Two months have already passed in 2023.
We ended 2022 happily and welcomed the new year with a full heart, but a lot has happened in the past two months.
On the other side of the globe, war continues, and a major earthquake causes many casualties.
While COVID-19 appears to be gradually subsiding and entering an endemic phase, supply chain issues remain unresolved, and concerns about inflation and other factors persist.
These uncertainties and risks are forcing many businesses and enterprises to change, and in some cases, even rethink the very foundations of their business models.
Now, networks must play a role in preparing organizations for the changes they will face in 2023, while fostering the necessary innovation and digitalization even in these uncertain times.
CTO of HPE Aruba, David HughesWe predicted what changes will occur in the network in 2023 and what preparations should be made.
1. Adopt a NaaS strategy of 20% or more globally.
As economic conditions become more challenging, IT departments must adapt how they procure, deploy, and operate network infrastructure to enable devices to drive business outcomes, not just manage equipment.
Migrating to a Network-as-a-Service (NaaS) framework allows IT departments to rapidly implement network modernization within constraints like budget and IT resource scheduling. Furthermore, NaaS strategies help organizations achieve their sustainability goals, as major NaaS providers have adopted strategies that promote carbon neutrality and the use of recycled materials in their manufacturing processes.
2. Built-in security features Bolt-on will replace
Reducing cybersecurity threats is now a core concern for IT operations across all businesses. Transitioning to a more automated security architecture than ever before has become a critical IT imperative.
Today, businesses can no longer rely solely on perimeter firewalls around their networks to protect against threats and vulnerabilities.
Security must be built into every part of the network, from Wi-Fi access points to LAN environments in campus or data center switches, and extending to WAN gateways and cloud environments.
Zero Trust and SASE frameworks will become increasingly intertwined to not only protect against threats, but also to apply microsegmentation across the entire IT stack, including users, connected devices, applications, network services, compute, and storage platforms.
3. Location services will provide new business models and greater efficiency.
Labor shortages and ongoing supply chain issues are forcing companies to become more efficient and productive.
When companies have visibility and situational awareness of their assets, inventory status, processes, employees, customers, contractors, and supply chains, they can better control costs, resources, quality, and intellectual property.
To achieve this, information technology (IT), Internet of Things (IoT), and operational technology (OT) data must be integrated to suit the current situation.
There will be a renewed focus on understanding the scope of business activities and the precise location of assets, the identity and identifiable information of people and things, real-time visibility into who is using what applications, and the security status of all devices and machines.
4. Consolidate IT operations into a single, centralized network and security management platform.
Companies are adopting various digital technologies to improve user experience and streamline IT operations. At the same time, employees and customers, regardless of business model, expect a better, more integrated real-world/digital experience.
For this reason, networks and security are becoming increasingly complex and infrastructure management is becoming more difficult.
To enhance the quality of end-user experience while simultaneously strengthening protection against cyberattacks, IT departments will implement a single, centralized management system with network-wide visibility and configurable edge-to-cloud QoS and security policies.
5. SLA measurements will be based on user experience, not uptime and link availability.
IT departments must optimize their networks to meet the demands of hybrid work environments.
Enterprises have dedicated teams dedicated to ensuring a seamless digital experience for employees and customers. Adapting to a client-centric perspective, rather than a network-centric one, requires holistic visibility and application-level insights. This ensures the quality of the digital experience meets user expectations.
Strict control over network performance alone is no longer sufficient. To ensure a seamless digital experience for users, regardless of where they connect, you must be able to quickly identify and resolve application response time and performance issues remotely.
6. AIOps will shift from simply providing insights to automatically improving them.
The adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing, as well as the massive amounts of data commonly used in enterprise network management solutions.
Automation is rapidly advancing through these efforts. By identifying similar error symptoms across a full-stack network, IT organizations can adjust workflows to automatically resolve issues, making it easier to provide solutions.
We're driving a workflow that streamlines IT operations, enabling more work with fewer resources and freeing up staff. This workflow allows administrators to review recommendations and the impact of changes before implementing them into the operational environment for ongoing issues.
Here are six network trends expected for 2023.
From NaaS, security, location services, a single operating platform, user experience-based SLA measurement, and even AIOps to supplement human resources.
Aruba supports and delivers all of these.
It's exciting to see what solutions Aruba offers and how it innovates for better IT and network infrastructure.
For more details David Hughes' WebinarPlease check through .