Reliability and access: the bedrock of programmable infrastructure

Networks are transforming. What they can offer enterprises and consumers is becoming seamless, as are the expectations of users on networks, which is all of us.

The impetus is coming from the blurring of the distinction between work and play. That means that connectivity increases in importance. Without access, the most advanced device will not perform as it should, whether that is transacting at work or watching 4K movies at home.

Across enterprise and consumer networks, connectivity will likely become increasingly programmable, as technologies that include 5G, edge, SD-WAN, and value-added services are overlaid on top of the core network infrastructure.

Enterprise needs are driving this, but increasingly in the context of hybrid connectivity and hybrid workspaces.

There is a realisation that the technology and the speeds relevant to enterprises are also relevant to consumers.

In any case, many individuals now work from home, so those enterprise network capacities need to connect the home, the office and factory.

The requirement for network managers, whether they sit inside an enterprise or an exchange, to dial up network capacity on demand is only likely to increase.

Network convergence and alignment

All those worlds are converging around liquid infrastructure. This new alignment will see the backhaul increasingly becoming liquid, with 5G and edge close to the user over the last 300-400 metres.

Carriers (telcos) are likely to increasingly invest in and deliver smarter network capacity. The network architecture of the future will need to embrace core networks, multiple access points for mobile, fibre assets, the NBN, satellites and then Ethernet, Internet and IP VPN or SD-WAN, all with great security services and managed services on top.

The market, though, remains complex and granulated, and different enterprises have different perspectives.

Defining enterprise expectations around connectivity

As organisations consider moving from private networks to public networks, they can see how the fixed network cost models of today will change to an on-demand, pay-for-capacity and pay-for service model in the future.

While the reasons for choosing programmable, flexible capacity networks do differ, that narrative is I think common to most enterprises, as is the requirement for reliable networks. That requirement only sharpens if the enterprise has widely variable network needs from one day to the next.

Reliability is super-important to enterprises as they continue to move more of their businesses online. Businesses do not want the risk of potentially losing hundreds of thousands of dollars of sales in a couple of hours if there is poor network resilience or reliability.

Network capacity managers must be available to remediate the problem, whether sitting inside the enterprise, or as part of an outsourced service contract.

For the business, there is no room for error.

The new connectivity vectors

Enterprises have new vectors to consider when investing in the infrastructure of the future. At the top of these vectors should be business value and customer experience, anchored on programmable networks and connectivity.

The commercial considerations are increasingly lower down the stack (although they remain important), around whether to consider public and private networks, public and private in-building connectivity, what 5G options might or might not connect with programmable backhaul, what that commercial option looks like, and whether the enterprise wants to migrate into or out of a private network.

Ahead of these commercials in importance is certainty of access, and quality and speed of engagement. Both are important, each requires programmable networks.

When considering the network infrastructure requirement of the future, enterprises will look at network reliability and programmable connectivity alongside the commercials, to define business value.

When we talk to customers, we see more and more alignment between business needs, the technology, and the commercials that tie the two together.

Businesses understand commercial pain. The consequences of a constrained network for the business are obvious and immediate. In this situation, business owners do not need to be engineers to get the point of network capability, agility, visibility and control - in short, always-on networks infrastructure that can be managed in real-time.

For more information, visit https://www.optus.com.au/enterprise/networking/sdn