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New technologies such as cloud, mobile, and software defined networks are reshaping the world of work for the better. We now have the ability to keep employees engaged and productive, no matter where they are in the world. We also have the capability to better serve our customers by opening up new locations and branches in nearly any geography.

Bu this continued pressure on IT teams to quickly deploy new sites, roll out cloud applications, and deliver seamless system performance doesn’t come without its fair share of complexity. In these new environments, hybrid cloud management is essential for assurances around end-to-end security, performance, and visibility.

As part of any digital transformation program, the first step is to move a certain proportion of your datacentres, applications, and storage into hybrid cloud environments. Following that, you need to examine how you can bring the same level of scalability and agility to your networks through hybrid cloud. Not only that, you need to somehow guarantee the same level of performance or better as your traditional corporate networks.

Against this backdrop, it comes as no surprise to hear that 44% of respondents cited upgrading their networking foundations as a top priority for the coming year, according to TechTarget’s IT Priorities Survey. Another recent survey by InformationWeek found that companies are increasingly focused on exploring ways to modernise their networks with software and expand their networking capabilities.

If we want our networks to provide seamless digital services to end-users, hardware-defined legacy networks will never be able to deliver. That’s why a hybrid approach is vital to leverage the investments we’ve made in our legacy networks while unleashing the capabilities provided by SD-WAN, including the ability to:

• manage and view your enterprise connectivity fabric that connects datacentres and cloud apps with users, while unifying hybrid WANs, cloud networks, and wireless and wired LANs into a single policy framework.
• orchestrate your network globally by using policy-based automation to define quality of service and access privileges for all users, as well as automated path steering for integrated end-to-end performance monitoring and security.

To achieve the above, we need to embrace a complete redesign of our network network to encompass new innovations and capabilities. But by embracing a hybrid cloud model of network management, we will be better placed to reduce the complexity in our network by automating processes and bringing previously disparate network fragments into a unified whole.

I’ve spoken previously about the growing trend of moving compute and processing power to the edge of our networks, and the new advantage this will unlock. Hybrid cloud is also a crucial enabler of intelligent edge networks – when these are the cornerstone of your digital transformation program, you will be creating a technology environment that allows your workforce to flourish.

About the author

As the Managing Director of Aryon, my team and I are here to reduce the complexity for organisations who want to take advantage of next-generation networks, infrastructure and workforce technology.  If you would like to discuss how your organisation can take advantage of new digital networks, infrastructure and technology without the added stress, please feel free to get in touch with me at dean.bartlett@116.90.41.25.