Liquid Infrastructure changes the network conversation - for the better

At Optus, in the enterprise space we refer to software-defined networks (SDN) as Liquid Infrastructure.

It's a more-creative, more-dynamic name for SDN - and it changes the way enterprises and telco partners talk about and think about networks, for two very good, strategic reasons.

First, the conversation moves towards understanding and responding to needs around business benefits, voiced in network terms, and away from traditional infrastructure discussions based on fixed capacity pipes.

Second, it changes the discussion around exactly where in the network layer stack the control, agility and the ability to prioritise network capability should sit.

Less a liquid 'infrastructure', more a liquid 'stack'

Liquid Infrastructure can perhaps be described as something approaching a 'liquid stack'. Something that takes in the infrastructure at the underlay level; the liquid edge - where the infrastructure logically meets the enterprise; and liquid services - the business relationships that defines what the enterprise is buying from the telco, and how that is being paid for.

What changes the dynamics of the conversation is the ability to program and configure all three parts of this 'liquid stack' - the infrastructure in particular.

Software-defined networking also changes the conversation from one previously understood in detail by a relatively small number of engineering experts, either within the enterprise itself or at the telco, to one understood across the enterprise.

The need for a resilient network was historically well-understood, but to implement one was trickier, and it was always a big task (and investment) to upgrade to a new network, or to replace a network entirely.

That now changes - allowing enterprises to start early strategic planning around the capabilities that SDN delivers, alongside other technologies such as SD-WAN, and the investment required to implement programmable underlay networks in their organisations.

An evolving conversation

That conversation continues to evolve. It's changed from a series of high-level discussions about future possibilities perhaps three of four years into the future, to a much more-urgent discussion about meeting business disruption head-on and using SDN to transform the enterprise to take advantage of new competitive differentiation.

Today, enterprises of all sizes are considering programmable networks. And so, while there's no need to rush to invest in SDN, the migration should be planned for and considered, to then be able to phase this new interconnect technology into the enterprise.

For telcos like Optus, working with our Enterprise customers is about collaborating to build a strategy that's right for each customer. It starts not with the network but with the way the business is being run today, and the needs the business will have in the near future.

Requirements will likely need to be programmable, agile, under the control of the enterprise in real-time, and capable of accommodating rapidly changing priorities. They should embrace the following strategic points:

• How is the enterprise competing, who are its competitors, and where might new competitors come from?
• How might a new, programmable, Liquid Infrastructure deliver against the enterprise's future objectives, opportunities, and competitive challenges?
• How would a programmable network deliver more than just visibility and control - how would it change the way the business operates, and the way it interacts with employees and customers?

All of these will inform the enterprise's choice of network capability and infrastructure - which is the right conversation to have.

The interplay with SD-WAN

SDN also changes the interplay with SD-WAN, and Optus remains committed to providing SD-WAN solutions to enterprise customers. For example, we recently announced a partnership with Fortinet, to deliver secure, software-defined wide-area networking (SD-WAN) to our enterprise and government customers.

SD-WAN plays an important part in allowing enterprises to maximise the performance, efficiency and security of existing networks, not least because SD-WAN solutions are available right now.

They do so at the overlay level - still leaving any enterprise connectivity constrained by whatever the physical underlay level actually is. 

SD-WAN can aggregate capacity very effectively, but it's part of the solution, not the entire solution. If the underlying internet is not up to the task, an enterprise will be trying to fine-tune and improve a network with SD-WAN that simply can't be tuned.

That's where SDN comes in - providing enterprises with three fundamental advantages, all coming into play at the underlay level.

Control

An enterprise's needs continually change, often at a tactical level, more and more often at a fundamental level, all to varying degrees. If an enterprise doesn't have control of its network, it won't be able to adapt when things change (which they inevitably will).

If the enterprise has visibility and control of the network, it can control the impact these changing demands have on the business. If it doesn't have control, it can't adapt in real-time - and either the experience drops, or the network is degraded. Frustrated customers are quick to move on.

Agility

The ability to adapt 'now'. Think COVID-19 in March and April, and the sudden escalation of remote access nodes and authorisations. Everything happens in real-time; usage spikes happen in minutes or even seconds. If an enterprise has control but can't react, it fails.

Prioritisation

Control gives enterprises the insights needed to react. Agility provides the ability to do so. Both mean that enterprises can prioritise their networks in real time.

To change the conversation around programmable networks, enterprises must start those conversations. Liquid Infrastructure, as part of a 'liquid stack', makes them possible.

A version of this article is also published on the Optus Enterprise website.