Networks Europe Sept-Oct 2018 | Page 36

36 CONVERGENCE 3 steps to digital empowerment Digital transformation is needed to meet explosive demand growth for bandwidth and functionalities, and to ensure cabling, connectivity and networks hold up in an increasingly demanding environment. A three-step approach makes it easier to find a solution. People and devices What type and level of performance do your organisation’s users and devices require? Not only right now, but also in the future. 1 Building conditions Which specific conditions exist in your building or buildings? What distances need to be bridged? Are there specific requirements with regard to functionality or uptime? 2 Network flexibility How flexible does your network need to be to accommodate probable future requirements? How do you ensure this is the case? 3 Having an up-to-date and full overview of the physical infrastructure can make it easier to use the network more efficiently by optimising material and energy consumption, and saving resources on capacities that aren’t absolutely necessary. In current large data networks, up to 40% of switch ports are forgotten about, according to a survey by Frost & Sullivan, because the operator doesn’t have an overview of the infrastructure. With an AIM system, a switch report can be carried out to get an overview of used/unused switch ports, and the user devices connected to them, enabling the network manager to physically locate the whereabouts of the devices or find available switch ports when needed. This saves money by making more efficient use of existing IT assets. Standards such as ISO 14763-2 recommend electronic record keeping in certain types of installations. ISO/ IEC 18598 makes it absolutely clear that the benefits of choosing AIM outweigh any reasons for not doing so. Considering the risks and costs introduced by poor management of cabling and connected devices, skimping on an AIM solution is a false economy. Troubleshooting takes significantly longer, downtime is extended unnecessarily, and implementing and testing moves, adds and changes is extremely challengin