2016: The Future Is In Intelligent Networks

Jan Zuurbier, Head of Global Sales, Alcatel-Lucent Enterprise

The enterprise network is undergoing an exciting period of change, and is evolving along with the new challenges that businesses now face. Despite advances in computing and storage to help achieve more business agility, today’s network complexities have limited IT departments’ ability to quickly respond to business needs. Today’s enterprises require a network that is tailored to their specific needs, which help achieve tangible business outcomes, and are easy to deploy and easy to maintain.
SDN is set to continue its path of growth
More users will begin to recognize the benefits of Software Defined Networks (SDN). As technology infrastructures become increasingly strained, businesses will look to build networks that are application aware and grant them the ability to improve resource efficiency. According to Gartner, by the end of 2016 more than 10,000 enterprises worldwide will have deployed SDN in their networks, a tenfold increase from end-of-year 2014. By 2018 in Asia/Pacific alone, SDN deployments will surpass the $1 billion mark, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC), with India being an important market for SDN deployments.
The future lies in intelligent networks
The cost and time to adopt applications and new services that support today’s business needs is too high. Still, to progress, businesses need to invest in evolving and effective technologies. Businesses and IT departments will need solutions that bring about significant improvements in time, resources and spending, while demonstrating how IT can rapidly accommodate the business needs. Networks with intelligent fabric technology will give businesses the flexibility they require to keep pace with technological changes amidst a competitive business environment, minus the complex challenge of configuring and integrating new hardware components into the existing network.
Network analytics will become more commonplace
With the BYOD and the Internet of Things already a reality, enterprises will be faced with the tough challenge of ensuring that business-critical tasks do not fall prey to the data deluge brought about by the numerous devices and applications stressing the network. But there is hope. IT departments will need to increasingly look to network analytics to help navigate mounting complexity in network operations, and to be always in the know of how network resources are being used. According to Global Industry Analysts, Inc., the global market for Network Analytics is projected to surpass US$1.9billion by 2020. The Asia-Pacific (APAC) region in particular, will be the key growth driver with an expected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24.9%.
Data center infrastructure market will grow exponentially
The Indian data center infrastructure market will be worth US$2 billion in 2016, a 5.2 percent increase from 2015, according to Gartner. Enterprise networking will continue to be the biggest segment with revenue expected to touch US$963 million in 2016.
As businesses continue to face the challenges presented by the connected world and new technologies, more will begin to recognize the need to invest in flexible and scalable technologies to generate competitive advantage. With increasing levels of stress placed on the enterprise network, automated and intelligent network technologies will become the way forward for businesses to future-proof themselves, and to better dedicate resources to pursue business growth.