Networking IT services encompasses everything for the successful implementation of a company network. This involves the building of network infrastructure, the setup of devices like LAN routers and modems, the layout of the networks (such as breaking a network into different tiers), security, optimization, and many other factors. Often a business will build this on-site, however, if local IT experts are insufficient (or unavailable) then third parties are used for the proper implementation of services.
It will require enterprises to adopt key 3rd Platform technologies such as cloud, Internet of Things (IoT), mobility, and artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML). The adoption of these technologies has elevated the wide area network (WAN) as a strategic initiative for enterprises. This is further underscored by market transformations that demand an agile WAN architecture, including:
- The accelerating growth of global IP traffic, estimated at a CAGR of 40%, is impacting the economics of network expansion.
- The proliferation of IoT and growth of global ecommerce are moving intelligence to the edge.
- The continued adoption of the cloud is transforming WANs.
- The increasing demand for rich media by customers is driving higher bandwidth at the branch.
Responding to these transformational forces will require an adaptable WAN architecture. Advanced networking at the branch is hence key to business agility and enterprise success measured in terms of improved employee productivity, customer satisfaction, and revenue growth. This demands a paradigm shift from reliance on discrete networking appliances toward a more agile software-defined and virtualized networking architecture. Enterprises are rapidly embracing software-defined WAN (SD-WAN) as the technology of choice for upgrading their current legacy WAN environment. In real deployments, SD-WAN has been proven to support direct and secure access to cloud applications, provide cost-effective growth in bandwidth, and improve network availability.
The choice of managed network services further complements the technical benefits of this new architecture with a commercial framework that provides full life-cycle advantages. Integrating a software-defined architecture presents deployment challenges for enterprises that are considering a do-it-yourself approach. Foremost are lack of technical resources and managing integration complexities. Besides de-risking SD-WAN deployment, a managed services provider can bring significant commercial benefits including a cloud consumption model, integration of full-scale security capabilities, uniform service-level agreements (SLAs), access to pretested multivendor virtual functions, integrated self-service portals, and global reach. Further innovation in virtualized network services has been embraced by key participants such as communications service providers and vendors toward a fully automated and intent-based networking architecture. Enterprises will benefit considerably from these investments as they strive to enrich customer experience by incorporating modern AI and ML tools.
It makes the case that managed network services bring significant benefits to enterprises as they undertake the journey toward a software-defined networking implementation.
