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SOFTWARE DEFINED NETWORKING
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Peter Coppens , Director of Ethernet & IP Portfolio , Colt
www . colt . net
It ’ s connectivity , but not as we know it as software makes the network more flexible and intelligent
According to a report by Frank Gens , senior vice president and chief analyst at IDC , “ We are at an inflection point as digital transformation efforts shift from ‘ project ’ or ‘ initiative ’ status to strategic business imperative .” As part of this inflection point , global businesses are speeding up the transition from legacy operating practices to a hosted , flexible , on-demand and cloud-based arrangement .
This global digital business transformation will have extensive repercussions : IDC further reports that by 2020 , 30 % of the top firms in every business sector won ’ t exist as we know them today . Yet as organisations move from the established ‘ cloud-first ’ model to a ‘ cloud-only ’ era , this brings with it its own complexity , as companies need high quality , flexible access to that cloud .
The high bandwidth necessary for high quality , constant and reliable access to these applications in the cloud must be delivered where and when it ’ s needed . This in turn creates the need for an intelligent , flexible network connection that can meet the demands of the always-on cloud model .
The growing need for speed The network is the critical link to achieving a business ’ key objectives , and is essential to digital transformation . International expansion , mergers , acquisitions , cloud adoption and wide-ranging integration all require network capacity that scales with the business .
Today , many enterprises use multiple data centre sites nationally or internationally as they look to connect to worldwide markets . But the network requirements for a cloud-only era isn ’ t as simple as one connection to one enterprise . With increasingly global footprints , there ’ s also a requirement from organisations that their bandwidth interconnects ( or connects to ) multiple data centre locations , and to change interconnection points periodically .
To enable the digital transformation of today ’ s demanding businesses , dynamic real-time ordering , provisioning and flexing of high bandwidth connectivity between locations is paramount . In order to be a disruptor in any sector today , enterprises have to be able to focus on adding value . This can ’ t be achieved if all their attention and resources are focused on the network infrastructure .
However , traditional interconnectivity services such as Wave and Ethernet don ’ t offer the flexibility some enterprises need to interconnect multiple data centre locations . Typically , networks are supplied as long lead time , fixed bandwidth circuits with expensive long-term
contracts . Instead , enterprises need a ‘ liquid infrastructure ’; an intelligent network enabled by virtualisation to be able to flex their bandwidth accordingly between sites . This is where SDN comes in .
Where flexibility comes into play In the era of the cloud , rather than the legacy practice of buying or building , and maintaining wide area network infrastructure in-house , forward-looking corporates are partnering with trusted third-party service providers . This enables them to benefit from the flexibility of on-demand carrier-grade services . From a technology side , combining SDN and NFV with a network services provider that can deliver this flexible consumption model , allows the instant provisioning of network connections between locations and the scaling of bandwidth in real-time .
This on-demand model allows an organisation to dynamically self-provision Wide Area Networking according to real-time business requirements . Businesses can also intelligently meet short-term additional demands for highbandwidth applications . For example , an enterprise on a 100Mbps service contract could do a short-term upgrade to 300Mbps when an important board meeting takes place . Near real-time provisioning via a self-service portal provides the agility that makes the customer ’ s network responsive to business needs , avoiding legacy service delivery processes which could take several weeks . This intelligent network flexibility extends to pricing , giving customers the option to choose hourly pricing plans as well as more traditional fixed term contracts . This helps address issues such as disaster recovery and data backup .
The self-service element also reduces the level of inhouse expertise required to configure the connectivity . This removes the burden of maintaining software updates , and the amount of proprietary hardware that ’ s needed to launch and operate network services , drives cost savings and efficiency across the enterprise .
Released from the burden of maintaining software updates themselves , enterprises no longer need to worry about ‘ keeping the lights on ’. Instead , they can now focus on how the network adds value to the business and can more concretely quantify that . Software is making the network more flexible , intelligent and better aligned to core business objectives . And this in turn is giving enterprises the ability to maximise agility and power for the digital transformation initiatives that are essential for success in the future . n
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