Mick Mohan, Group Engineering Director, Telent, examines the growing complexity of the networking landscape, and highlights the importance of why organisations should be prioritising the most functional and effective solutions to build a better tomorrow.
Many organisations require Digital Transformation to ensure that they are using the latest technologies and services available to remain competitive in their sector. People and businesses have become accustomed to being ‘always on’ regardless of location or working environment. As the likes of offices and operational environments have transitioned to remote and hybrid working, it is vital that we can access data in real-time.
Technologies such as the Internet-of-Things (IoT) can be robust and are used for a range of operations and applications within one building, campus, network of multiple locations or smart city. The most rapidly growing aspect of any new technology, in both volume and value is data. Therefore, to enable these complex and varying technologies to operate efficiently with the required access to data, a fast, reliable and secure network connection is critical.
While user experience is important, typically end-users do not necessarily care or know how they are connected, they just expect to be always connected. This gives network operators the opportunity to combine several networking technologies to create the ‘ubiquitous connectivity’ that is desired and now regarded as the norm in the modern world.
Enabling fast connectivity and data rates
To provide instant access to data and vital applications, organisations need an infrastructure that can bring high bandwidth and low latency to buildings and other premises. Slow internet speeds and high latency can cause a drop in productivity and efficiency for workers. This importance of dependable connectivity has been highlighted in the UK government’s targets to deliver gigabit broadband to a minimum of 85% of premises by 2025 and its promise of allocating £5 billion to subsidise the roll-out to the ‘hardest to reach’ premises as part of Project Gigabit.
Fibre has become the foundation and standard for digital networks thanks to its high gigabit speeds and reliability, as well as its ability to integrate with new wireless communication technology. However, the ‘last mile’ is becoming increasingly mobile and requires greater flexibility. While fibre is outstanding for connecting fixed assets in the last mile – such as routers and computers – and providing high speed broadband to homes and businesses, ‘on-the-move’ technology users, IoT and robotics demand a wireless connectivity to unlock their full potential.
The importance of mobility
Businesses are changing and looking to adapt the footprint offices and buildings to become less wired, allow for greater creativity and facilitate agile working. They are becoming more dynamic and advanced in terms of technology as they seek to attract new candidates to the workplace and industry experts all whilst striving to meet their client needs.
Wireless connectivity can accommodate the flexible nature of the modern workspace and ensure that workers are not just bound to a desk. Enterprises and businesses have used Wi-Fi networks for many years to support wireless activities within premises, as the technology provides secure connectivity and sufficient bandwidth and latency.
As technology advances and its demand for data does too, organisations will need to consider the next generation of wireless networking to become even more agile. Private 5G networks offer numerous performance advantages over other on-premises wireless technologies, including faster data transmission, lower latency, greater security and the ability to connect to more devices in a defined area.
The technology can cover anywhere from a few thousand square feet to dozens of square kilometres. Its ability to securely power robotics, autonomous guided vehicles (AGV) and Virtual Reality (VR) remote devices and sensors support the advanced research projects for education and business entities, as well as protecting vital intellectual property.
Data storage for flexible working
In today’s digital economy, everyone wants to access data quickly and securely. Digitalising data via cloud-based applications creates more flexibility and navigates restrictions – such as location, time and type of device – on how and when we can access our data. Adopting cloud technologies also enable organisations to scale their storage capacity to ensure they have space readily available for their client work and documentation. Cloud storage can also be continuously monitored, maintained and improved, in comparison to local storage where the risk of security issues is much greater.
Once an organisation adopts cloud-based applications, its Wide Area Network (WAN) architecture experiences a huge increase in traffic accessing the applications from various locations. A WAN’s role was originally to connect offices, operations and data centres to each other. Now its role is more complex. It needs to connect multiple types of users with multiple types of devices to multiple cloud environments.
Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN) technology combines several networking technologies – including fibre, 4G and 5G – to dynamically choose and prioritise the best available path for efficient data delivery, improved user experience and reduced IT costs. It also allows network administrators to use bandwidth more efficiently and can help ensure high levels of performance for critical applications without sacrificing security or data privacy. The cloud is just one of many key drivers for our next-generation networks.
The networks of tomorrow
Emerging next-generation technologies bring innovative capabilities that can change everyday functionality in networking. To ensure organisations can continue their own digital growth, they need to utilise these technologies to power their future networking, as well as consider the network trends that are becoming standard across the industry. This includes Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) technologies that are now becoming embedded within all the applications, services and networks we use, proving the capability to augment network operations and management tasks.
The proliferation of devices, data and people have made network infrastructure more complex than ever before to manage. The amount of data being generated is huge and cannot be a managed by human interference alone.
Without the right AI driven operations strategy, organisations will not be able to keep pace with their stringent network requirements. AI driven analytics can allow for more informed assistance for operational management and support on network performance and optimisation on device issues. In turn, this frees up staff to work on the mission-critical tasks that matter the most, especially in emergency operations.
The growth of networking, connected devices and cloud technologies not only provide benefits for companies, but it also creates a greater threat landscape against them. Zero Trust offers an effective strategy to neutralise these AI-based threats. Zero Trust architecture adapts to dynamic modern work paradigms with stringent access controls, application aware, continuous monitoring and data-centric security. Its extensive identity verification process means that users can only access the data and systems relevant to their position within the organisation.
Bringing the network together
Connected, smart devices are prevalent in our workplaces and operational environments. The increasing number of connected devices is also increasing the complexity of network management and IT security risks. Legacy or traditional networks struggle to cope with this rapid expansion, the associated growth in bandwidth, plus the migration of data and applications to the cloud.
It is now essential that organisations opt for a networking solution that brings together the best-of-breed new generation of networking technologies. It is paramount that they work with the right partners that have the wealth of knowledge to bring together Wi-Fi, 5G Private Networks, SD-WAN and cloud technologies seamlessly, and protect them with ultra-reliable security from multiple leading vendors.
