensive overview of all data traffic and ensures that all metrics and reports are complete and accurate.
Step 2: Select potential service providers
It is important to take your time and thoroughly check different providers. The providers should also be able to not only supply but also support all of the company’s locations. It is also helpful to shortlist providers who already have experience with similar implementations.
IT decision-makers should therefore seek independent product recommendations instead of going directly to a provider who may recommend their own solution without considering the company’s individual needs.
To simplify tasks throughout the company, those responsible should reduce the list to a small selection and ideally choose a network service provider that can manage multiple services.
Step 3: Understand the network traffic
It is crucial to understand the data traffic and its impact on network requirements. Companies need to identify all critical applications, traffic and latency requirements. SD-WAN is a good way to get a clearer picture of these traffic flows.
SD-WANs enable very small-scale network management. With WAN optimization devices, NetFlow and SD-WAN pilots, companies can comprehensively evaluate their data. This allows the benefits of SD-WAN functions to be fully exploited and traffic flows to be better understood.
Insights into data traffic should be used to determine the five most important applications running on the network and the underlying service level agreements (SLAs). This will help determine the underlay required to support applications whose bandwidth or latency exceeds the guarantee.
Another important step is to ensure the compatibility of SD-WAN with non-SD-WAN traffic flows. For maximum flexibility and compatibility of both traffic flows, providers set up cloud gateways. Locations that have SD-WAN communicate with the cloud gateway on an SD-WAN level. This in turn communicates with the non-SD-WAN sites, creating a chain of connections.
To better understand their network priorities, IT decision-makers should categorize their traffic by priority and create a traffic hierarchy. Data traffic is usually divided into 1) Critical traffic, which has priority and needs the most protection, 2) semi-critical traffic, which is also protected but does not benefit from the SLAs, and 3) non-critical traffic, which is not protected. A Managed Service Provider (MSP) can help to make this process as simple as possible.
Step 4: Check the solutions thoroughly
Rigorous testing of the preferred network solution is important to ensure that the chosen solution aligns with the organization’s unique requirements and objectives. IT decision makers can use demos and virtual proof-of-concept (POC) settings to understand the features of a solution, try it out for themselves and understand the expected results.
Once a solution has been selected, it should be tested on site. This ensures that it is truly compatible with the current IT infrastructure and the company’s objectives. Finally, a pilot test is carried out.
During a pilot test, companies can analyze the overall capacities for service management and program management as well as migrations, installations and low-level design. This gives them confidence in the solution they have chosen.
Efficient and innovative thanks to modern network technologies
Companies should be clear about their goals and requirements, classify their traffic and understand their business needs before selecting a solution. By defining clear goals, understanding traffic flows and carefully testing solutions, IT decision-makers can ensure that their networks are flexible, reliable and future-proof.
They are not alone in this. They can consult experts to fully understand the solutions and get a holistic overview of the options. For example, if further steps beyond SD-WAN are planned, it is worth discussing the benefits of SASE with the provider.
However, the introduction of new technologies should not become a race. The main goal is to make the most of the infrastructure and solutions, in line with the company’s growth ambitions.
Network transformation is not just a strategic move, but a necessity in today’s digital age. As more and more new technologies are on the rise and companies are continuously deploying AI, networks need to be up to the new challenges. A reliable and fast state-of-the-art network increases companies’ operational efficiency, enables them to work on new offerings and opens up new avenues for growth and innovation.
